AIIMS team claims kala-azar breakthrough

NEW DELHI: In what could be seen as a medical breakthrough, the clinical microbiology department of AIIMS on Friday claimed to have isolated the parasite of kala-azar from goat blood. The finding assumes significance because of the belief that humans act as reservoir for kala-azar, also known as black fever, and it is spread through sandflies. The disease is responsible for hundreds of death in states like UP and Bihar.It causes unremitting fever and darkening of the skin.
Dr Sarman Singh, professor and head, division of clinical microbiology and molecular medicine at AIIMS, told TOI that a team of researchers successfully isolated the kala-azar parasite from goat blood after decades of research. “More than 1,000 goats of Bihar and Jharkhand, where kala-azar is prevalent, were studied as part of this research. We collected their blood samples and put them through detailed testing. Two goat samples yielded live parasites,” Singh said.
He is of the view that after this research, the elimination programme for kala-azar will have to be relooked at, with special focus on animals. “We will need to screen animals infected with the disease, apart from treating people suffering from it,” the AIIMS professor said. In European countries and Brazil, he added, the kala-azar parasite has been found in dogs.
Approximately 5 lakh cases are reported worldwide, of which more than 23,000 cases are in India. It is mostly found in the Northeast, along the river Ganga, mainly in the state of West Bengal, Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Sporadic cases have also been reported from Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Uttarakhand.
“In 1990s, it used to claim several thousands of lives each year. The numbers have reduced significantly but we are far from eliminating the disease,” said a doctor.
According to the World Health Organization, poverty increases the risk for kala-azar. “Poor housing and domestic sanitary conditions, such as a lack of waste management or open sewerage, may increase sandfly breeding and resting sites, as well as their access to humans. Sandflies are attracted to crowded housing as these provide a good source of blood-meals,” WHO says.