Cases of Kala-azar and malaria, the vector-borne diseases generally found in Tarai districts, have been reported in Darchula, a hill district in Province 7.

According to the District Public Health Office (DPHO), four persons have been diagnosed with Kala-azar in the district over the past 10 months. Officer at the DPHO Narendra Raj Joshi said all four Kala-azar infected patients were from Bangabagad area in Mahakali Municipality-5. Three patients have been receiving treatment while one died of the disease, he added. The patients have been receiving treatment in a hospital in Dhangadhi, the temporary provincial capital of Province 7, as the treatment was not possible in the district.

“The four persons were diagnosed with the disease at different times. The second case was detected five months after the first case,” said Joshi. Kala-azar, also known Visceral Leishmaniasis or black fever, is the largest parasitic killer in the world. According to the WHO, the disease claims around 20,000 people in the world every year. The Leishmania parasite is transmitted through the bites of infected female phlebotomine sand flies. Weight loss, weakness, cough and a fever that lasts for weeks or months are the common symptoms of Kala-azar.

A 10-member medical team from the Far-west Regional Health Directorate arrived in the district for the study of Kala-azar. The team started its work on Thursday.

Vector Control Inspector of the team Dipak Achhami said the medical team could not find any parasites that could transmit Kala-azar in Bangabagad area. “The patients perhaps came to the district after they were infected somewhere outside the district,” said Achhami. But malaria parasites were recovered in the area, he added.