An infection caused by the bite of a sand fly, visceral leishmaniasis has a 100% fatality rate if left untreated. Characterized by bouts of fever, significant weight loss, swelling of the spleen and liver, and anaemia, the disease can only be treated with medication that…
In war-torn Syria, outbreaks of diarrhea and cholera have been relatively sparse due to high levels of hygiene education among Syrians, while harder-to-prevent diseases like leishmaniasis—a disfiguring skin infection caused by the sandfly—are on the rise.
Does the seeming uptick in emerging diseases mean we are just getting better at detecting emerging diseases, or are forces like population growth and climate change making zoonotic diseases more common?
Most of the world’s neglected tropical diseases, including dengue, leishmaniasis, leprosy, Chagas disease, and parasitic worm infections, can be found in some of the world’s wealthiest countries, as well as Nigeria, according to a new report that examines “blue marble…
Cutaneous leishmaniasis, previously contained in Syria, has returned—taking advantage of overwhelmed medical facilities, massive displacement, and lack of clean water driven by the conflict—and it’s on the move.
Traipsing about in Honduras’s remote Mosquitia jungle to look for the ruins of an ancient culture carries no small risk, a Nat Geo team has found. Despite protection from the Honduran military, members of the expedition were attacked by dangerous if tiny foes: sand flies…
