Leishmaniasis News and Research

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Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of infected sand flies. It is found in nearly 88 countries, from rain forests in Central and South America to deserts in the Middle East and west Asia. Some cases of the disease have also appeared in Mexico and Texas.

Leishmaniasis takes several different forms, including the most common cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores, and the more severe visceral leishmaniasis, which affects internal organs such as the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 1.5 million new cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and 500,000 new cases of visceral leishmaniasis in the world each year.

Pomegranate phytobiotics offer natural alternative to synthetic veterinary drugs

Researchers have identified a broad range of biological properties in pomegranate with potential for use in medical applications, including antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, liver-supporting, and wound-healing effects.

27 Aug 2026

Study explores membrane repair mechanisms in leishmaniasis parasites

Texas Tech University faculty Peter Keyel and Kai Zhang are teaming up to build foundational knowledge concerning leishmaniasis, a common, but neglected protozoan parasitic disease.

20 Jul 2026

Amazon land use patterns reveal where vector-borne diseases collide

Researchers found that malaria-Chagas and dengue-ATL hotspots in the Brazilian Amazon aligned with distinct agrarian, socioeconomic, and environmental landscapes. The findings suggest that disease surveillance should account for land use, poverty, forest structure, mining, and local livelihoods rather than treating each infection in isolation.

22 Jun 2026

Acoziborole receives positive opinion for single-dose sleeping sickness treatment

The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has granted a positive opinion to Acoziborole Winthrop (acoziborole) as a single-dose oral treatment for both early- and advanced-stage gambiense sleeping sickness in adults as well as in adolescents 12 years and older weighing at least 40 kilograms.

27 Feb 2026

Researchers discover critical vulnerability shared by pathogens causing tropical diseases

Researchers working with Professor Ralf Erdmann at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have discovered a critical vulnerability shared by the pathogens that cause African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.

27 Feb 2026

WHO launches guide to address mental health and stigma for people living with NTDs

Marking World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that millions of people living with NTDs continue to face profound and often unseen suffering due to discrimination, social stigma and untreated mental health conditions.

30 Jan 2026

UNC Greensboro professor receives $3.7 million to advance research on controlling sand flies

Professor Gideon Wasserberg at UNC Greensboro has been awarded a prestigious $3.7 million National Institutes of Health R01 grant to advance his research on controlling sand flies, the vectors of the parasitic disease leishmaniasis.

18 Nov 2025

Study offers an innovative way to track the spread of leishmaniasis

A new study offers an innovative way to track the spread of leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease affecting both animals and humans.

11 Nov 2025

Groundbreaking discovery could transform leishmaniasis treatment

Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease prevalent across 90 countries, affects approximately 12 million people worldwide, with 350 million more at risk of infection.

24 Sep 2025

Plant compounds show promise against leishmaniasis through mitochondrial targeting

Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania parasites, affects millions globally. Current synthetic treatments face limitations including toxicity, cost, and resistance.

28 Jul 2025

New genetic database sheds light on Brazil’s ancestry and disease risks

Since the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, the world's scientific community has been racing to decipher this "book" written in an alphabet of four letters.

15 May 2025

Researchers target weakness in pathogens causing tropical diseases

Researchers are zeroing in on the Achilles’ heel of pathogens that cause Chagas disease, sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis.

8 May 2025

Exploring the role of immune checkpoints IDO1 and PDL1 in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL)

Explore how immune checkpoints IDO1 and PDL1 influence the immune response in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL).

From TissueGnostics 24 Apr 2025

Predicting treatment failure in cutaneous leishmaniasis with precision medicine

Nearly one million people worldwide are plagued annually by cutaneous leishmaniasis, a devastating skin infection caused by the Leishmania parasite.

7 Apr 2025

Nanotechnology offers new hope for treating Neglected Tropical Diseases

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) remain a significant health burden in tropical and subtropical regions, with limited treatment options and diagnostic capabilities.

19 Feb 2025

Brazilian tree compound offers hope for visceral leishmaniasis treatment

A compound derived from Nectandra leucantha, a tree native to southern Brazil (local names canela-seca or canela-branca), has the potential to be used to treat visceral leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease associated with poverty, malnutrition, poor housing and lack of basic sanitation.

7 Jan 2025

Solving a decades-long puzzle in leishmaniasis drug development

A breakthrough in understanding how a single-cell parasite makes ergosterol (its version of cholesterol) could lead to more effective drugs for human leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease that afflicts about 1 million people and kills about 30,000 people around the world every year.

20 Dec 2024

Leishmaniasis News and Research

Further Reading

Pomegranate phytobiotics offer natural alternative to synthetic veterinary drugs

Study explores membrane repair mechanisms in leishmaniasis parasites

Amazon land use patterns reveal where vector-borne diseases collide

Acoziborole receives positive opinion for single-dose sleeping sickness treatment

Researchers discover critical vulnerability shared by pathogens causing tropical diseases

WHO launches guide to address mental health and stigma for people living with NTDs

UNC Greensboro professor receives $3.7 million to advance research on controlling sand flies

Study offers an innovative way to track the spread of leishmaniasis

Groundbreaking discovery could transform leishmaniasis treatment

Plant compounds show promise against leishmaniasis through mitochondrial targeting

New genetic database sheds light on Brazil’s ancestry and disease risks

Researchers target weakness in pathogens causing tropical diseases

Exploring the role of immune checkpoints IDO1 and PDL1 in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL)

Predicting treatment failure in cutaneous leishmaniasis with precision medicine

Nanotechnology offers new hope for treating Neglected Tropical Diseases

Brazilian tree compound offers hope for visceral leishmaniasis treatment

Solving a decades-long puzzle in leishmaniasis drug development

Study reveals time-of-day impact on cerebral malaria severity

ANU researchers develop cholesterol-based trojan horse method to target malaria parasites

Pioneering study brings leishmaniasis vaccine development closer

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