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The forgotten disease Leishmaniasis is an old but largely unknown disease. It has a long history. Indeed, it has been present in the Americas and in Africa for several centuries. In countries where insecticide spraying was widely used to control malaria in the 1950s, such as Bangladesh and Nepal, kala-azar virtually disappeared. In the 1970s, after the insecticide campaigns ceased, the disease made a significant comeback. One of the largest kala-azar epidemics ever documented occurred in 1978 in India (North Bihar) where over half a million people died. Today, this disease affects 12 million people in 88 countries. The majority of cases are in developing countries, especially in the poorest and most remote communities, among populations that are neglected by their governments and by the outside world. Unacknowledged and uncontrolled, this treatable disease continues to claim lives in remote areas. The parasite is transmitted by a sand fly living in tropical and temperate regions. The disease affects animals such as rodents and dogs, as well as humans. In humans the disease exists in different forms depending on the type of parasite and the immunity of the infected person. Thus it may present as simple skin ulcers, or in a progressive form that may permanently disfigure those infected, or as visceral leishmaniasis which invades the whole body. Some facts about leishmaniasis: - Around 2 million people become ill with leishmaniasis every year. Only 30 per cent of this number are officially reported.
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