Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 14, Number 7—July 2008
Perspective

Spread of Vector-borne Diseases and Neglect of Leishmaniasis, Europe

Jean-Claude Dujardin*Comments to Author , Lenea Campino†, Carmen Cañavate‡, Jean-Pierre Dedet, Luigi Gradoni¶, Ketty Soteriadou#, Apostolos Mazeris**, Yusuf Ozbel††, and Marleen Boelaert*
Author affiliations: *Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde, Antwerp, Belgium; †Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Lisbon, Portugal; ‡Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; §Université Montpellier 1, Montpellier, France; ¶Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy; #Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece; **National Reference Laboratory for Animal Health, Nicosia, Cyprus; ††Ege University Medical School, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey;

Main Article

Table

Leishmaniasis situation in 7 disease-endemic countries of Europe (including Turkey)*

Country Human leishmaniasis
 Canine leishmaniasis
Notification status Current information from reference centers 
(2000–2006) VL + CL incidence x 100,000† Imported cases (VL + CL)
Portugal‡ Compulsory for VL ≈22 VL cases/y recorded at IHMT 0.07–0.17 ≈2 cases/y recorded at IHMT Average 20% seroprevalence in disease-endemic areas (3)
Spain§ Compulsory in 12/17 autonomous communities; 20%–45% underreporting for VL, ≈100% for CL (4) ≈100 VL cases/y recorded by National Epidemiologic Surveillance Network, RENAVE 0.18–0.29 ≈5 cases/y recorded at ISCIII Average 8.5% seroprevalence (5)
France¶ Not compulsory, but spontaneous reports at UMON ≈24 VL + CL cases/y reported at UMON 0.02–0.19 ≈65 cases/y recorded at UMON Seroprevalence in disease-endemic areas of southern France 4%–20%#
Italy** Compulsory for both VL and CL, but CL underreported ≈200 VL cases/y recorded at ISS; ≈300 CL cases/y estimated by ISS 0.15–0.38 ≈8 cases/y recorded at ISS Average 15% seroprevalence in peninsular Italy; average 2% seroprevalence in continental Italy (6)
Greece†† Compulsory for both VL and CL, but underreported ≈21 VL cases/y notified 0.06–0.49 Unknown Average seroprevalence 25% in disease-endemic areas (7)
Cyprus‡‡ Compulsory for both VL and CL, but
underreported 5 VL + CL cases recorded in 2006 0.25–0.47 Unknown Average seroprevalence 20% in disease-endemic areas
Turkey§§ Compulsory for both VL and CL ≈37 VL cases/y and ≈2,300 CL cases/y notified 1.6–8.53 Unknown Average 15.7% seroprevalence

*Authors’ institutions are national reference laboratories for leishmaniasis diagnosis and surveillance and rely on consolidated countrywide networks of collaborating clinical health centers. Diagnosis records are cross-checked with case notifications to provide more realistic figures and estimates. VL, visceral leishmaniasis; CL, cutaneous Leishmaniasis; WHO, World Health Organization.
†WHO-EURO, WHO Europe, 1996–2005; http://data.euro.who.int/CISID.
‡Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Lisbon, Portugal.
§Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain.
¶Université de Montpellier (UMON), data from Centre National de Référence des Leishmania, Montpellier, France.
#Source: retrospective canine leishmaniasis database, Centre National de Référence des Leishmania.
**Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy.
††Hellenic Pasteur Institute (HPI), Athens, Greece.
‡‡National Reference Laboratory for Animal Health (VS), Nicosia, Cyprus.
§§Ege University (EUMS-DP), Izmir, Turkey.

