Kala Azar: A Real Disease, Forgotten
There still remain diseases, deadly ones, that are mostly forgetton or neglected by people living in even moderately industrialized parts of the world. Kala Azar is one that first came to people’s attention as way back as 1824 and yet still kills thousands of the “poorest of the poor” annually. Affecting mostly impovrished areas of Africa and the Indian sub-continent, Kala Azar (Black Fever in Hindi) is barely known in even moderately industrialized parts of the world. According to Wikipedia, disease clusters often form around drought- and famine-ravage areas, and where wars and resource-strife have caused increased population density and reduced quality of life.
Doctors Without Borders gives these people healthcare where no one else can provide it. Following is short clip from Doctors Without Borders explaining the issue.
Every year, kala azar kills more than 50,000 thousand people worldwide. A neglected disease, the treatment for it was developed in the 1930s and requires a long, painful course of intra-muscular injections. The treatment is also prohibitively expensive for many of those who have the disease. In Kacheliba, West Pokot District, Kenya, MSF provides free treatment for kala azar.
