[Leish-l] Pubmed: Leishmaniasis - UK: imported

[fred opperdoes]

Sorry for double posting

> Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:55:09 -0500 (EST)
> From: ProMED-mail <promed at promed.isid.harvard.edu>
> Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Leishmaniasis - UK: imported
> 
> LEISHMANIASIS - UNITED KINGDOM: IMPORTED
> ***********************************************
> A ProMED-mail post
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> ProMED-mail is a program of the
> International Society for Infectious Diseases
> <http://www.isid.org>
> 
> Date: Wed 25 Nov 2009
> Source: This is London [edited]
> <http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23773847-flesh-eating-bug-danger-for-tourists.do>
> 
> The popularity of eco-tourism is to blame for a big rise in people 
> contracting tropical diseases, a London professor warned today [25 
> Nov 2009]. Peter Chiodini, of University College London Hospital, 
> said Britons who spend thousands of pounds to stay in lodges on 
> remote jungle trips are failing to protect themselves against deadly 
> infections. Professor Chiodini, who works at the Hospital for 
> Tropical Diseases, revealed that such trips have led to a doubling in 
> cases of the flesh-eating bug leishmaniasis over the past 10 years. 
> Gap-year travellers are among those most at risk.
> 
> About 12 million people worldwide are affected by the condition, 
> which can be life-threatening, but until now, cases have been rare 
> among Britons.
> 
> The most common form is the Baghdad boil, where ulcers form on the 
> skin, but another type known as black fever can attack the organs. 
> Professor Chiodini, a consultant parasitologist, said travellers 
> could protect themselves against leishmaniasis by using insect 
> repellent and ensuring they are properly covered. He added: "People 
> are going on adventure trips because of eco-tourism. If you're going 
> to shell out on these holidays, then get immunised or take necessary 
> medication. It's now possible with a few clicks of the mouse to book 
> a place which is quite remote yet without being aware of the risks 
> involved." The hospital is seeing about 32 cases of leishmaniasis a 
> year, double the amount a decade ago.
> 
> A 35-year-old TV presenter was treated for the condition at UCLH. He 
> needed 2 rounds of toxic drug therapy to kill the bug, which nearly 
> destroyed half his face after he was infected by a sand-fly bite 
> filming Extreme Dreams in Peru last year [2008].
> 
> The bug was diagnosed after he noticed a small spot on his left 
> forearm that turned into an open lesion that would not heal. He said: 
> "A little light bulb went on in my head. I remembered reading about 
> leishmaniasis, which matched my symptoms. I'd always thought it was 
> an old wives' tale, a sand-fly bite that eats your flesh."
> 
> Professor Chiodini will tonight feature in a programme showcasing the 
> work of the hospital. Help I Caught It Abroad shows other 
> increasingly common and near-fatal conditions such as malaria, 
> skin-burrowing insects, parasitic worms and grapefruit-sized cysts 
> caused by parasites.
> 
> It shows medics treating the 1st case in the Western world of a type 
> of leishmaniasis that attacks the eyes. The patient was infected 
> after he was bitten by a sand fly on holiday in Greece.
> 
> Doctors at the hospital also warn about malaria. About 2000 people 
> every year return to Britain infected with the disease, and last year 
> [2008], there were 5 deaths. An increasing proportion of patients are 
> infected by drug-resistant malaria.
> 
> A man from Ruislip contracted malaria on holiday in Gambia. He did 
> not take anti-malaria medication. His organs failed, and doctors had 
> to amputate his lower legs and fingers to save his life.
> 
> - --
> Communicated by:
> ProMED-mail <promed at promedmail.org>
> 
> [It is noteworthy that the number of imported cases to the United 
> Kingdom has doubled over the last decade. The point made by professor 
> Chiodini that eco-tourism is part of the explanation is thought 
> provoking. Leishmaniasis is spreading in Europe and especially in 
> Italy. It has been established in Northern Italy over the past decade 
> (Maroli M, Rossi L, Baldelli R, et al. The northward spread of 
> leishmaniasis in Italy: evidence from retrospective and ongoing 
> studies on the canine reservoir and phlebotomine vectors. Trop Med 
> Intl Hlth 2008;13:256-64). Perhaps changing distribution is also part 
> of the explanation. - Mod. EP]

Note by F. Opperdoes:  "Help I Caught It Abroad" was on ITV1 on 24.11 
at 10.35pm.
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