NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — A recent study conducted by scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed alarming data on the prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the United States.
This tropical disease, which was once found only in returning travelers, is now being detected in US residents who have not traveled abroad. Even more alarming is the fact that the strain of the Leishmania parasite causing these cases is different from those found in the imported cases.
The study, led by CDC researcher Marcos de Almeida, looked at the rise in infections in the country over the past decade. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a skin disfiguring disease caused by a parasite that is spread through the bites of sand flies.
Previously, most cases in the United States were found in patients who had traveled to countries where leishmaniasis is widespread, but now there were 86 cases not associated with travel.
To understand this phenomenon, CDC scientists used genetic sequencing tools to analyze tissue samples from all patients.
The results showed that the strain of Leishmania mexicana that infected the non-travelers had a slightly different genetic fingerprint, indicating that their infections were caused by a unique American “genotype” of the disease spread by local populations of sand flies.
“This is the first time we have obtained a clear genetic fingerprint from a relatively large cluster, providing further evidence that leishmaniasis may be well distributed in parts of the United States,” said Mary Kamb, MD, MPH, a member of the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria. CDC National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infections.
Although most cases of infection have been identified in Texas residents, sand flies, which can transmit leishmaniasis, live in many regions of the country, especially in the southern United States. This raises concern that native sand flies could become infected with the disease through introduced dogs.
Infection with cutaneous leishmaniasis usually results in skin ulcers that may appear weeks or months after infection. Although medications are available to treat the infection, if left untreated, it can lead to disfiguring scars. In low-income countries, facial scars caused by cutaneous leishmaniasis are associated with significant social stigma, especially in women.
According to the World Health Organization, cutaneous leishmaniasis infects up to one million people each year, mainly in the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa and Latin America.
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News agencies contributed to this report, edited and published by ORDO News editors.
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