US slowly getting caught in proliferating skin-disfiguring infection?

An ancient skin disfiguring infection – leishmaniasis – which is also known by various nicknames across the world like Baghdad boil, Calcutta ulcer and Jericho button, is not something well-known in America.

But Americans are likely to know a lot about this mysterious disease as evidence shows that the parasitic skin infection usually found among international travellers has now turned into an endemic (a situation where the disease is constantly present)in parts of the United States.

The infection has been creeping up mostly in non-travelers in Texas where doctors are needed to report the cases to health authorities. The infection has also been found spreading in southeast Oklahoma and Arizona.

Experts have raised concerns that the huge number of critters which are capable of harbouring and transmitting the infection and climate change are further increasing the spread of disease.

In the genetic testing of 86 locally acquired cases, it was seen that the majority were infected by a Leishmania mexicana parasite's variant that is likely to have originated in the US.

“There have been previous indications of local transmission based on a small number of case reports,” stated Mary Kamb, a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which carried out the study.

“Now, for the first time, we have a distinct genetic fingerprint from a relatively large cluster, providing further evidence that leishmaniasis may be well-established in some parts of the US,” he added. The results were presented at a scientific meeting held in Chicago on Thursday (Oct 19).

Sand fly transmitting Leishmaniasis-causing parasites

Around 70 species of sand fly have been transmitting the Leishmaniasis-causing parasites. The main culprits in the western hemisphere are Lutzomyia insects which are known to feed on blood. They are discovered in different parts of the United States, especially in southern states.

The parasite has been residing in a “reservoir” of animals, which are mostly opossums, armadillos and rodents, which female sandflies feed on. The virus has also infected American cats and dogs, and there has been concern that imported dogs, which were infected abroad, can harbour a life-threatening visceral form of the disease.

WATCH |Gravitas: 'Disease X' could be 20 times deadlier than the Wuhan virus

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in humans has been causing hard-to-heal, ulcerating sores which are the size of a half-dollar or larger and can last six to 12 months. Even though there are medications for treating them, the sores can turn into disfiguring scars if they are left to fester.

In Texas, dermatologists are accustomed to spotting the infection, however, it is not well-recognised in other states. Kamb said that it hampered efforts to understand how widely the parasites have spread.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE