What is Leishmaniasis? Your questions answered.

While very few travelers to Peru actually contract Leishmaniasis it is an important condition to be aware of in order to take proper preventive measures against it.  Here is the basic information about Leishmaniasis.  For more detailed facts, figures, and epidemiology,  visit the website for Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

• What IS Leishmaniasis?  It is a disease caused by the bite of a female sandfly carrying the parasite.  While there are two type of Leishmaniasis (visceral and cutaneous) we’ll just talk about cutaneous Leishmaniasis as it is the most common form of the disease.
• Symptoms of Leishmaniasis:
  • The most common symptom is a painless skin ulcer in the location where the bite occurred.
  • Less common symptoms may include: difficulty breathing, stuffy or runny nose, difficulty swallowing, or sores near mucous membranes.

• Treating Leishmaniasis: With the proper diagnosis and medication cure rates are high.  The sooner the parasite is discovered the sooner it can be treated and cured.  The disease can be identified by a doctor taking a small sample from the ulcer to look for the parasite.  Once diagnosed the condition can be treated with either tablets or injections, and occasionally it heals on its own.
• Preventing Leishmaniasis: The best way to prevent this disease is by preventing sand fly bites particularly during the hours of dawn and dusk when they are most active.
  • Minimize your skin exposure by wearing long-sleeved tightly-woven, light weight clothing during your time in the rainforest.  
  • Tuck in your shirt and pull your socks over the hem of your pants.
  • Use insect repellent containing Deet, carefully following the instructions on the container.  
  • Sleep under mosquito netting tucked tightly underneath your mattress.