An Imported Case Of Kala-Azar In Korea

An imported case of Kala-azar in a 26-year-old Korean man is reported. The diagnosis was made by liver needle biopsy. Amastigotes were seen in Kupffer cells under light microscope, and their characteristic ultrastructural features were recognized under the electron microscope. This case represents an imported disease from Saudi Arabia where the patient spent one year as a construction worker, 8 months before the onset of the disease. This report also signifies the second description of Kala-azar in Korea, and the first case of Kala-azar imported from Saudi Arabia. This patient was successfully treated with sodium antimony gluconate (Pentostam(R)), and follow up liver biopsy showed focal fibrous scar and otherwise normal liver without demonstrable organism.