News
Registrations open for the second-run of LSHTM/KalaCORE massive open online course
By the end of the four-week course, learners will understand how visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is transmitted and will have gained practical insights into effective management of diagnosis and treatment, and towards controlling the disease. It has been designed to inform people who are directly involved with the control of VL and will be relevant to health workers and those with an interest in the control and elimination of this neglected tropical disease.
Visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala-azar, is an infectious disease found in many parts of South Asia and East Africa, Southern Europe and South America. It is transmitted through bites from infected sand flies and is the second-largest parasitic killer after malaria. It is almost always fatal if untreated, but the tools do exist to control and even eliminate the disease as a public health problem in some endemic regions.
The course is provided through the online learning platform, FutureLearn, and has been developed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in collaboration with KalaCORE, a UK aid-funded programme tackling VL in South Asia and East Africa.
It provides a unique platform to learn about the tools needed for an effective VL control programme from experts delivering current control and elimination programmes in South Asia and East Africa. Learners will receive unprecedented access to practical tools and insight into understanding the requirements and complexities of such programmes.
The course starts on Monday 7 January 2019. Register now by visiting https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/visceral-leishmaniasis /http://bit.ly/controlVL
Topics covered include:
- An introduction to the basic biology and epidemiology of VL
- Clinical management, diagnosis and treatment
- Sand fly biology, behaviour and VL vector control tools
- Other key tools to strengthen VL control and elimination programmes including surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, outbreak management, health systems and community health education.