Jornal de Pesquisa em Dermatologia Clínica e Experimental
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Epidemiological, Biological and Clinical Aspects of Leishmaniasis with Special Emphasis on Busi Yasi in Suriname

Dennis RA Mans, Alida D Kent, Ricardo VPF Hu and Henk DFH Schallig

The parasitic disease leishmaniasis is caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania which are transmitted by sand fly vectors of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World and Lutzomyia in the New World. Transmission can either be anthroponotic (human to human) or zoonotic through mammalian reservoirs such as dogs and rodents. Leishmaniasis has three principal clinical manifestations, namely cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL), and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The cutaneous form characteristically causes skin ulcers, the mucocutaneous form manifests as lesions of skin, mouth, and nose, and the (potentially lethal) visceral form affects the internal organs such as spleen and liver and also invades the bone marrow. Leishmaniasis is endemic in about ninety-eight countries and the diverse types of the disease occur in different regions of the world. CL is most common in Afghanistan, Algeria, Pakistan, Iran, Brazil, and Colombia; MCL is mainly restricted to countries of the Amazon Basin; and VL is most frequently seen in the Indian sub-continent, the Horn of Africa (Sudan and Ethiopia), and Brazil. The current global prevalence is estimated at about 12 million, and each year, the disease in one of its forms makes about 2 million new victims and claims up to 50,000 fatalities. This paper presents epidemiological, biological, and clinical aspects of leishmaniasis throughout the world; then focuses on the disease in the Republic of Suriname (South America); addresses in more detail the species of Leishmania parasites in that country; and concludes with potential future directions to improve our understanding of leishmaniasis in Suriname.