HWN Suggests

Sand fly bites are infecting Americans with a parasite that causes disfigurement and sores

So why is the Leishmania parasite suddenly in America? Blame climate change. The Leishmania parasite lives in sand flies, which are increasingly moving north from more tropical climates as the earth warms. That northward migration is sending the infected flies to the southern United States. Indeed, the Southern state of Texas is where most of the skin samples that revealed leishmaniasis came from. But it’s likely if the infected sand flies have landed in Texas, they could also be in other southern states.

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Articles of Interest

A 'tropical disease' carried by sand flies is confirmed in a new country: the U.S.

The parasite responsible for most infections within the U.S., called Leishmania mexicana, causes only the cutaneous form of leishmaniasis rather than the more severe visceral leishmaniasis (the latter affects internal organs rather than the skin and is generally fatal if not treated). The CDC research shows that these parasites are genetically distinct from ones picked up abroad, making clear that they have made a home for themselves in the United States.

A flesh-eating parasite carried by dogs is making its way to North America

Leishmania is a flesh-eating parasite that affects millions of people each year, in 98 countries and territories — but isn’t native to Canada and the United States. So why are veterinarians starting to report Leishmania here, so far from this parasite’s natural warm climate? Leishmania are microscopic parasites transmitted by sandfly bites, and cause a disease called leishmaniosis. There are several forms of this disease, affecting the skin, mucous membranes and internal organs. Some forms of the disease lead to severe disfigurement, others death.

A Nasty Tropical Skin Disease Is Now Endemic in the U.S.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the “neglected tropical diseases,” a disparate group of conditions that affect some of the world’s poorest people and receive relatively little global attention. Caused by parasites spread by sand fly bites, the disease is not fatal, but skin lesions, the main symptom, can bring about all sorts of issues relating to depression and stigma. “You get facial scarring for life, which causes all sorts of issues relating to depression and stigma,” says parasitologist David Molyneux of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in England.

A skin disease caused by sand flies is on the rise in the U.S.

The CDC finds that leishmaniasis, a skin disease spread by sand flies, is spreading at low levels in the southern U.S. It was previously considered a tropical disease only be acquired abroad.

A tropical parasite, passed through the bite of a sand fly, is causing skin infections in the US

Sand flies are tiny tan flies — about the quarter of the size of a mosquito — that live in warm areas, usually those that are rural and forested. In other parts of the world, they are known to transmit a parasite — a single celled organism — that causes an infectious disease called leishmaniasis. They’re most active at night, and they’re so tiny they can slip through ordinary mosquito nets on tents or window screens.

Honey traps set in the battle to beat killer disease leishmaniasis

It is a classic honey trap. The prospect of sex entices the unwary to a rendezvous – only to find the lure is a false one and the victim is undone. As stories go, it is common enough, though the victims of the honey trap that has been designed as part of a special British experiment are far from harmless. They are female sand flies infected with the parasite that causes the deadly disease leishmaniasis. And the sex trap is a key part of a project aimed at halting the spread of the disease.

Leishmania Parasite: Deadly For Humans, But Good For Flies?

But it turns out that this “parasite” may actually be beneficial for the flies that carry it, by helping them to fight off infection from a different type of pathogen, new research shows.

Leishmaniasis: this neglected tropical disease is spreading fast, and Europe is nowhere near prepared

Leishmaniasis is one of the tropical diseases that is spreading due to global warming, and features in the World Health Organisation’s list of neglected tropical diseases. It is actually a group of ailments caused by the parasite Leishmania, transmitted by the bite of insects called phlebotomine sandflies. These insects are smaller and hairier than mosquitoes, with wings that they hold in a “V” shape when at rest.

New Zealand’s Darkest, Bloodiest Secret: The Sandfly

Kiwi recommendations for stopping the biting beasts: DEET, geranium leaves, garlic, rancid bacon, Marmite, Vegemite. Does anything really work?

Phlebotomine sand flies - Factsheet for experts

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the natural vectors of Leishmania (Leishmania) spp. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) and phleboviruses (Bunyavirales: Phenuiviridae) in Mediterranean countries. Leishmania infantum and phleboviruses are widespread in the region, whereas Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica are restricted to North Africa, the Middle East and Asia Minor. Leishmania infantum causes zoonotic visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis (VL and CL) and L. major and L. tropica zoonotic and anthroponotic CL, respectively

Sand Flies and Their Microbiota

Sand flies are a significant public health concern in many parts of the world where they are known to transmit agents of several zoonotic diseases to humans, such as leishmaniasis. Vector control remains a key component of many anti-leishmaniasis programs and probably will remain so until an effective vaccine becomes available. The sand fly gut microbiota has recently emerged as an encouraging field for the exploration of vector-based disease control.

Sand flies: Basic information on the vectors of leishmaniasis and their interactions with Leishmania parasites

Blood-sucking arthropods transmit a variety of human pathogens acting as disseminators of the so-called vector-borne diseases. Leishmaniasis is a spectrum of diseases caused by different Leishmania species, transmitted quasi worldwide by sand flies. However, whereas many laboratories focus on the disease(s) and etiological agents, considerably less study the respective vectors. In fact, information on sand flies is neither abundant nor easy to find; aspects including basic biology, ecology, and sand-fly-Leishmania interactions are usually reported separately. Here, we compile elemental information on sand flies, in the context of leishmaniasis.

The Little-Known, Disfiguring Disease That’s Coming Our Way

Leishmaniasis is unknown to most North Americans. It is transmitted by a parasite and carried by tiny flying insects called sandflies, and there are multiple subspecies of the organism. Depending on which subspecies infects you, you might develop any of three varieties of the illness: cutaneous (involving the skin), mucocutaneous (undermining both the skin, and mucous membranes such as inside the nose and mouth), and visceral (harming the internal organs).

What's behind a sand fly bite? The profound effect of sand fly saliva on host hemostasis, inflammation and immunity

During the process of getting a blood meal, sand flies damage the skin of the host with their proboscis and provoke an immediate response by the host's hemostatic system to prevent blood loss. Sand flies have developed creative ways to circumvent this problem by producing pharmacologically active components in their saliva that can counteract the host's hemostatic system