Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a vector-borne disease caused by an intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania that can be lethal if not treated. VL is caused by Leishmania donovani in Asia and in Eastern Africa, where the pathogens’ reservoir is represented by humans, and by Leishmania infantum in Latin America and in the Mediterranean area, where VL is a zoonotic disease and dog is the main reservoir. A part of the infected individuals become symptomatic, with irregular fever, splenomegaly, anemia or pancytopenia, and weakness, whereas others are asymptomatic. VL treatment has made progress in the last decades with the use of new drugs such as liposomal amphotericin B, and with new therapeutic regimens including monotherapy or a combination of drugs, aiming at shorter treatment duration and avoiding the development of resistance. However, the same treatment protocol may not be effective all over the world, due to differences in the infecting Leishmania species, so depending on the geographical area. This narrative review presents a comprehensive description of the clinical picture of VL, especially in children, the diagnostic approach, and some insight into the most used pharmacological therapies available worldwide.
Information on prevalence of special needs in internationally adopted children (IAC) is incomplete. We reviewed data from 422 IAC screened at a single Centre in Italy in 2015-16. Prevalence of special needs reached 17.1% (n = 72). Among these children, the most frequent conditions were fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD; n = 30; 7.1%), cleft lip palate (n = 8; 1.9%) and other congenital malformations (n = 20; 4.7%). Worrisomely, 25 out of 52 (48.1%) Russian children presented with FASD.
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