Kala Azar is a vector borne disease and is also known by the names like Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), black fever and Dumdum fever.

• Its infection is spread by Sand Fly which is prominently found in humid climate of tropics.
• India set target date of December 2017 for the elimination of Kala Azar which it missed.
• The reasons are failure to eliminate its vector. The Sand Fly dwells in wood and the endemic blocks in infected are made up of wood.

So to eliminate the disease the vector has to be eliminated and for that pucca houses have to be built first. It is second largest parasite killer in the world after Malaria. It is endemic to Indian sub-continent and is prevalent in 119 districts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. India alone accounts for half of the global burden of Kala Azar.