Abstract:
Visceral leishmaniasis commonly known as kala-azar, is caused by Leishmania donovani
and Leishmania infantum (Leishmania chagasi in the Americas). These Leishmania
species infect macrophages throughout the viscera, and parasites are typically found in
the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. Patients with active disease typically exhibit marked
immunosuppression. The Majority of individuals with history of visceral leishmaniasis
(VL) exhibit strong immunity to re-infection, however, the mechanism of resistance is
poorly understood. It is unclear whether CD4+ and CD8+ T cells contribute to protection
against Leishmania donovani infection through immune activation and cytotoxic activity.
The general objective of this study was to assess the profile of CBC, CD4 and CD8 cell
count before and after anti-leishmanial treatment in patients with VL at university of
Gondar Referral Hospital, North West Ethiopia. A case control study was conducted
among adult visceral leishmaniasis patients from February/2020 to June/2020.A total of
100 Patients with VL visiting University of Gondar Hospital during the study period were
included in the study and 3ml of peripheral blood was collected. Complete blood cell
count and Cluster of differcaition four and Cluster of differcaition eight count were
performed by using Sysmex hematology analyzer and BD Accuri C6 flow cytometry
software. Socio demographic data was collected and analyzed using spss. Patients with
active VL have low hematological profile at the time of diagnosis and this was increased
significantly after anti-leishmanial treatment. However, the CBC profiles were not
restored to a similar level to the controls. CD4 and CD8 T cell count was significantly
low at the time of diagnosis but increased after treatment. The result of this study shows
that patients with active VL are pancytopenia and have low CD4, CD8 count which might
play a role in disease severity and susceptibility to other opportunistic infections since
visceral leshimaniasis is fatal disease, early diagnosis and treatment is mandatory with
the help of health education for living peoples and migrant workers
