TY - JOUR
T1 - A cluster of four cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis by Leishmania donovani in Cyprus
T2 - A case series
AU - Koliou, Maria G.
AU - Antoniou, Yiannakis
AU - Antoniou, Maria
AU - Christodoulou, Vasiliki
AU - Mazeris, Apostolos
AU - Soteriades, Elpidoforos S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Koliou et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Introduction: Leishmaniasis is endemic in more than 95 countries and is the only tropical/subtropical vector-borne disease that has been endemic in Southern Europe for decades. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of cutaneous leishmaniasis by Leishmania donovani in a child and the first cluster with adult cases reported in Europe. Case presentation: We describe a familial cluster of four cutaneous leishmaniasis cases among Greek Cypriots caused by L. donovani in a Paphos village, in Cyprus. A 6-year-old boy (Case number 1) had a persistent lesion in the left angle of his upper lip, a 60-year-old woman (Case number 2) presented with a 2cm-diameter glabella lesion on her forehead, a 60-year-old man (Case number 3) developed a lesion on his moustache area and a 40-year-old woman (Case number 4) had a lesion on her neck In Case number 3 the lesion was self-cured; the other cases recovered after surgical resection followed by liposomal amphotericin B (Case numbers 1 and 4) or thermotherapy and liposomal amphotericin B (Case number 2). Conclusions: This familial cluster of cutaneous leishmaniasis, due to the anthroponotic L. donovani, shows that the sand fly species responsible for transmitting this parasite species is found in the area around the three neighbouring houses involved. The factors favourable for the survival, spread and contact of the vector with people could be assessed in this area for the establishment of preventative measures to safeguard public health.
AB - Introduction: Leishmaniasis is endemic in more than 95 countries and is the only tropical/subtropical vector-borne disease that has been endemic in Southern Europe for decades. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of cutaneous leishmaniasis by Leishmania donovani in a child and the first cluster with adult cases reported in Europe. Case presentation: We describe a familial cluster of four cutaneous leishmaniasis cases among Greek Cypriots caused by L. donovani in a Paphos village, in Cyprus. A 6-year-old boy (Case number 1) had a persistent lesion in the left angle of his upper lip, a 60-year-old woman (Case number 2) presented with a 2cm-diameter glabella lesion on her forehead, a 60-year-old man (Case number 3) developed a lesion on his moustache area and a 40-year-old woman (Case number 4) had a lesion on her neck In Case number 3 the lesion was self-cured; the other cases recovered after surgical resection followed by liposomal amphotericin B (Case numbers 1 and 4) or thermotherapy and liposomal amphotericin B (Case number 2). Conclusions: This familial cluster of cutaneous leishmaniasis, due to the anthroponotic L. donovani, shows that the sand fly species responsible for transmitting this parasite species is found in the area around the three neighbouring houses involved. The factors favourable for the survival, spread and contact of the vector with people could be assessed in this area for the establishment of preventative measures to safeguard public health.
KW - Cluster
KW - Cutaneous leishmaniasis
KW - Cyprus
KW - Leishmania donovani
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84937716730&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84937716730&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1752-1947-8-354
DO - 10.1186/1752-1947-8-354
M3 - Article
C2 - 25343876
AN - SCOPUS:84937716730
SN - 1752-1947
VL - 8
JO - Journal of Medical Case Reports
JF - Journal of Medical Case Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 354
ER -