Kenya is confronting a sharp rise in kala-azar cases, with new data indicating the disease is spreading into previously unaffected regions, a development researchers link to changing climate patterns and severe gaps in healthcare infrastructure.
Visceral leishmaniasis, commonly known as kala-azar, is a fatal vector-borne disease transmitted by sandflies. Without treatment, the fatality rate exceeds 95%. National health records show reported cases more than doubled from 1,575 in 2024 to 3,577 in 2025. The parasitic infection is now establishing in new areas, placing millions at risk across the East African nation.
The geographic expansion is directly connected to environmental shifts, according to Dr. Cherinet Adera, a disease researcher. “Climate change is expanding the range of sandflies,” she stated. The pattern of prolonged drought followed by seasonal rains creates optimal breeding conditions for the insect vector, facilitating the disease’s advance into arid and semi-arid counties.
The surge exposes critical systemic failures in diagnosis and care. A poignant case is that of 60-year-old Harada Hussein Abdirahman from Mandera County, who endured a year of misdiagnosis while herding livestock. “I thought I was dying,” she recounted to AFP. Her experience reflects a widespread problem; Kenya has only three designated kala-azar treatment centers, leaving vast regions without specialist access. Health officials confirm that diagnostic errors in resource-limited settings frequently result in delayed or incorrect treatment, with fatal consequences.
Access to confirmed therapy presents another monumental barrier. The standard regimen requires 30 consecutive days of daily injections or infusions, coupled with blood transfusions in severe cases. The total cost of medication and supportive care is approximately $775 (U.S. dollars). This sum is prohibitively high for communities in affected zones, where many live on less than $2 per day.
The convergence of an expanding vector zone, a scarcity of diagnostic facilities, and an unaffordable treatment protocol creates a profound public health emergency. While kala-azar is treatable and curable with proper medical intervention, the current reality in Kenya means that for thousands, a diagnosis may equate to a death sentence. National and international health agencies are under increasing pressure to scale up vector control, decentralize diagnostic capabilities, and subsidize treatment to contain the outbreak and prevent further loss of life.