Main Article

References
  1. Watson  R. Europe witnesses first local transmission of chikungunya fever in Italy. BMJ. 2007;335:532–3. DOIPubMed
  2. Lines  J. Chikungunya in Italy. Globalisation is to blame, not climate change. BMJ. 2007;335:576. DOIPubMed
  3. Cortes  S, Afonso  MO, Alves-Pires  C, Campino  L. Stray dogs and leishmaniasis in urban areas, Portugal. Emerg Infect Dis. 2007;13:1431–2.PubMed
  4. Alvar  J. Las leishmaniasis: de la biología al control, 2001. Salamanca: Laboratorios Intervet S.A.; 2001.
  5. Miró  G, Molina  R. Leishmaniosis canina: Manejo clínico y situación actual en España, 2006. Spain: Bayer Health Care; 2006
  6. Gradoni  L. Epizootiology of canine leishmaniasis in southern Europe. In: R. Killick-Kendrick, editor. Canine leishmaniasis: an update. Wiesbaden (Germany): Hoechst Roussel Vet; 1999. p. 32–9.
  7. Papadopoulou  C, Kostoula  A, Dimitriou  D, Panagiou  A, Bobojianni  C, Antoniades  GJ. Human and canine leishmaniasis in asymptomatic and symptomatic population in Northwestern Greece. J Infect. 2005;50:53–60. DOIPubMed
  8. Maroli  M, Rossi  L, Baldelli  R, Capelli  G, Ferroglio  E, Genchi  C, The northward spread of leishmaniasis in Italy: evidence from retrospective and ongoing studies on the canine reservoir and phlebotomine vectors. Trop Med Int Health. 2008;13:256–64.PubMed
  9. Bogdan  C, Schonian  G, Banuls  AL, Hide  M, Pratlong  F, Lorenz  E, Visceral leishmaniasis in a German child who had never entered a known endemic area: case report and review of the literature. Clin Infect Dis. 2001;32:302–6. DOIPubMed
  10. Harms  G, Schönian  G, Feldmeier  H. Leishmaniasis in Germany. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003;9:872–5.PubMed
  11. Malik  ANJ, John  L, Bryceson  ADM, Lockwood  DNJ. Changing pattern of visceral leishmaniasis, United Kingdom, 1985–2004. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:1257–9.PubMed
  12. Pampiglione  S, Manson-Bahr  PE, La Placa  M, Borgatti  MA, Musumeci  S. Studies in Mediterranean leishmaniasis. 3. The leishmanin skin test in kala-azar. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1975;69:60–8. DOIPubMed
  13. Le Fichoux  Y, Quaranta  JF, Aufeuvre  JP, Lelievre  A, Marty  P, Suffia  I, Occurrence of Leishmania infantum parasitemia in asymptomatic blood donors living in an area of endemicity in southern France. J Clin Microbiol. 1999;37:1953–7.PubMed
  14. Kyriakou  DS, Alexandrakis  MG, Passam  FH, Kourelis  TV, Foundouli  P, Matalliotakis  E, Quick detection of Leishmania in peripheral blood by flow cytometry. Is prestorage leucodepletion necessary for leishmaniasis prevention in endemic areas? Transfus Med. 2003;13:59–62. DOIPubMed
  15. Riera  C, Fisa  R, Udina  M, Gállego  M, Portus  M. Detection of Leishmania infantum cryptic infection in asymptomatic blood donors living in an endemic area (Eivissa, Balearic Islands, Spain) by different diagnostic methods. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2004;98:102–10. DOIPubMed
  16. Desjeux  P, Alvar  J. Leishmania/HIV co-infections: epidemiology in Europe. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2003;97(Suppl 1):3–15. DOIPubMed
  17. Myskova  J, Svobodova  M, Beverley  SM, Volf  P. A lipophosphoglycan-independent development of Leishmania in permissive sand flies. Microbes Infect. 2007;9:317–24. DOIPubMed
  18. Afonso  MO, Campino  L, Cortes  S, Alves-Pires  C. The phlebotomine sandflies of Portugal. XIII–Occurrence of Phlebotomus sergenti Parrot, 1917 in the Arrabida leishmaniasis focus. Parasite. 2005;12:69–72.PubMed
  19. Depaquit  J, Léger  N, Ferté  H, Rioux  JA, Gantier  JC, Michaelides  A, Phlebotomines of the Isle of Cyprus. III. Species inventory. Parasite. 2001;8:11–20.PubMed
