Sanskrit kala = black and Persian/Hindustani azar = fever
Kala-Azar, Assam fever, Dumdum fever are names given to the visceral manifestation of leishmaniasis. Kala-Azar refers to the darkening of the skin on the extremities and abdomen. Dumdum refers to the city Dumdum in Calcutta, India, where the first cases were registered by the Irish physician Charles Donovan.
