Kala Azar

Although our knowledge of the history of leishmaniasis is incomplete, the first recognized epidemic appears to have occurred in 1824, in Jessore, in what is now Bangladesh. In 1824 there were numerous deaths. People developed chronic fever with substantial loss of weight, emaciation and dark discoloration of the skin. They died of terminal dysentery or pneumonia. After a few years this “black disease” spread over the entire Ganges plain. In 1832 the infection reached West Bengal. In 1862 the infection was seen in Jageer, Dacca district, Bangladesh. There were enormous numbers of deaths, comparable to the plague epidemics (but proceeding more slowly). Four years later Jageer was as good as wiped out. In 1875 kala azar was noted in Assam, India. Over the next 25 years 25% of the population died of the disease. At around the turn of the century the epidemic diminished in the Ganges basin. Isolated cases still persisted, but in much lower numbers than during the epidemic years. The reason for this stopping of the epidemic is unknown. Between 1918 and 1923 a further total of more than 200,000 people died of kala azar in Assam and in the Brahmaputra valley. This was followed by another epidemic in 1944. Assam fever is an old term used for kala azar.

Category: Medicine Notes