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Leishmaniasis

The leishmaniases are a group of diseases caused by the protozoa parasite Leishmania. Over 20 Leishmania species known to be infective to humans are transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies. There are three main types of leishmaniasis: i) visceral, often known as kala-azar and the most serious form of the disease (VL); ii) cutaneous, the most common (CL); and iii) mucocutaneous.

 

The disease mainly affects poor people in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and is associated with malnutrition, population displacement, poor housing, weak immune system and lack of resources. Out of 200 countries and territories reporting to WHO, 99 countries and territories are endemic for leishmaniasis in 2022. This includes 71 countries that are endemic for both VL and CL, 9 countries that are endemic for VL only and 19 countries that are endemic for CL only.

 

Since 2013, the WHO Global Leishmaniasis programme has been reporting separately the number of new autochthonous cases, to monitor the trends in incidence, and the number of imported cases.

 

As of November 2023, 48 VL-endemic countries (60%) and 50 CL-endemic countries (56%) reported data to the WHO Global Leishmaniasis programme for 2022. In 2022, about 85% of global VL cases were reported from seven countries: Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. In 2022, 8 countries reported more than 5000 CL cases: Afghanistan, Algeria, Brazil, Colombia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Peru and the Syrian Arab Republic, which together account for 85% of global reported CL incidence. In 2022, there were 337 imported cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and 69 imported cases of visceral leishmaniasis reported globally.

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