Leishmaniasis – knowledge, learning and innovation
The increase in the number of leishmaniasis cases observed during the last 25 years worldwide is due to some specific factors such as: globalization and climate change. They contribute to the spread of leishmaniasis in non-endemic areas. For example, in the last few decades, the number of cases of leishmaniasis in international travellers (tourists and businessmen) has increased. The literature also reports evidence that global warming will lead to an extension of the distribution of sand flies further north, which in the future, could result in the transmission of leishmaniasis in regions hitherto non-endemic. Other risk factors for the emergence and spread of leishmaniasis are war and other disorders. Nowadays, the outbreak of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Middle East and North Africa represents a huge concern. This Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) epidemic was triggered by the civil war in Syria and the refugee crisis, and now, affects hundreds of thousands of people living in refugee camps or in conflict zones. The most common form of leishmaniasis is Cutaneous Leishmaniasis with 0.7– 1.3 million new cases occurring annually worldwide (World Health Organization- WHO). