Battling the Black Scourge

Happiness delivery: A victim of kala azar black fever) in her pre-teens, Pinki has taken it upon herself to create awareness about the dreaded disease in her home district, Deoria, in UP

- PRASHANT SRIVASTAVA

It's a cold morning at the government school in Deoria district's Banghata block, and a group of 30 students are listening to a girl not much older than themselves. She is 19-year-old Pinki Chauhan, who runs Pinki ki Pathshala, as part of an awareness programme on kala azar or black fever, a vector-borne disease caused by the protozoan parasite, Leishmania donovani, which can be fatal if not treated. A victim of kala azar herself, Pinki has now become a household name across Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district for the informal classes she takes in government schools to raise awareness about the disease in the region. She not only gives details about the disease, but also engages students through a series of games so that she can effectively drive home her mission and message-"Hansna bhi, jagrook karna bhi (Smile but also be on your guard)".

Pinki caught the black fever in 2015 when she was just 12. She recovered, but a year later again fell victim to kala azar's sequential infectionpost-kala azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL)-in which the parasite invades the skin.