Review Article: Brief Insights on Leishmaniasis

Abstract

In this review article, leishmaniasis is discussed briefly as a parasitic disease caused by different species of Leishmania genus that remains a serious global public health problem in many countries in Africa, Americas, and Asia. The disease is transmitted by sandflies and the endemic areas are mainly concentrated in the tropics where the arthropod vectors occur. As the Earth's climate continues to change, the number of sand flies is expected to increase, putting more people at risk of contracting the virus. Leishmaniasis can cause three types of leishmaniasis are cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), mucosal leishmaniasis (MCL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The outcome of the infection depends on the Leishmania parasite species and the host immune response. Regarding treatment, few treatment options are available in areas where epidemics are severe. In addition, all first- and second-line drugs currently used to treat leishmaniasis have toxicity, cost, and/or administration problems. Therefore, the potential emergence of widespread drug resistance indicates an urgent need to develop new and effective treatments for leishmaniasis. In conclusion, leishmaniasis epidemics has shown incidence in many areas in last decade, and new epidemics can happen at any time in conflict areas and neighboring regions where the disease was previously endemic.