Leishmaniasis includes a wide range of clinical manifestations caused by
the parasites of Trypanosomatida genus Leishmania. It spreads when a
person gets bitten by Phlebotomus, Lutzomyia and phlebotomine sandflies.
Leishmaniasis is manifested in mainly three ways: cutaneous,
mucocutaneous and visceral. The cutaneous form of Leishmaniasis presents
with skin ulcers. The mucocutaneous form presents with ulcers of mouth,
nose and skin, while the visceral form begins with the ulcers of skin
and later on presents with low count of red blood cells, fever and
enlarged liver and spleen. More than 20 species of Leishmania cause
infections in humans. Some of the risk factors for Leishmaniasis are
malnutrition, poverty, urbanization and deforestation. This book aims to
shed light on some of the unexplored aspects of Leishmaniasis and the
recent researches in this field. It will also provide interesting topics
for research which interested readers can take up. This book will serve
as a valuable source of reference for graduate and post graduate
students.