In the dusty, sun-scorched expanses of Northern Kenya, a silent killer is on the prowl. Health experts have sounded a code-red alarm as cases of Kala-azar, a neglected but deadly tropical disease, have more than doubled in a year, catching authorities flat-footed.

This is not just a statistical spike; it is a humanitarian catastrophe in the making. Data obtained from the Ministry of Health reveals a terrifying trajectory: confirmed cases have rocketed from 1,575 in 2024 to a staggering 3,577 in 2025. The parasitic scourge, transmitted by the bite of the humble sandfly, has now breached its traditional containment lines, spreading to 12 counties and covering nearly 60 percent of Kenya’s landmass.

The Misdiagnosis Trap

The human cost of this surge is visceral and heartbreaking. Take the case of Harada Hussein Abdirahman, a 60-year-old grandmother from Mandera. For nearly a year, she wasted away, her body wracked by fever and a swelling spleen, while local pharmacists treated her for malaria and typhoid. By the time she was correctly diagnosed with visceral leishmaniasis—the medical term for Kala-azar—she was at death's door.

"I thought I was dying," Abdirahman told reporters, her voice frail. "It is worse than all the diseases they thought I had." Her story is a damning indictment of a healthcare system in the arid north that is ill-equipped to detect, let alone treat, this "poor man's disease." With a fatality rate of 95 percent if left untreated, Kala-azar is a death sentence for the misdiagnosed.

• Climate Accelerant: Experts point to a "perfect storm" of climate change. Prolonged droughts followed by erratic rains have created ideal breeding grounds for sandflies in cracks of dried mud and termite mounds, expanding their range into previously safe zones.
• The Cost of Survival: Treatment is brutal and exorbitantly expensive. A full 30-day course of injections and hospital care costs approximately KES 100,000 ($775)—a fortune for pastoralists who have already lost their herds to drought.

A Race Against Time

Dr. Cherinet Adera, a researcher with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, warns that the window to contain the outbreak is closing. "Climate change is expanding the range of sandflies and increasing the risk of outbreaks in new areas," he cautioned. The disease attacks the immune system, leaving victims vulnerable to other infections, creating a vicious cycle of mortality.

As the sandflies multiply, the response remains sluggish. With only a handful of treatment centers capable of managing the complex therapy required, thousands of Kenyans in Wajir, Marsabit, and Turkana remain in the crosshairs. The surge is a grim reminder that in the shadow of headline-grabbing epidemics, neglected diseases continue to cull the most vulnerable with ruthless efficiency.