Leishmaniasis Treatment: A Dangerous and Neglected Parasitic Disease

History and Geographic Distribution of Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. The disease has been known since ancient times and is endemic in 98 countries across the world. The disease is prevalent predominantly in tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world. Key regions include parts of South America, East Africa, the Mediterranean, and South and Central Asia. Historical records and archaeological evidence indicates leishmaniasis have existed for thousands of years in regions where it remains endemic today.

Transmission and Life Cycle of Leishmania Parasites

Leishmania parasites have a life cycle that involves both a mammalian host and a sand fly vector. In the mammalian host, which includes humans, the parasites exist inside macrophages as amastigotes. Female sand flies become infected when feeding on infected mammalian blood. Inside the sand fly gut, the amastigotes transform into procyclic promastigotes. These promastigotes then multiply and differentiate into infective metacyclic promastigotes. When the infected sand fly takes a subsequent blood meal, the metacyclic promastigotes are inoculated into the mammalian host along with the sand fly saliva. Here they are phagocytosed by macrophages where they survive and multiply as amastigotes.

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