Unusual Observations in Leishmaniasis—An Overview

Abstract

Leishmaniasis significantly affects the population of the tropics and subtropics. Clinical features and infective species of Leishmania are the primary factors driving the direction of diagnosis. The rise in incidences of atypical presentations present a challenge in patient treatment. Knowledge of unusual/rare presentations can aid in having a broader perspective for including the different aspects during the examination and thus avoid misdiagnosis. A comprehensive literature survey was performed to present the array of atypical presentations confounding clinicians which have been seen in leishmaniasis. Case reports of unusual findings based on the localizations and morphology of lesions and infective species and the predominant geographical sites over almost five decades highlight such presentations in the population. Information regarding the clinical features recorded in the patient and the chosen treatment was extracted to put forward the preferred drug regimen in such cases. This comprehensive review presents various unusual observations seen in visceral leishmaniasis, post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis, cutaneous leishmaniasis, and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. It highlights the need to consider such features in association with differential diagnosis to facilitate proper treatment of the patient.

Overview of Research on Leishmaniasis in Africa: Current Status, Diagnosis, Therapeutics, and Recent Advances Using By-Products of the Sargassaceae Family

“…Nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), using RNA polymerase to produce RNA and reverse transcriptase, provides superior sensitivity but does not allow the differentiation of Leishmania species. The methods of PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) and AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) are distinguished by the digestion of amplified DNA with restriction endonucleases and the analysis of the generated fragments, providing increased sensitivity, in particular for samples with low parasite load, and allowing the precise genomic analysis of different Leishmania spp., including the distinction between closely related strains [ 44 ].…”

Understanding hypergammaglobulinemia in experimental or natural visceral leishmaniasis

“…VL presents as a zoonosis in Brazil, affecting humans and dogs and less frequently other animals, caused by Leishmania infantum 2 . Transmission occurs mostly from the bite of infected female sandflies, which acquire promastigotes at the time of a blood meal in reservoir animals.…”

Antileishmanial Effect of 1,5- and 1,8-Substituted Fused Naphthyridines

“…Current treatment of leishmaniasis, a complex of vector-borne diseases caused by parasitic protists of the genus Leishmania , remains a challenge [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. The lack of a vaccine makes chemotherapy the only way to manage the infection when the first symptoms appear.…”