Leishmania infection

Mexico, Central America, and South America — from northern Argentina to southern Texas (not in Uruguay, Chile, or Canada)
Southern Europe (leishmaniasis is not common in travelers to southern Europe)
Asia (not Southeast Asia)
The Middle East
Africa (particularly East and North Africa, with some cases elsewhere)

More than 90% of the world’s visceral leishmaniasis is in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, and Brazil.

Leishmaniasis is NOT found in Australia or Oceania (that is, islands in the Pacific, including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia). It is possible but very unlikely to get leishmaniasis in the USA. Very rarely, people living in rural southern Texas have developed skin sores from cutaneous leishmaniasis. No cases of visceral leishmaniasis are known to have been acquired in the USA.

Leishmaniasis is spread by the bite of some types of phlebotomine sand flies. Sand flies become infected by biting an infected animal (for example, a rodent or dog) or person. Since sand flies do not make noise when they fly, people may not realize they are present. Sand flies are very small and may be hard to see; they are only about one-third the size of typical mosquitos. Sand flies usually are most active in twilight, evening, and night-time hours (from dusk to dawn). Sand flies are less active during the hottest time of the day. However, they will bite if they are disturbed, such as when a person brushes up against the trunk of a tree where sand flies are resting. Rarely, leishmaniasis is spread from a pregnant woman to her baby. Leishmaniasis also can be spread by blood transfusions or contaminated needles.

People of all ages are at risk for leishmaniasis if they live or travel where leishmaniasis is found. Leishmaniasis usually is more common in rural than urban areas; but it is found in the outskirts of some cities. The risk for leishmaniasis is highest from dusk to dawn because this is when sand flies are the most active. All it takes to get infected is to be bitten by one infected sand fly. This is more likely to happen the more people are bitten, that is, the more time they spend outside in rural areas from dusk to dawn. Adventure travelers, Peace Corps volunteers, missionaries, ornithologists (people who study birds), other people who do research outdoors at night, and soldiers are examples of people who may have an increased risk for leishmaniasis (especially cutaneous leishmaniasis).

People with cutaneous leishmaniasis usually develop skin sores within a few weeks (sometimes as long as months) of when they were bitten. People with visceral leishmaniasis usually become sick within several months (rarely as long as years) of when they were bitten.

Leishmaniasis can be a serious disease if not treated. The skin sores of cutaneous leishmaniasis will heal on their own, but this can take months or even years. The sores can leave ugly scars. If not treated, infection that started in the skin rarely spreads to the nose or mouth and causes sores there (mucosal leishmaniasis). This can happen with some of the types of the parasite found in Central and South America. Mucosal leishmaniasis might not be noticed until years after the original skin sores healed. The best way to prevent mucosal leishmaniasis is to treat the cutaneous infection before it spreads.

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