Cutaneous Leishmaniasis – A Case Series from Dresden

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is world-wide one of the most common infectious disorders caused by protozoa. Due to the climate change, there is a risk of further spread of the disease to central and northern Europe. Another important issue is the high number of refugees from Syria since Syria is one of the hot spots of Old World leishmaniasis. We report on single-centre experience with leishmaniasis in the capital of Saxony, Dresden, during the years 2001 to 2017. We noted a substantial increase in the last five years. Once a very rare exotic disorder in Germany, cutaneous leishmaniasis has become a reality and physicians should be aware of it. A significant number of cases are from Syrian refugees; other cases had been acquired by tourists in the Mediterranean region!

Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis: case report and literature review of a rare endonasal infection

“…Histologically, MCL may mimic other granulomatous or neoplastic diseases and differentiation is only possible by the morphological features of the parasite [ 6 , 7 ]. In majority of studies, the gold standard method of diagnosis was a biopsy with the molecular detection of parasite DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [ 2 , 8 , 9 ]. The primary goals of therapy for leishmaniasis is to prevent the mortality and morbidity.…”

“…In Germany leishmaniasis of the mucous membranes is a rare condition and usually due to extension of local skin disease into the mucosal tissue via direct extension, bloodstream or lymphatics. Because of the chronic local destruction of facial structures, MCL may deface the patient if not recognized and adequately treated [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Imported cutaneous leishmaniasis: a 13-year experience of a Polish tertiary center

“…The lack of epidemiological surveillance of leishmaniasis in Poland is disturbing, considering the recent influx of immigrants from CL-endemic high-burden countries such as Syria into the European Union [ 31 – 33 ], as well as the continuous expansion of the range of phlebotomine sandflies northwards in Europe as they are already established in Austria, Germany and Hungary – countries located along with Poland in Central Europe [ 34 , 35 ].…”

Nonconventional opponents: a review of malaria and leishmaniasis among United States Armed Forces

“…True infection rates may be greater than reported due to the fact that majority of affected rural communities lack the infrastructure for precise diagnosis and reporting, and the persistent antagonistic attitude to healthcare workers arising from many years of counterintelligence activities and breakdown of trust. Ongoing civil conflicts in Syria compounds the growing and untenable numbers of individuals symptomatic for disease or sub-clinically infected, showing up as refugees and present clinically in North America, Europe and other countries (Koltas et al., 2014; Saroufim et al., 2014; Bradshaw & Litvinov, 2017; Wollina et al., 2018; Mockenhaupt et al., 2016). This further compounds disease status among deployed servicemen and women returning to the West, igniting the need for expanding infectious disease experts into current healthcare system, as well as revising medical school curriculum to include training on ‘exotic’ tropical or subtropical diseases.…”