Ranchi: Jharkhand has achieved a milestone in elimination of kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis), with all blocks in the four affected districts — Pakur, Godda, Sahibganj and Dumka — achieving the national target of less than one patient per 10,000 people.At least 33 blocks in the four districts have been historically affected by kala-azar. But now the number of affected blocks has come down to five, reporting only 0.7 cases per 10,000 people (7 patients per 1 lakh population), achieving the target well ahead of the 2027 deadline.Kala-azar is a parasitic disease that spreads through the bite of an infected sandfly. The disease is primarily reported in areas where there is a lack of sanitation, kutcha houses and damp conditions. If not treated in time, it can become severe and even prove fatal.“Jharkhand has achieved the kala-azar elimination target and is proceeding towards completely eradicating the disease from the state by 2030. To achieve the elimination target, intensive insecticide spraying through indoor residual spray (IRS) twice a year in the affected blocks of the districts has been very effective, preventing breeding and spread of sandfly, the vector responsible for causing kala-azar,” Birendra Kumar Singh, state programme-cum-nodal officer of vector-borne disease, told TOI.The department has been carrying out insecticide spraying in around 1,167 villages across 315 health sub-centres in a total of 33 kala-azar affected blocks of the four districts, to prevent the breeding and spread of sandflies.Singh said that a total of 32 kala-azar patients were detected in the state from Jan to March. The number of patients stood at 157 last year. He, however, said that poverty, malnutrition and compromised immunity due to less food intake and intoxication posed challenges in eradicating the disease.