Kala-Azar
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Kala-azar is a tropical disease affecting both children and adults, characterized by prolonged fever, enlarged liver and spleen, grayish skin discoloration, leukopenia, anemia, and cachexia in later stages. The causative agent is Leishmania Donovani, a flagellate protozoan parasite.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
KALA-AZAR - A3AP (kala-azar), black fever, dum-dum fever, visceral or internal leishmaniasis, a disease of hot countries, affecting both childhood (anaemia splenica infantum) and adult populations. It is characterized by prolonged, sharply expressed fever of remittent and intermittent types with two maxima per day, significant enlargement of the liver in most cases, and always strong enlargement of the spleen and a characteristic grayish-waxy tint of the skin. Additionally, typical persistent leukopenia is observed with a decrease in the total number of leukocytes sometimes to 1,000, anemia, and in late stages of the disease - cachexia. Duration of the disease - from several months to a year or more. The causative agent is Leishmania Donovani (Laveran et Mesnil; 1903) from the class Flagellata, family Trypanosomidae. (For more details - see Leishmaniasis.)
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“Kala-Azar.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/kala-azar/