Visceral leishmaniasis
Human disease caused by protist parasites / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Kala-azar?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar (Hindi: kālā āzār, "black sickness")[2] or "black fever", is the most severe form of leishmaniasis and, without proper diagnosis and treatment, is associated with high fatality.[3] Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania.
Visceral leishmaniasis kālā āzār | |
---|---|
Other names | Black fever, and Dumdum fever[1] |
Amastigotes in a chorionic villus | |
Pronunciation |
|
Specialty | Infectious diseases |
The parasite migrates to the internal organs such as the liver, spleen (hence "visceral"), and bone marrow, and, if left untreated, will almost always result in the death of the host. Signs and symptoms include fever, weight loss, fatigue, anemia, and substantial swelling of the liver and spleen. Of particular concern, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is the emerging problem of HIV/VL co-infection.[4]
VL is the second-largest parasitic killer in the world (after malaria), responsible for an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 deaths each year worldwide.[5][6]
Upendranath Brahmachari synthesised urea stibamine (carbostibamide) in 1922 and determined that it was an effective substitute for the other antimony-containing compounds in the treatment of VL caused by Leishmania donovani.[7]