Leishmaniasis definition, causes, symptoms and treatment Leishmaniasis - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Definition
Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by obligate intracellular protozoa belonging to the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by the bite of certain species of sandflies. There are about 21 of the 30 species that infect humans. There are many types of leishmaniasis but the two most common types of leishmaniasis are cutaneous leishmaniasis, which produces skin lesions and visceral leishmaniasis, which affects some internal parts of the body such as the spleen, liver and marrow.This bone disease is also called the sandfly disease, leichmaniosis, kala azar, black fever, fever or espundia dum dum.
Leishmaniasis is widely recognized for its cutaneous kind which produces non-fatal, disfiguring injuries. Leishmania infection can produce skin disease known as cutaneous leishmaniasis. It can affect the mucous membranes with a range of many of the event, most are the cause of ulcers. It can produce sores on the skin that appear like those of other diseases such as Hansen's disease, cutaneous tuberculosis, syphilis, skin cancer and fungal infections.
Causes
Leishmania are tiny protozoa. Their parasitic life cycle contains the blood-sucking female sand flies and tell the host right. Humans are a host such. Leishmania infection can produce ulcers, skin diseases and also cause systemic diseases.
When injected into the body through the bite of a sandfly, the parasite migrates to the bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes, where they transform into amastigotes. Amastigotes develop in infected cells and affect different tissues, damage the immune system by reducing the number of cells fight against the disease.
There are four main types of leishmaniasis:
- Mucocutaneous, leishmaniasis - which begins with skin ulcers and its motion produces tissue damage in the mouth and nose.
- Visceral-leishmaniasis - the type most complex and potentially critical
if not cured.
- Cutaneous-leishmaniasis - the most general form that produced a number of sores on the skin.
- Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis - this kind causes widespread skin lesions resembling the Hansen's disease and it is particularly difficult to heal.
Symptoms These symptoms occur after exposure to the bites of sandflies the skin may become thin grayish brown, ashy, dry and flaky. The parasites weaken the immune system by reducing the number of white blood cells so death generally results from complications, rather than the disease itself. Death usually occurs within 2 years.
The common symptoms of leishmaniasis are the following:
- Exposure to the bite of sandflies
- Irregular fever up long term.
- sleep hyperhidrosis
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Loss of appetite
- Weight Loss
- abdominal discomfort
- Vomiting
- Cough
- flaky
- loose stools
- Thinning hair
Symptoms of cutaneous leishmaniasis are:
- Skin.
- skin ulcer.
- injuries satellite.
Symptoms on mucous membranes are the following: 
