Leishmaniases: Epidemiological Report of the Americas

Overview

The leishmaniasis are diseases with elevated incidence rate and wide geographic distribution in the Americas. They remain a challenge for national and regional programs, since they require a technical, operative and political effort to sustain the systematic development of surveillance, prevention and control actions towards these diseases.

In 2017, delegates of the endemic countries, who attended the Regional Leishmaniasis Meeting, approved the Leishmaniasis Plan of Action 2017-2022 for the Americas, which details the goals, indicators and actions to reinforce the commitments of PAHO's Directing Council Resolution CD55.R9 of 2016.

The objective of the Plan is to reduce morbidity and mortality by leishmaniasis in the Region through strengthening of the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, prevention, surveillance and control. It also has four regional goals which are to be reached by 2022: 1) Reduce the visceral leishmaniasis fatality rate by 50%; 2) reduce cutaneous/mucosal leishmaniasis deaths by 90%; 3) reduce the proportion of cutaneous leishmaniasis in children under 10 years old by 50%; and 4) reduce the visceral leishmaniasis incidence according to the epidemiological scenario of each country.

Regarding visceral leishmaniasis, 96% of the cases of the region are reported in Brazil and we highlight that the number of deaths by this disease has increased since 2012 and the fatality rate of the Americas has reached 7.9% in 2016, which is the highest rate compared to other continents. The proportion of cutaneous leishmaniasis in children under 10 years old has also reached its highest value in 2016 (15.5%), with some countries registering over 40% of the cases in this age group.