<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Sorry for double posting<div><br><blockquote type="cite">Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:55:09 -0500 (EST)<br>From: ProMED-mail <<a href="mailto:promed@promed.isid.harvard.edu">promed@promed.isid.harvard.edu</a>><br>Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Leishmaniasis - UK: imported<br><br>LEISHMANIASIS - UNITED KINGDOM: IMPORTED<br>***********************************************<br>A ProMED-mail post<br><<a href="http://www.promedmail.org/">http://www.promedmail.org</a>><br>ProMED-mail is a program of the<br>International Society for Infectious Diseases<br><<a href="http://www.isid.org/">http://www.isid.org</a>><br><br>Date: Wed 25 Nov 2009<br>Source: This is London [edited]<br><<a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23773847-flesh-eating-bug-danger-for-tourists.do">http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23773847-flesh-eating-bug-danger-for-tourists.do</a>><br><br>The popularity of eco-tourism is to blame for a big rise in people <br>contracting tropical diseases, a London professor warned today [25 <br>Nov 2009]. Peter Chiodini, of University College London Hospital, <br>said Britons who spend thousands of pounds to stay in lodges on <br>remote jungle trips are failing to protect themselves against deadly <br>infections. Professor Chiodini, who works at the Hospital for <br>Tropical Diseases, revealed that such trips have led to a doubling in <br>cases of the flesh-eating bug leishmaniasis over the past 10 years. <br>Gap-year travellers are among those most at risk.<br><br>About 12 million people worldwide are affected by the condition, <br>which can be life-threatening, but until now, cases have been rare <br>among Britons.<br><br>The most common form is the Baghdad boil, where ulcers form on the <br>skin, but another type known as black fever can attack the organs. <br>Professor Chiodini, a consultant parasitologist, said travellers <br>could protect themselves against leishmaniasis by using insect <br>repellent and ensuring they are properly covered. He added: "People <br>are going on adventure trips because of eco-tourism. If you're going <br>to shell out on these holidays, then get immunised or take necessary <br>medication. It's now possible with a few clicks of the mouse to book <br>a place which is quite remote yet without being aware of the risks <br>involved." The hospital is seeing about 32 cases of leishmaniasis a <br>year, double the amount a decade ago.<br><br>A 35-year-old TV presenter was treated for the condition at UCLH. He <br>needed 2 rounds of toxic drug therapy to kill the bug, which nearly <br>destroyed half his face after he was infected by a sand-fly bite <br>filming Extreme Dreams in Peru last year [2008].<br><br>The bug was diagnosed after he noticed a small spot on his left <br>forearm that turned into an open lesion that would not heal. He said: <br>"A little light bulb went on in my head. I remembered reading about <br>leishmaniasis, which matched my symptoms. I'd always thought it was <br>an old wives' tale, a sand-fly bite that eats your flesh."<br><br>Professor Chiodini will tonight feature in a programme showcasing the <br>work of the hospital. Help I Caught It Abroad shows other <br>increasingly common and near-fatal conditions such as malaria, <br>skin-burrowing insects, parasitic worms and grapefruit-sized cysts <br>caused by parasites.<br><br>It shows medics treating the 1st case in the Western world of a type <br>of leishmaniasis that attacks the eyes. The patient was infected <br>after he was bitten by a sand fly on holiday in Greece.<br><br>Doctors at the hospital also warn about malaria. About 2000 people <br>every year return to Britain infected with the disease, and last year <br>[2008], there were 5 deaths. An increasing proportion of patients are <br>infected by drug-resistant malaria.<br><br>A man from Ruislip contracted malaria on holiday in Gambia. He did <br>not take anti-malaria medication. His organs failed, and doctors had <br>to amputate his lower legs and fingers to save his life.<br><br>- --<br>Communicated by:<br>ProMED-mail <<a href="mailto:promed@promedmail.org">promed@promedmail.org</a>><br><br>[It is noteworthy that the number of imported cases to the United <br>Kingdom has doubled over the last decade. The point made by professor <br>Chiodini that eco-tourism is part of the explanation is thought <br>provoking. Leishmaniasis is spreading in Europe and especially in <br>Italy. It has been established in Northern Italy over the past decade <br>(Maroli M, Rossi L, Baldelli R, et al. The northward spread of <br>leishmaniasis in Italy: evidence from retrospective and ongoing <br>studies on the canine reservoir and phlebotomine vectors. Trop Med <br>Intl Hlth 2008;13:256-64). Perhaps changing distribution is also part <br>of the explanation. - Mod. EP]<br></blockquote><br><div>Note by F. Opperdoes: "Help I Caught It Abroad" was on ITV1 on 24.11 </div><div>at 10.35pm.</div></div></body></html>