Abstract: Objective To investigate the epidemiological status of visceral leishmaniasis in Minfeng county， a newly identified endemic area in south Xinjiang， China. Methods Based on a hint of possible existence of patients， a retrospective survey was carried out house by house in Andier Township of the county to find cases with suspected signs/symptoms of the disease in the past 20 years including those died. Meanwhile， a survey on current status was conducted， including physical examination（liver and spleen palpation） to those under 15 years-old，leishmanin skin test and rk39 immunochromatographic strip test for part of the residents. Results The investigation covered 313 local residents and revealed no case with present illness but 60 cases with a history of suspected signs/symptoms including 13 deaths， traced back as visceral leishmaniasis. Leishmanin skin test was performed in 171 people with a positive rate of 99.4% and 28 out of 29 suspected cases showed positive （96.6%）. rk39 immunochromatographic strip test was conducted in 197 people with a positive rate of 10.2% （20/197） and 19.4% （6/31） in those with a history of suspected signs/symptoms. Conclusion The epidemiological investigation indicates that the Andier Township of Minfeng County is an endemic area of visceral leishmaniasis.

Key words: Visceral leishmaniasis（Kala-azar）, Epidemiology, Immunochromatographic strip test, Leishmanin skin test, New endemic area, Xinjiang