Leishmania

Leishmania is a genus of trypanosomes that are responsible for the disease leishmaniasis. They are spread primarily by sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World, and of the genus Lutzomyia in the New World. Their primary hosts are vertebrates; Leishmania commonly infects hyraxes, canids, rodents, and humans.

Classification

Leishmania is a genus of trypanosomes, in the family Trypanosomatidae. The genus was named in 1903 after the Scottish pathologist William Boog Leishman. It is related to the genus Trypanosoma and has a similar life cycle, including an invertebrate vector, usually a sandfly, for transmission.

Life cycle

Leishmania parasites have two forms: an amastigote form that is adapted to survival within host cells, and a promastigote form that is adapted to survival within the alimentary tract of the sandfly vector. The life cycle of Leishmania is completed in two hosts: a sandfly and a vertebrate. The sandfly ingests the parasite when it feeds on the blood of an infected vertebrate. In the sandfly's gut, the parasites differentiate into promastigotes, which multiply and migrate to the proboscis.

Disease

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania. It affects humans and other vertebrates. There are three main forms of the disease: cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral (also known as kala-azar). Cutaneous leishmaniasis causes skin sores, mucocutaneous leishmaniasis causes skin and mucosal ulcers, and visceral leishmaniasis affects internal organs, usually the spleen, liver, and bone marrow.

Treatment

Treatment of leishmaniasis may involve medications such as pentavalent antimonials, liposomal amphotericin B, miltefosine, paromomycin and azoles. The choice of medication may depend on the species of Leishmania, the type of leishmaniasis, and the geographic location of the patient.

See also

• Leishmaniasis
• Trypanosoma
• Sandfly

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  Leishmania amastigotes in a macrophage
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  Leishmaniasis life cycle diagram
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  Leishmania tropica