Kala-azar, a fatal infectious disease in many Indian states, particularly in Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh,
and Jharkhand, is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani and transmitted by the sandfly vector
Phlebotomus argentipes. The vector is distributed all over the country but the disease is confined to particular zones
since before the last century. In this study, parameters such as altitude, temperature, humidity, rainfall and the normalized
difference vegetation index (NDVI) were investigated for correlation with the distribution of the disease in the
northeastern corner of the Indian sub-continent. Data analysis on Kala-azar prevalence during the period 2005-2007
in the four states showed that the highest prevalence was below 150 m of altitude with very few cases located above
the 300 m level. Low NDVI value ranges (0.03-0.015) correlated with a high occurrence of the disease. The maximum
temperatures in the affected sites varied between an upper level of 25-29°C and a minimum of 16-20°C. The rainfall
in these areas fluctuated between 1154 and 1834 mm. As the disease showed a high correlation with the prevailing
topographic conditions, an attempt was made to improve the relative strength of the approach to predict the potential
for endemicity of leishmaniasis by introducing satellite imagery complemented with a geographical information system
database.