What is Leishmaniasis?

What is Leishmaniasis?

• Leishmaniasis: A rare infectious disease caused by any of a number of parasitic Leishmania species. Infection can cause any of three different manifestations: cutaneous leishmaniasis, mucosal leishmaniasis and visceral leishmaniasis.
• Leishmaniasis: A chronic disease caused by LEISHMANIA DONOVANI and transmitted by the bite of several sandflies of the genera Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia. It is commonly characterized by fever, chills, vomiting, anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, leukopenia, hypergammaglobulinemia, emaciation, and an earth-gray color of the skin. The disease is classified into three main types according to geographic distribution: Indian, Mediterranean (or infantile), and African.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Leishmaniasis: sores resulting from a tropical infection by protozoa of the genus Leishmania which are spread by sandflies.
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Leishmaniasis is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Leishmaniasis, or a subtype of Leishmaniasis, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Leishmaniasis as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Name and Aliases of Leishmaniasis

Main name of condition: Leishmaniasis

Leishmania, Leish, Kala-azar, Visceral leishmaniasis (subtype), Cutaneous leishmaniasis (subtype)

Visceral leishmaniasis, Burdwan fever, Dum Dum fever Source - Diseases Database

Leishmaniasis, Leishmaniosis, Visceral leishmaniasis, Assam fever, Dumdum fever, Leishmaniosis, Kala azar
Source - WordNet 2.1

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (subtype), Kala-azar, Visceral leishmaniasis (subtype), Visceral leishmaniasis (subtype), Cutaneous leishmaniasis (subtype)
Source - Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Types of Leishmaniasis:

Subtypes of Leishmaniasis: Cutaneous leishmaniasis, Visceral leishmaniasis, Mucosal leishmaniasis
Parent types of Leishmaniasis: Parasitic Conditions

Who gets Leishmaniasis?

Profile for Leishmaniasis: It is possible but very unlikely that you would get leishmaniasis in the United States. (Source: excerpt from Leishmania Infection: DPD)

How serious is Leishmaniasis?

Complications of Leishmaniasis: see complications of Leishmaniasis

What causes Leishmaniasis?

Causes of Leishmaniasis: see causes of Leishmaniasis
Risk factors for Leishmaniasis: see risk factors for Leishmaniasis

What are the symptoms of Leishmaniasis?

Incubation period for Leishmaniasis: People with cutaneous leishmaniasis usually develop skin sores within a few weeks (sometimes as long as months) of when they were bitten.
(Source: excerpt from Leishmania Infection: DPD)

Can anyone else get Leishmaniasis?

More information: see contagiousness of Leishmaniasis

How is it treated?

Treatments for Leishmaniasis: see treatments for Leishmaniasis
Prevention of Leishmaniasis: see prevention of Leishmaniasis
Research for Leishmaniasis: see research for Leishmaniasis

Society issues for Leishmaniasis

Hospitalization statistics for Leishmaniasis: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Leishmaniasis:

• 0.0005% (59) of hospital consultant episodes were for leishmaniasis in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 95% of hospital consultant episodes for leishmaniasis required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 80% of hospital consultant episodes for leishmaniasis were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 20% of hospital consultant episodes for leishmaniasis were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 59% of hospital consultant episodes for leishmaniasis required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 19.6 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for leishmaniasis in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 20 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for leishmaniasis in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 32 was the mean age of patients hospitalised for leishmaniasis in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 81% of hospital consultant episodes for leishmaniasis occurred in 15-59 year olds in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 0% of hospital consultant episodes for leishmaniasis occurred in people over 75 in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 15% of hospital consultant episodes for leishmaniasis were single day episodes in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 0.0016% (853) of hospital bed days were for leishmaniasis in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)