Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been fighting kala azar in Bihar since 2007
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently visited the MSF-run HIV–kala azar co-infection ward at the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) Hospital in Patna, Bihar.
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Kala azar is a neglected tropical disease that can be fatal if left untreated. Bihar accounts for 80 per cent of the kala azar cases found in India. After treating more than 13,000 kala azar patients from 2007-15 in Bihar’s Vaishali district, MSF has been focusing on the treatment of kala Azar–HIV co-infection in partnership with RMRIMS.
The Bihar CM spoke to patients at the MSF-run ward about their treatment. He was accompanied by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey, who spoke to MSF staff about kala azar treatment and expressed appreciation for their work.
Their visit was a part of the inauguration of the Samrat Tropical Disease Research Centre at RMRIMS. The CM also inaugurated an intensive care unit in the hospital. MSF has donated 5 beds along with necessary equipment for the ICU.
