Conclusions

Abstract

Parasitic diseases are common worldwide. The term “tropical diseases” is a misnomer, because parasitoses are present in all parts of the world and are not only confined to tropical or subtropical areas. Zoonosis is another term that can be used to describe a disease of animals that may be transmitted to humans. Some of the parasitic diseases are prevalent in countries with endemic regions, and may not or only sporadically exist as isolated cases in other developed and developing non-endemic countries. Even in non-endemic regions the disease may be encountered in immigrants, but it can also be imported by civilian travelers and military individuals who have lived in or traveled to endemic areas. For example, during 1990–1991 and 2002–2004 the military operations “Desert shield/Desert storm” and “Operation Enduring Freedom” resulted in the deployment of US troops to the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq. After their return to the US, a number of soldiers developed viscerotropic or cutaneous leishmaniasis (McGill et al. 1993; Halsey et al. 2004; Elston and Miller 2004)