According to the WHO, it is estimated that each year there are between 700,000 and 1 million new cases of leishmaniasis.
According to PAHO, worldwide, leishmaniasis is among the top ten neglected tropical diseases, with more than 12 million people infected.
According to the WHO, there are three main forms of leishmaniasis: visceral, cutaneous, and mucocutaneous.
An outbreak of leishmaniasis is affecting the workers who are working on the construction of the Mayan train in Quintana Roo from the year 2022 until what we have in 2023.
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by the insect called “gum fly” that inhabits the jungle and whose incubation period in humans is two to three months on average.
The Secretary of State Health, Flavio Carlos Rosado, has reported that there are 416 confirmed cases, of which 385 were reported during 2022 and so far in 2023 there are already 31 reported cases.
At the end of January 2023, health personnel in the state alerted workers at the Mayan Train works about the leishmaniasis outbreak and about the shortage of medicines to treat it, according to local media reported by Reforma.
As a result of negotiations between the state government and the federal Ministry of Health through the National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control (Cenaprece), Quintana Roo already has more than 7,000 doses of glucantime, a drug indicated for the treatment of Leishmaniasis.
What is leishmaniasis disease?
According to information from the IMSS, leishmaniasis is a disease caused by a Leishmania parasite transmitted by the bite of a female Lutzomyia fly, whose size is 2-3 mm, hairy and fragile in appearance, known as papalotilla or midge.
How is leishmaniasis disease diagnosed and treated?
According to the WHO, people suspected of having visceral leishmaniasis should seek medical attention immediately. The diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis rests on a combination of clinical signs and parasitological or serological tests (such as rapid diagnostic tests). Serological tests are of little use in the case of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, the diagnosis of which is confirmed when parasitological analyzes corroborate the clinical manifestations.
The treatment of leishmaniasis depends on several factors, in particular the form of the disease, the presence or absence of concomitant pathologies, the species of the parasite and the geographical location. Leishmaniasis can be treated and cured, but this requires a competent immune system because drugs alone will not eliminate the parasite from the body.
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