As part of the control measures by the Health Department in the wake of detecting kala-azar or black fever in Chempanaruvi village of Piravanthur panchayat of Kollam district, a team from the veterinary department arrived at the village on Thursday to collect blood samples from domestic animals such as cats and dogs.
Such animals are reservoirs for the parasite that spreads the disease. The village has a large concentration of these animals. The vector is the sandfly. R. Sandhya, Deputy DMO (Kollam), said the blood samples of 16 dogs were randomly collected and sent to the veterinary laboratory at Palode.