Q. What is the etiological agent of visceral leishmaniasis? How the disease transmitted and what is are its typical manifestations?
The Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani.
The transmission is comparable to the cutaneous leishmaniasis, by the bite of sand flies. The affected organs in general are the liver, the spleen and the bone marrow. The patient often has weight loss, fever, splenomegaly (hypertrophy of the spleen), anemia and decreased counts of leukocytes and platelets. The disease may perhaps cause death.