  20. Garifallou  A, Schnur  LF, Stratigos  JD, Hadziandoniou  M, Savigos  M, Stavrianeas  N, Leishmaniasis in Greece II. Isolation and identification of the parasite causing cutaneous leishmaniasis in man. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1984;78:369–75.PubMed
  21. Antoniou  M, Haralambous  C, Mazeris  A, Pratlong  F, Dedet  J-P, Soteriadou  K. Leishmania donovani leishmaniasis in Cyprus. Lancet Infect Dis. 2008;8:6–7. DOIPubMed
  22. Hadighi  R, Mohebali  M, Boucher  P, Hajjaran  H, Khamesipour  A, Ouellette  M. Unresponsiveness to Glucantime treatment in Iranian cutaneous leishmaniasis due to drug-resistant Leishmania tropica parasites. PLoS Med. 2006;3:e162. DOIPubMed
  23. Croft  SL, Sundar  S, Fairlamb  AH. Drug resistance in leishmaniasis. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2006;19:111–26. DOIPubMed
  24. Miles  MA, Vexenat  JA, Furtado Campos  JH, Fonseca de Castro  JA. Canine leishmaniasis in Latin America: control strategies for visceral leishmaniasis. In: R. Killick-Kendrick, editor. Canine leishmaniasis: an update. Barcelona: Hoechst Roussel Vet;1999. p. 46–53.
  25. Mauricio  IL, Stothard  JR, Miles  MA. The strange case of Leishmania chagasi. Parasitol Today. 2000;16:188–9. DOIPubMed
  26. Ravel  C, Cortes  S, Pratlong  F, Morio  F, Dedet  JP, Campino  L. First report of genetic hybrids between two very divergent Leishmania species: Leishmania infantum and Leishmania major. Int J Parasitol. 2006;36:1383–8. DOIPubMed
  27. Volf  P, Benkova  I, Myskova  J, Sadlova  J, Campino  L, Ravel  C. Increased transmission potential of Leishmania major/Leishmania infantum hybrids. Int J Parasitol. 2007;37:589–93. Epub 2007 Feb 15. DOIPubMed
  28. Schraner  C, Hasse  B, Hasse  U, Baumann  D, Faeh  A, Burg  G, Successful treatment with miltefosine of disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis in a severely immunocompromised patient infected with HIV-1. Clin Infect Dis. 2005;40:e120–4. DOIPubMed
  29. Troya  J, Casquero  A, Refoyo  E, Fernández-Guerrero  ML, Górgolas  M. Long term failure of miltefosine in the treatment of refractory visceral leishmaniasis in AIDS patients. Scand J Infect Dis. 2008;40:78–80. DOIPubMed
  30. World Health Organization. Eighteenth programme report/progress 2005–2006. Geneva: The Organization; 2007.
  31. Alvar  J, Yactayo  S, Bern  C. Leishmaniasis and poverty. Trends Parasitol. 2006;22:552–7. DOIPubMed
  32. Weitzel  T, Mühlberger  N, Jelinek  T, Schunk  M, Ehrhardt  S, Bogdan  C, Imported leishmaniasis in Germany 2001–2004: data of the SIMPID surveillance network [in German]. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2005;24:471–6. DOIPubMed
  33. Pagliano  P, Rossi  M, Rescigno  C, Altieri  S, Coppola  MG, Gramiccia  M, Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis in HIV-negative adults: a retrospective analysis of 64 consecutive cases (1995–2001). J Antimicrob Chemother. 2003;52:264–8. DOIPubMed
  34. Alvar  J, Jimenez  M. Could infected drug-users be potential Leishmania infantum reservoirs? AIDS. 1994;8:854. DOIPubMed
  35. World Health Organization. Report of the fifth Consultative Meeting on HIV-Leishmania Co-Infection, Addis Ababa 20–22 March 2007. Geneva: The Organization; 2007.
  36. Capelli  G, Baldelli  R, Ferroglio  E, Genchi  C, Gradoni  L, Gramiccia  M, Monitoring of canine leishmaniasis in northern Italy: an update from a scientific network. Parassitologia. 2004;46:193–7.PubMed

Main Article

Page created: July 12, 2010
Page updated: July 12, 2010
Page reviewed: July 12, 2010
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external