infections
Leishmaniasis
Introduction
Leishmaniasis is caused by 20 or more species of the protozoaLeishmania. Leishmaniasis includes several disorders that affect the skin, the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, or throat or internal organs including the liver, spleen, and bone marrow. Leishmaniaprotozoa (single-cell infectious organisms) are usually spread through the bite of infected sand flies. People may have mild or no symptoms or have skin sores (cutaneous leishmaniasis), or sores in the nose, mouth, or throat that can lead to severe disfigurement (mucosal leishmaniasis), or have fever, weight loss, fatigue, and enlargement of the spleen and liver (visceral leishmaniasis). Doctors diagnose the infection by analyzing samples of infected tissue or doing blood tests. Medications used to treat the infection depend on the clinical form of leishmaniasis, the status of the person's immune system, which species ofLeishmaniais causing the infection, and where the infection was acquired. Using insect repellents and bed nets and clothing treated with insecticides helps prevent sand fly bites. (See also Overview of Parasitic Infections .) Leishmaniasis occurs in scattered areas throughout the world. 