Leishmaniasis Internal

Leishmaniasis, or visceral leishmaniasis, is a vector-borne disease caused by protozoa from the class Kinetoplastida, which affects the internal organs: liver, spleen, bone marrow and peripheral lymphoid organs, as well as the central nervous system (CNS) and hematopoietic system. The virus primarily infects humans, who are the intermediate host of the parasite, while the final host is a predatory animal such as dogs and cats.

This type of leishmaniasis is common in tropical and subtropical countries of South and Central America, Asia, and East Africa, with the highest concentrations of the disease present in Peru, Chile, the Middle East and a number of African countries. However, thanks to the advances of modern medicine, today the disease has become widespread outside the trails, but is especially common in military zones. The virus is dangerous because it is carried by blood-sucking insects, for example taiga ticks, which are often found in the area where this disease is spread, and for infection it is enough to touch the saliva containing the pathogen and not treat the wound in time. Often this type of leishmaniasis is transmitted from person to person during certain medical procedures, such as organ transplants, and sometimes from mother during pregnancy to her child.