Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Iran – 2019
Abstract
Leishmaniases are worldwide zoonotic infectious diseases caused by obligate protozoa of Leishmania genus which among them, approximately 20 species are pathogenic for humans (1, 2). Natural transmission to mammalian hosts is usually by the bite of female Phlebotomus or Lutzomya sandflies depending on geography (1). . There are three main clinical manifestations with different degrees of severity count on the species of parasite involved and elicited host immune response. These features including cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral (1, 3, 4). Currently, World Health Organization (WHO) lists leishmaniasis amongst the nine most important tropical and subtropical diseases which has been reported in all continents except Oceania (1, 3). This category of zooanthroponoses occurs in 98 countries or territories around the world with 12 million cases at risk and 20,000–40,000 deaths per year, pursuant to the WHO reports (5, 6).Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a vector borne disease predominantly found in tropical and subtropical countries. It is an important infectious disease in the Eastern Mediterranean countries, including Iran. Cutaneous Leishmaniases (CL) are neglected tropical diseases brought about by various types of intracellular protozoan species of the genus Leishmania. Iran is endemic for old world cutaneous Leishmaniases and CL is one of the differential diagnosis for chronic skin diseases (5, 6).
