What is Leishmaniasis?

The disease occurs mainly in Latin America and in all Mediterranean countries ( tropics, subtropics) like Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Unfortunately, this parasite has also been identified in Southern Germany and in Southern Belgium.

 

Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with Leishmaniaparasites, which are spread by the bite of infected sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis in people. The most common forms arecutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores, and visceral leishmaniasis, which affects several internal organs (usually spleen, liver, and bone marrow).