Current situation of leishmaniasis in Uruguay

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by the bite of a blood-sucking mosquito ("sand fly") that in Latin America belongs to the genus Lutzomyia.  Its main reservoir is the domestic and wild canines. In humans it presents under 3 basic clinical forms: cutaneous, cutaneous-mucosal and visceral, being the last one the most serious due to its high mortality. In canines only one clinical presentation is recognized, also called visceral leishmaniasis.                                               This disease is endemic in 98 countries, mainly in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Its incidence and lethality have been increasing in a worrying way in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.  In Uruguay, in the departments of Salto and Artigas, cases of canine leishmaniasis have been diagnosed coinciding with the identification of the vector: Lutzomyia Longipalpis. In humans in our country in 2018 the first native case was diagnosed.  The present review aims to expand and update knowledge about the disease, since in the near future it will have to be taken into account by both veterinary and medical professionals and included among the probable diagnoses of the daily clinic.