Interventions for visceral leishmaniasis

Alvar, Jorge; González, Urbà; Pinart, Mariona; Kalita, Soumik; Herrero, Mercè; Vélez, Iván Darío; Sundar, Shyam

doi:10.1002/14651858.cd008561

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…At the time of writing, published protocols highlight the intention to investigate aspects of prevention of Leishmania infection in humans [59]–[61]. To date however, there are no published reviews which address preventative methods in their entirety.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Preventative Methods against Human Leishmaniasis Infection

Stockdale

Newton

2013

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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BackgroundLeishmaniasis is an intracellular parasitic infection transmitted to humans via the sandfly. Approximately 350 million people are at risk of contracting the disease and an estimated 1.6 million new cases occur annually. Of the two main forms, visceral and cutaneous, the visceral form is fatal in 85–90% of untreated cases.AimsThis literature review aims to identify and evaluate the current evidence base for the use of various preventative methods against human leishmaniasis.MethodsA literature search was performed of the relevant database repositories for primary research conforming to a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria.ResultsA total of 84 controlled studies investigating 12 outcome measures were identified, implementing four broad categories of preventative interventions: animal reservoir control, vector population control, human reservoir control and a category for multiple concurrently implemented interventions. The primary studies investigated a heterogeneous mix of outcome measures using a range of different methods.ConclusionsThis review highlights an absence of research measuring human-specific outcomes (35% of the total) across all intervention categories. The apparent inability of study findings to be generalizable across different geographic locations, points towards gaps in knowledge regarding the biology of transmission of Leishmania in different settings. More research is needed which investigates human infection as the primary outcome measure as opposed to intermediate surrogate markers, with a focus on developing a human vaccine.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Preventative Methods against Human Leishmaniasis Infection

Stockdale

Newton

2013

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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“…Currently, no vaccine is available for leishmaniasis [ 6 – 8 ]. The prevention and control of leishmaniasis require a combination of intervention strategies [ 9 – 11 ]. Vector control is an important strategy for disease prevention, as it reduces and interrupts the transmission of this disease by reducing the density of sand fly populations [ 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sand fly identification and screening for Leishmania spp. in six provinces of Thailand

et al. 2021

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Background Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of Leishmania spp. At least 27 species of sand flies have been recorded in Thailand. Although human leishmaniasis cases in Thailand are mainly imported, autochthonous leishmaniasis has been increasingly reported in several regions of the country since 1999. Few studies have detected Leishmania infection in wild-caught sand flies, although these studies were carried out only in those areas reporting human leishmaniasis cases. The aim of this study was therefore to identity sand fly species and to investigate Leishmania infection across six provinces of Thailand. Methods Species of wild-caught sand flies were initially identified based on morphological characters. However, problems identifying cryptic species complexes necessitated molecular identification using DNA barcoding in parallel with identification based on morphological characters. The wild-caught sand flies were pooled and the DNA isolated prior to the detection of Leishmania infection by a TaqMan real-time PCR assay. Results A total of 4498 sand flies (1158 males and 3340 females) were caught by trapping in six provinces in four regions of Thailand. The sand flies were morphologically classified into eight species belonging to three genera (Sergentomyia, Phlebotomus and Idiophlebotomus). Sergentomyia iyengari was found at all collection sites and was the dominant species at most of these, followed in frequency by Sergentomyia barraudi and Phlebotomus stantoni, respectively. DNA barcodes generated from 68 sand flies allowed sorting into 14 distinct species with 25 operational taxonomic units, indicating a higher diversity (by 75%) than that based on morphological identification. Twelve barcoding sequences could not be assigned to any species for which cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences are available. All tested sand flies were negative for Leishmania DNA. Conclusions Our results confirm the presence of several sand fly species in different provinces of Thailand, highlighting the importance of using DNA barcoding as a tool to study sand fly species diversity. While all female sand flies tested in this study were negative for Leishmania, the circulation of Leishmania spp. in the investigated areas cannot be ruled out. Graphical abstract

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“…37 The risk of emergence of drug resistance in the field is exacerbated by the relatively easy production of in vitro resistant Leishmania clones, combined with the occurrence of relapses in immunocompetent patients, the presence of HIV/VL coinfections, and high levels of anthroponotic transmission in both Africa and India. 38 Combination treatment has the potential advantages not only of shortening the treatment duration (thus increasing compliance) and reducing the overall drug dose (thereby reducing toxic effects and cost) but also of reducing the probability that drug-resistant parasites are selected, and thus prolonging the effective life of available medicines. Several trials of combinations have shown favorable results.…”

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confidence: 99%

Nanostructured delivery systems with improved leishmanicidal activity: a critical review

Bruni¹,

Stella²,

Giraudo³

et al. 2017

IJN

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Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania , which are responsible for numerous clinical manifestations, such as cutaneous, visceral, and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, depending on the site of infection for particular species. These complexities threaten 350 million people in 98 countries worldwide. Amastigotes living within macrophage phagolysosomes are the principal target of antileishmanial treatment, but these are not an easy target as drugs must overcome major structural barriers. Furthermore, limitations on current therapy are related to efficacy, toxicity, and cost, as well as the length of treatment, which can increase parasitic resistance. Nanotechnology has emerged as an attractive alternative as conventional drugs delivered by nanosized carriers have improved bioavailability and reduced toxicity, together with other characteristics that help to relieve the burden of this disease. The significance of using colloidal carriers loaded with active agents derives from the physiological uptake route of intravenous administered nanosystems (the phagocyte system). Nanosystems are thus able to promote a high drug concentration in intracellular mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS)-infected cells. Moreover, the versatility of nanometric drug delivery systems for the deliberate transport of a range of molecules plays a pivotal role in the design of therapeutic strategies against leishmaniasis. This review discusses studies on nanocarriers that have greatly contributed to improving the efficacy of antileishmaniasis drugs, presenting a critical review and some suggestions for improving drug delivery.

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Interventions for visceral leishmaniasis

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

A Review of Preventative Methods against Human Leishmaniasis Infection

A Review of Preventative Methods against Human Leishmaniasis Infection

Sand fly identification and screening for Leishmania spp. in six provinces of Thailand

Nanostructured delivery systems with improved leishmanicidal activity: a critical review

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