Abstract
The Americas have an elevated number of leishmaniasis cases (accounting for two-thirds of the worldwide disease burden) and circulating Leishmania species, and are therefore of interest in terms of epidemiological surveillance. Here, we present a systematic review of Leishmania parasite species circulating in the countries of the American continent, together with complementary information on epidemiology and geospatial distribution. A database was built from data published between 1980 and 2018 on Leishmania species identified in most of the American countries. A total of 1499 georeferenced points were extracted from published articles and subsequently located to 14 countries in the Americas. This database could be used as a reference when surveilling the occurrence of Leishmania species in the continent.
Highlights
Background & SummaryFlagellated parasites of the genus Leishmania cause Leishmaniasis, a group of parasitic diseases that are transmitted to humans and other vertebrates through the bite of dipteran sandflies[1,2]
In the Americas, the disease is present in 19 countries, with Brazil being the most affected country accounting for 96% of all reports[4]
Transmission of the disease is considered stable in countries such as Colombia and Venezuela; whereas, countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay have a transmission pattern that shows expansion with new territories affected by the disease[3,4]
Summary
Flagellated parasites of the genus Leishmania cause Leishmaniasis, a group of parasitic diseases that are transmitted to humans and other vertebrates through the bite of dipteran sandflies[1,2]. This group of diseases is a global public health problem and is one of the most neglected tropical diseases, with a presence in 98 countries of the world, over 1.3 million new cases every year, and an estimated 350 million people at risk of infection[3]. 75% of the CL cases occur in countries of the Americas highlighting the epidemiological relevance of the continent[6]
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