Researchers have stumbled upon tantalizing evidence of an unknown virus that may be responsible for the persistence of kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis, a parasite infection that has spawned epidemics and sickened thousands of Indians for over a century.
Scientists have found that parasite called Leptomonas seymourihosting virus called Lepsey NLV1 may be also responsible for spread of kala-azar ((visceral leishmaniasis). Earlier it was believed that parasite Leishmania donovani (sandfly) alone is responsible for spread of dreaded infection.