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Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a major public health problem in the eastern states in India, namely, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Bihar alone accounts for 90% of the total number of cases of kala-azar reported in India. The disease is predominantly found in poor and malnourished people (9). The development of a simple, noninvasive, cheap, and reliable diagnostic tool has been suggested as a prerequisite to controlling the disease (3, 4). Ideally, diagnosis of kala-azar is done by direct demonstration of the parasite in splenic or bone marrow aspirates under the microscope (1, 5). Detection of the parasite in splenic aspirate is sensitive, but splenic aspiration is invasive and painful and carries the risk of serious or fatal hemorrhage, whereas bone marrow aspiration is safer and relatively easy, but detection of the parasite in bone marrow aspirate is less sensitive (60 to 85%), and both …