Leishmaniasis: Treatment and Medication

Abstract

Leishmaniasis (kala-azar, Dum Dum Fever), is a disease caused by protozoan parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by the bite of a certain species of sand fly. Although the majority of the literature mentions only one genus, a new classification for the New World sand flies, elevating several subgenera to the genus level. Elsewhere in the world, the genus Phlebotomus (Sandfly) is considered the vector of leishmaniasis. Most forms of the disease are transmissible only from animals, but some can be spread between humans. Human infection is caused by about 21 to 30 species that infect mammals. The different species are morphologically indistinguishable, but they can be differentiated by isozyme analysis, DNA sequence analysis or monoclonal antibodies.