kala-azar

kala–azar

noun \ˌkäl-ə-ə-ˌzär, ˌkal-\

Definition of KALA-AZAR

: a severe parasitic disease chiefly of Asia marked by fever, progressive anemia, leukopenia, and enlargement of the spleen and liver and caused by a flagellate of the genus Leishmania (L. donovani) that is transmitted by the bite of sand flies and proliferates in reticuloendothelial cells—called also dumdum fever; see leishman-donovan body