Kala azar, or visceral leishmaniasis, is the second deadliest parasitic disease in the world – only malaria kills more people.
A neglected tropical disease, kala azar is caused by a parasite, spread to humans through the bite of infected female sand flies. It attacks the immune system and is almost always fatal if not treated.
Also known as visceral leishmaniasis, kala azar is the most serious form of leishmaniasis and is endemic in 76 countries, with hundreds of millions at risk of infection. There are between 50,000 and 90,000 new cases a year, about 90 per cent of which occur in Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Between 1989 and 2020, MSF teams treated nearly 150,000 people for kala azar; over a third in South Sudan.
Diagnosis and treatment of the disease, especially of the variety found in eastern Africa, can be complex and painful.
Featured
Kala azar
One year after opening a kala azar center in Sudan
Press Release
7 Mar 2011
Kala azar
Fighting kala azar in southern Sudan
Project Update
10 Feb 2011
South Sudan
Southern Sudan in grips of worst kala azar outbreak in eight years.
Press Release
16 Dec 2010
Bangladesh
Slum conditions in Bangladesh pose health hazards, and malnutrition is a sign of other illnesses
Project Update
13 Oct 2010
South Sudan
MSF increases capacity in response to kala azar outbreak in South Sudan
Project Update
23 Aug 2010
Bangladesh
Hope for kala azar sufferers in Bangladesh
Press Release
18 Jun 2010
South Sudan
Facing up to reality: Health crisis deepens as violence escalates in Southern Sudan
Report
11 Dec 2009
South Sudan
MSF responds to serious kala azar outbreak in southern Sudan
Project Update
6 Nov 2009
Pakistan
The strain on the host families is tremendous: Internal displacement from the Swat valley
Project Update
28 Aug 2009
Kenya
If you can prick a finger, you can test for kala azar
Project Update
9 Feb 2009
India
More dead than alive - surviving kala azar
Project Update
24 Jul 2008
Sudan
MSF activities still remain high in southern Sudan
Project Update
8 Jan 2008
Medical Resource
MSF Field Research
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