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Leishmaniasis

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Arthropod Borne Diseases

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Abstract

Leishmaniases are diseases caused by several species of Leishmania protozoa and occur in all continents, except Antarctica. Almost 20 species have been isolated from humans, and they may cause cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral forms of the disease. The severity of the infection depends on the protozoon species and strain, host immune response, nutritional status, and, to a lesser extent, sand fly species involved in the transmission. Depending on the parasite tropism, amastigotes invade macrophages in the skin, mucosa, and internal organs, mostly the spleen, liver, and bone marrow, causing their depletion. Clinical presentations may vary from localized skin lesions to generalized disease, with fever, weight loss, enlargement of the spleen and liver, anemia, leucopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Transmission primarily occurs by the bites of sand flies, the only proven biological vectors of Leishmania parasites. Secondary transmission routes have been demonstrated in both humans and dogs, including congenital transmission. The epidemiology of leishmaniases is complex, as it involves different vector, host, and parasite species, living in a constantly changing environment. Disease diagnosis and treatment are still complicated, particularly in developing countries. More effective control strategies are urgently needed to reduce the burden of leishmaniases in endemic areas. Meanwhile, education and better living conditions for people residing in risk areas are key to controlling this group of diseases.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Personal observation (CBM)

  2. 2.

    Special abbreviations (Marcondes 2007), similar to those for mosquitoes, were utilized for sand fly genera.

  3. 3.

    Lutzomyia lato sensu, as proposed by D. Lewis and revised by Young and Duncan, and not s.s. as utilized in this chapter

  4. 4.

    Phlebotomus mascitti, considered a poor vector, has been found in Austria.

  5. 5.

    This concept of the Middle East is as arbitrary as the more usual, proposed by the American naval officer and historian Alfred Thayer Mahan in 1902, which included lands from Arabia to India.

  6. 6.

    When applied in the general environment, imidacloprid is very toxic for bees and bumblebees, (Van der Sluijs et al. 2013), but since it has very high LD50 for mammals (2000 mg/kg for dermal exposition in rats and 450 and 131 mg/kg for ingestion, respectively, for rats and mice) (Hovda and Hooser 2002), the application on dogs would not probably be dangerous (CBM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina, 88040-900, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil

    Carlos Brisola Marcondes

  2. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy

    Domenico Otranto

  3. Department of Immunology, Aggeu Magalhães Research Center, 50740465, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Filipe Dantas-Torres

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  1. Carlos Brisola Marcondes
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  2. Domenico Otranto
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  3. Filipe Dantas-Torres
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Correspondence to Carlos Brisola Marcondes .

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  1. Department of Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Carlos Brisola Marcondes

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Marcondes, C.B., Otranto, D., Dantas-Torres, F. (2017). Leishmaniasis. In: Marcondes, C. (eds) Arthropod Borne Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13884-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13884-8_16

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