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- Services and providers for Leishmaniasis in the U.S.
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National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Leishmaniasis is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Leishmaniasis
Also called: Kala-azar
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of infected sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis. The most common are cutaneous and visceral. The cutaneous type causes skin sores. The visceral type affects internal organs such as the spleen, liver and bone marrow. People with this form usually have fever, weight loss and an enlarged spleen and liver.
Leishmaniasis is found in parts of about 88 countries. Most of these countries are in the tropics and subtropics. It is possible but very unlikely that you would get this disease in the United States. But you should be aware of it if you are traveling to the Middle East or parts of Central America, South American, Asia, Africa or southern Europe.
The best way to prevent the disease is to protect yourself from sand fly bites. If not treated, leishmaniasis can be serious. Visceral disease can be deadly.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Leishmaniasis
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Leishmaniasis
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Overviews
- Just the Facts: Leishmaniasis(US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine) - Links to PDF
- Leishmania Infection (Leishmaniasis)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Leishmaniasis(World Health Organization)
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Latest News
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Researchers Find Leishmaniasis Parasites Evade Death by Exploiting the Immune Response to Sand Fly Bites(08/14/2008, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
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Researchers Find Leishmaniasis Parasites Evade Death by Exploiting the Immune Response to Sand Fly Bites
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Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Diagnosis of Parasitic Diseases(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Prevention/Screening
- Preventing Leishmaniasis(Dept. of Defense, Deployment Health Clinical Center) - Links to PDF
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Related Issues
- Leishmania Infection (Leishmaniasis) and Animals(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Leishmaniasis: Health Information for International Travel(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Tutorials
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Leishmaniasis(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player
Also available in Spanish
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Leishmaniasis(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Leishmaniasis(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Leishmaniasis
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Leishmania invasion and phagosome biogenesis.
- Article: Kinetoplast as a potential chemotherapeutic target of trypanosomatids.
- Article: Crusade for iron: iron uptake in unicellular eukaryotes and its...
- Leishmaniasis -- see more articles
- Medical Encyclopedia Return to top
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Organizations
- Dept. of Defense, Deployment Health Clinical Center
- National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-borne, and Enteric Diseases, Division of Parasitic Diseases(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
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Date last updated: 26 August 2008 Topic last reviewed: 24 July 2008 |