Global View
Global View
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| Impact 500,000 cases of VL; 1.5 million cases of CL Approx. 50-60,000 deaths due to VL 2,357,000 DALYs A lack of surveillance systems and frequency of misdiagnosis means that it is difficult to estimate the true incidence and case-fatality rate of VL. | Geography Leishmaniasis occurs in 98 countries with 350 million people living at risk. VL affects poor populations living in remote areas of 70 countries across Asia, East Africa, South America, and the Mediterranean region (see map). The 7 most affected countries – Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, and Sudan – represent over 90% of new cases. CL has a wider geographic range, with the majority of cases occuring in Afghanistan, Algeria, Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Peru. | |
| Transmission Leishmaniasis is a diverse and complex disease: more than 20 species of the kinetoplastid protozoan parasite Leishmania can be transmitted to humans by some 30 species of phlebotomines sandflies. | Patient treatment needs for VL Patients with VL need a treatment which is oral, safe, effective, low cost, and of short course. | |
| Symptoms VL is characterised by prolonged fever, enlarged spleen and liver, substantial weight loss, and progressive anemia. These symptoms occur progressively over a period of weeks or even months. Coinfection with other infectious diseases is an increasing concern: HIV-VL coinfection has been reported in 35 countries worldwide. Almost all clinically symptomatic patients die within months if untreated. CL is characterized by lesions on the skin, which can either be self-healing or become chronic. CL is generally not life-threatening. | ||
Leishmaniasis
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