Leishmaniasis - Are You At Higher Risk?

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease which is spread by the bite of sand flies infected with the protozoa Leishmania Donovani. A visit to the beach always guarantees a couple of bites but some of those may turn out to be a deadly form of leishmaniasis. The most common forms of it are the cutaneous which characterized by soreness of the skin.

Visceral leishmaniasis is much more dangerous and it acts deep in the body and affects some of the internal organs of the body like the spleen, liver, bone marrow. People affected with cutaneous leishmaniasis have sores which can change in size and color over a period of time and gets severe with lack of treatment or undiagnosed condition. At their acute stages it looks like volcano eruptions like a ring or a crater like appearance and color ranging from a harsh red to a yellow or orange.

People are at risk for leishmaniasis irrespective of their ages and especially susceptible if they live or travel to areas where leishmaniasis is highly prevalent. Adventure travelers, bird watchers, researchers, peace workers and unwary holiday travelers are usually the ones to get infected.

About 88 countries in the world in the tropics and sub-tropics are places of high risk. These places are usually areas of high tourist interest like the rain forests in Central and South America to the dry deserts in Asia. Most of the world's cases of visceral leishmaniasis are from Asian countries like Nepal and from South American countries like Brazil, Argentina, Africa and also the middle east. Leishmaniasis is not prevalent in the countries along the pacific like Australia etc.

The bites start with itching and harsh red rashes which can be treated with anti-histamine creams. It is peculiar to note that only the female sand fly's bite humans to acquire proteins to complete the cycle of life. The four main types of leishmaniasis are mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis which comprises of skin ulcers spreading from nose and mouth areas in particular, diffuse Cutaneous characterized by widespread skin lesions resembling leprosy, cutaneous is the most common with numerous skin sores on the body that develop weeks or months after the initial bite and usually leave life long scars and visceral Leishmaniasis is the most serious form of the disease and can be fatal if left untreated and can even cause death.

A good holiday at the beach may be fun and enjoyment except for a few scratchy bites over the body but it might turn out to be a frisky holiday with a lot of painful hospital visits.

It is best to visit the beach in the middle of the morning or sometime during the noon because before that the mites would be active. It is best not to visit the beach after immediate showers when the sand fly's are extremely agitated and might launch at anyone in the vicinity. A good insect repellent cream will save you the cost of treatment and care and also from a bunch of ugly scars.