Three cases of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) are presented. One of these was in a 43-year-old patient with AIDS who was infected in Southern Spain. Another was in a man aged 25 years infected in West Africa. These cases are the first two adults to be reported in Denmark. The third case was an 18 month old previously healthy boy, infected in Southern Spain. The symptomtology, diagnosis and treatment of the disease are discussed and it is stressed that serological diagnostic tests have limited value in HIV positive patients.