Background – Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is traditionally endemic in central-south Italy, whereas northern regions (Padana plane and Alpine territories) have been considered Leishmania-free (Pozio et al., 1985) until early 1990’s, when CanL foci were firstly identified in Veneto and Piedmont. Because of the appearance of autochthonous human cases (VL), a national project was launched in 2003 to...

Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis) were recently deemed responsible for an outbreak of human leishmaniasis affecting metropolitan Madrid, Spain. However, the reservoir potential of hares in Europe is poorly known. We report a retrospective survey on Leishmania infantum, the causal agent of zoonotic endemic leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin, infection status of Iberian, European (Le. europ...

Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by sand flies from mammalian reservoirs to humans. In recent years, a northward spread of L. infantum from highly endemic Mediterranean countries into previously non-endemic Central European areas has been suspected based on presumed sporadic cases of autochthonous leishmaniasis. Here, we investigated whether sand flies...

Since July 2009, there has been a community outbreak of leishmaniasis in the south-west area of the Madrid autonomous community, Spain, affecting residents from four towns that are geographically close together and share extensive park areas. As of December 2012, 446 cases were reported (6 in 2009, 97 in 2010, 196 in 2011 and 147 in 2012), a mean incidence rate of 22.2 per 100,000 inhabitants d...

1. Urbanization; an increasing risk factor for leishmaniasis. Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2002;44:365–72. 2. Abranches P, Lopes FJC, Conceição-Silva FM, Ribeiro MMS, Pires CA. Kala-azar in Portugal. III. Results of a survey on canine leishmaniasis performed in the Lisbon region. Comparison of urban and rural zones [in French]. Ann Parasitol Hum Comp. 1983;58:307–15. 3. Miró G, Montoya A, Mateo M, Alons...

Since a long time, Leishmania major and L. infantum foci in Algeria were geographically separated by the mountains of the Tell Atlas which represent a natural barrier. Recently, a new focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) has emerged in the village of El M'hir, located on the north side of the chain of the Tell Atlas, in the basin of the Soummam. During the period 2004-2010, 152 CL cases have b...

Sir, Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an infection caused by protozoa belonging to the genus Leishmania (L.). The disease is transmitted by sandflies: Phlebotomus (P.) spp. and Lutzomyia spp. are the most frequently involved. Disease reservoirs are represented by dogs, mice, rats, wild rodents and, more rarely, humans. CL is very frequent in the Mediterranean Basin, especially in Sicily. L. infa...

A controlled clinical trial was performed to assess the effectiveness of a pyriprole (125 mg/ml) and a metaflumizone (150 mg/ml) combined with amitraz (150 mg/ml) spot-on treatment (recommended dosage) in preventing adult female sandflies (Phlebotomus perniciosus) from feeding on dogs. Sandfly mortality was also assessed. Twelve beagle dogs were used in the study. Prior to treatment they were c...