Scientists at the
Indian Institute 01
Chemical Biology
OICB), Calcutt
are grappling wil ,
killer: Laishmania
Donovani. It is
protozoa that
derives its name
from
its discoverers,
Laishman an
Donovani who
discovered the
pathogen at the
turn of the centu !I
soon after Ronald
Ross isolated the
malaria parasite.
Just as the malan
parasite thrives
Donovani finds its
host in sand-fli
infesting the warn
of eastern India.
The sand-fly ij
especially rampant
in Bihar where it
breeds in dark,
damp cowsheds. A4
a result, recurrent
outbreaks of kalJ
azar have killed
thousands in Siha
since the return
decades back.
A carrier flea
releases
Donovanj into the
human blood
stream every time
it stings. And thi
pathogen swiftly
navigates its way
to the liver and
spleen, attackind
the organs'
tissues. This
causes a
nagging fever,
depletion of whit4
blood corpuscles,
swelling of the
belly, and then
death - if the dis4
ease is not
diagnosed in time.
The lIC8 has
created a pathoger!
bank with nearly 20
clinical isolates
of L Donovani
preserved in cryo4
genic (-700C)
conditions, to be
occasionally retrieved,
implanted into
laboratory animals,
and put back to
hibernation. The
protozoa'4
enzyme profile has
already been
charted and their
DNA mappinq
would commence
soon. Normally,
blood tests do not
reveal thqq
pathogen, as its
presence in the
blood stream is
negligible. Thi I
makes tissue
culture from the
liver
and spleen - the
nesting planes of
the protozoa -
necessary.
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