Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a severe chronic systemic disease caused by the protozoa (Leishmania infantum) in South America, the Mediterranean, southwest and central Asia. These parasites lodges in defense cells and compromises the spleen, liver and bone marrow, becoming fatal if left untreated. The parasites are transmitted to human and animal hosts by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies with dogs as the main urban reservoirs.
↧