[leish-l] Leishmaniasis in Afghanistan 2

[Fred R. Opperdoes]

At 8:04 -0400 11/05/02, ProMED Digest wrote:
>Date: Sat, 11 May 2002 07:49:56 -0400 (EDT)
>From: ProMED-mail <promed at promed.isid.harvard.edu>
>Subject: PRO/AH> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (02)
>
>LEISHMANIASIS - AFGHANISTAN (02)
>*******************************
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>
>Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 11:05:48 +0200
>From: Dan Michaeli, MD <michaeli at netvision.net.il>
>
>
>Background information on leishmaniasis in Afghanistan
>- -----------------------------------------
>Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a very old endemic disease. The Afghanistan form
>is most probably an example of "Leishmaniasis of the Old World" that is
>common in the Mediterranean area and along the "Silk Route" between the
>Middle East and the Far East. It is hosted mainly by animals. Unlike
>_L.donovani_ (the agent for kala azar), the cutaneous form (primarily
>caused by _L.tropica_) is harboured in smaller animals.
>
>The cycle is very interesting because the transmitting vector, _Phlebotomus
>papatasii_, protects itself from the heat in arid areas in the burrows of
>_Psammomys_ mice, which [are found] along dry river beds that still have
>some
>humidity in their soil. In the evening and at night the flies leave the
>burrows and may fly as far as a kilometer, and that's when they bite
>exposed areas of the body. Because of the heat people may sleep half naked,
>and we have seen people who were bitten so many times that they had a few
>dozen ulcers.
>
>It is intriguing to observe such a widespread epidemic as the
>current one, and I wonder whether the people involved migrated only
>recently to these areas. In Jericho we found at the time that most children
>over the age of 6 were already protected, having probably been infected
>before.
>
>- --
>Dan Michaeli MD
>Chairman, Clalit Health Services, Israel
><michaeli at netvision.net.il>
>
>[Thank you very much for the interesting background information. We have no
>information as to whether the increase in cutaneous leishmaniasis is due to
>an increase of the vector or migration of non-immune humans into endemic
>areas. - Mod.EP]
>
>[see also:
>2002
>- --
>Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (Kabul): alert  20020508.4134
>Leishmania, Pakistan ex Afghanistan      20020213.3556
>2001
>- --
>Leishmaniasis - India (Calcutta)         20001022.1830
>Leishmaniasis - India (Calcutta) (02) 20001026.1858
>Leishmaniasis - Nepal         20000729.1257
>Leishmaniasis - Nepal (02) 20000731.1266]
>.....................................ep/pg/jw
>
>------------------------------