Leishmaniasis

Burden of disease

Magnitude of the problem

© Dr Jill Seaman/Sudan


Leishmaniasis is a poverty-related disease. It affects the poorest of the poor and is associated with malnutrition, displacement, poor housing, illiteracy, gender discrimination, weakness of the immune system and lack of resources. Leishmaniasis is also linked to environmental changes,* such as deforestation, building of dams, new irrigation schemes and urbanization, and the accompanying migration of non-immune people to endemic areas.

Epidemics of leishmaniasis have significantly delayed the implementation of numerous development programmes,** particularly in the Amazon basin, the tropical regions of the Andean countries, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The disease has thus become a serious impediment to socioeconomic development.
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Leishmania/HIV co-infection


One of the major threats to control of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is its interaction with HIV infection. VL has emerged as an important opportunistic infection associated with HIV. In areas endemic for VL, many people have asymptomatic infection. A concomitant HIV infection increases the risk of developing active VL by between 100 and 2320 times. In southern Europe, up to 70% of cases of visceral leishmaniasis in adults are associated with HIV infection.
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Geographical distribution


Currently, leishmaniasis occurs in four continents and is considered to be endemic in 88 countries, 72 of which are developing countries:


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*The increase in risk factors for leishmaniasis worldwide
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

**Urbanization: an increasing risk factor for leishmaniasis
Weekly Epidemiological Record, N° 77, 44, 1 November 2002

Leishmaniasis in the news

20 March 2013 | Geneva
Report of a WHO consultative meeting on developing a manual for case-management, prevention and control of post-kala-azardermal leishmaniasis. Kolkata, India, 2–3 July 2012.

30 May 2012 | Geneva
Leishmaniasis: epidemiology and access to medicines − an update based on the outcomes of WHO regional meetings, literature review and experts' opinion.

08 Dec. 2011 | Geneva
WHO and Gilead sign agreement for enhanced access to visceral leishmaniasis treatment

24 Jan. 2011 | Geneva
Now available: new WHO Technical Report Series on the control of the leishmaniases - TRS N°949

News archives

WHA Resolution

The WHA Resolution on the "Control of Leishmaniasis"
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Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases