Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Burkina Faso: Epidemiological evolution of a vector-borne disease locally called “Ouaga 2000 disease”: a minireview

Abstract

In Burkina Faso, the first case of cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) dates from 1960 and a few cases were reported in the following years. The objective of this review was to collect and analyze available data on CLin Burkina Faso to improve case management and control of disease transmission. A review of the literature was carried out using the PubMed, Google Scholar and Hinari databases. Publications dealing with the epidemiological aspects of CL, the parasite species involved, vectors and potential reservoir hosts, as well as drugs used in the treatment of CLwere searched. From 1960 to 1961, Burkina Faso recorded 13 cases of CL. From 2000 to 2005, an average of more than 1500 CLcases were recorded in Ouagadougou. In 2016 authors reported the results of the investigation of a second epidemic focus in Larama, Bassins region. More recently, in 2021, an investigation was carried out in a focus in the Centre-Nord region, bringing the number of CL focus to three in Burkina Faso. Leishmania major is the main species identified. In the wild area in the Ouagadougou focus, rodents Mastomys, Cricetomys, etc. have been described as the potential reservoir hosts, while in the domestic area, the animal reservoir would be the dog. In the focus of Ouagadougou, Phlebotomus duboscqi has been suspected since the 1960s as the possible vector of CL. The diagnosis is essentially microscopic. The first-line treatment meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime) accounted for only 65.9% of prescriptions. According to studies, the relapse rate after the first treatment with pentavalent antimony is about 37%. Despite the neglected disease status given to CL, there is therefore a need to strengthen the fight against this parasitosis by improving access to diagnosis and treatment, vector control and investigations to discover possible new endemic foci.