Also called kala-azar, a chronic, potentially fatal parasitic
disease of the viscera (the internal organs) due to infection by an agent called
Leishmania donovani.
L eishmania donovani is transmitted by sandfly bites in parts of Asia (primarily
India), Africa (primarily Sudan) and South America (primarily Brazil) where all
together there are an estimated half million cases per year. There are also several
hundred cases yearly in Europe (primarily in the Mediterranean region) and a few
in North America.
The infection can cause no or few symptoms but typically it is associated with
fever, loss of appetite (anorexia), fatigue, enlargement of the liver, spleen and
nodes and suppression of the bone marrow. The disease also increases the risk of
other secondary infections. The first oral drug found to be effective for treating
it is miltefosine.
The term "kala-azar" comes from India where it is the Hindi for black fever.
The disease is also known as Indian leishmaniasis, visceral leishmaniasis, leishmania
infection, black sickness, and black fever. The name "Leishmania donovani" honors
two men: the British pathologist William Boog Leishman who in 1903 wrote about the
protozoa that causes kala-azar and the researcher C. Donovan, who made the same
discovery independently the same year.
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