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.

Geographical range of vector-borne diseases expands rapidly, shows research

New research presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Amsterdam, Netherlands shows that the geographical range of vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, and tick-borne encephalitis is expanding rapidly.

15 Apr 2019

New survey indicates need of attention to neglected tropical diseases

Although neglected diseases account for 11% of the global disease burden, they are targeted by only a small proportion of the new drugs developed every year.

22 Mar 2019

Shorter treatment for Chagas disease found to be effective and safer than standard treatment

A two-week treatment course for adult patients with chronic Chagas disease showed, when compared to placebo, similar efficacy and significantly fewer side effects than the standard treatment duration of eight weeks, according to the results of a clinical trial in Bolivia led by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative.

14 Mar 2019

Researchers unravel how the immune system responds to diffuse cutaneous leishmanisis

In diffuse cutaneous leishmanisis, a rare form of leishmaniasis, parasites grow uncontrolled in skin lesions across the body.

8 Mar 2019

Study finds how miR-132 acts as ‘handbrake’ on our immune system

Researchers have discovered how a tiny molecule known as miR-132 acts as a "handbrake" on our immune system - helping us fight infection.

5 Mar 2019

New 'electronic nose' is 95% accurate in identifying deadly disease

Fewer dogs in Brazil may be euthanized unnecessarily after researchers showed that a new test is 95% accurate in identifying the deadly disease Leishmaniasis.

1 Mar 2019

New research on viral biology could lead to efficient vaccines against leishmaniasis

New research from McGill University has found that a virus infecting the Leishmania parasite spreads by exploiting a mechanism used for cell-to-cell communication, a discovery that could pave the way to new vaccines against infections that cause severe disfiguration.

8 Feb 2019

New drug for sleeping sickness approved in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Marketing authorization of fexinidazole for the treatment of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), more commonly known as sleeping sickness, has been granted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

31 Jan 2019

Combination therapy shows high efficacy in treating people with leishmaniasis and HIV

The results of clinical trials conducted in Ethiopia by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières, the University of Gondar, and Addis Ababa University, open the way for more effective and safer treatments for people with both HIV and visceral leishmaniasis, a group of patients who have historically suffered from poor treatment options.

18 Jan 2019

Natural flavonoid is effective at treating leishmanisis infections, study shows

Current treatment options for the parasitic disease leishmaniasis are largely ineffective, expensive, and tend to be plagued by resistant parasites and side effects. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have showed that a natural flavonoid is effective at treating Leishmania amazonensis infections.

11 Dec 2018

Blood-suckers carrying malaria parasites can be traced back up to 100 million years

The microorganisms that cause malaria, leishmaniasis and a variety of other illnesses today can be traced back at least to the time of dinosaurs, a study of amber-preserved blood-sucking insects and ticks show.

27 Nov 2018

EMA recommends first all-oral treatment to tackle deadly sleeping sickness

The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive scientific opinion of fexinidazole, the first all-oral treatment that has been shown to be efficacious for both stages of sleeping sickness.

16 Nov 2018

Researchers identify genes that could help predict treatment outcomes for parasitic disease

Researchers at the University of York have identified genes in a parasite that could help clinicians predict drug treatment outcomes for patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.

1 Oct 2018

Clinical trial begins to find better treatment for chronic cases of PKDL in Africa

A clinical trial to find a better treatment for severe or chronic cases of post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) in Africa has begun in Dooka, Sudan.

12 Sep 2018

Researchers report increasing incidence of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil

The parasitic disease leishmaniasis is spread to humans through the bites of sandflies, and is endemic in a number of countries, including Brazil.

10 Sep 2018

INRS professors develop innovative strategy to identify leishmanicidal molecules

Leishmania is a microorganism that enters the human body via a sandfly bite. Instead of fleeing the white blood cells deployed by the immune system to destroy it, the parasite allows itself to be swallowed up.

24 Aug 2018

Researchers discover how chronic infections can outsmart the immune system

Like many chronic infections, visceral leishmaniasis thwarts the immune system's defenses so it can settle comfortably into its host.

1 Aug 2018

Researchers create vaccine that protects against malaria in mouse models

A Yale-led team of researchers have created a vaccine that protects against malaria infection in mouse models, paving the way for the development of a human vaccine that works by targeting the specific protein that parasites use to evade the immune system.

13 Jul 2018

Clinical study to find improved treatment for visceral leishmaniasis starts in eastern Africa

A new study to find a safer, efficacious and more patient-friendly treatment and improved diagnostic tools for people living with visceral leishmaniasis has begun in eastern Africa, within the new Afri-KA-DIA Consortium with funding from The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership.

13 Apr 2018

Leishmania genome study reveals the parasites adaptation to the environment

A new study, conducted by researchers from the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, have revealed that Leishmania adaptation is a consequence of reversible and frequent chromosomal amplifications.

23 Nov 2017