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Cutaneous Leishmaniasis: Current Treatment Practices in the USA for Returning Travelers

  • Travel Medicine (O Vielemeyer, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Infectious Diseases Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

Leishmaniasis, a protozoal infection transmitted by sandfly bite, produces a clinical spectrum of disease ranging from asymptomatic infection to ulcerative skin and mucosal lesions to visceral involvement. Leishmaniasis is endemic in regions of Africa, the Middle East, south Asia, southern Europe, northern South America, and Central America. There has been an increase in imported leishmaniasis into developed, non-endemic countries due to increasing global travel. While pentavalent antimonials have been the mainstay of antileishmanial treatment for decades, newer therapeutic options have become available for all forms of infection, including liposomal amphotericin B, miltefosine, fluconazole, and ketoconazole. For the returning traveler with cutaneous leishmaniasis in the USA, treatment approaches are determined based on infecting species, initial presentation, extent and progression of disease, the advantages and drawbacks of available parenteral and oral drugs, and clinician-consultant experience.

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Conflict of Interest

Daniel P. Eiras declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Laura A. Kirkman declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Henry W. Murray declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medical College, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Daniel P. Eiras MD, MPH, Laura A. Kirkman MD & Henry W. Murray MD

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  1. Daniel P. Eiras MD, MPH
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  2. Laura A. Kirkman MD
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  3. Henry W. Murray MD
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Correspondence to Daniel P. Eiras MD, MPH.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Travel Medicine

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Eiras, D.P., Kirkman, L.A. & Murray, H.W. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis: Current Treatment Practices in the USA for Returning Travelers. Curr Treat Options Infect Dis 7, 52–62 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40506-015-0038-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40506-015-0038-4

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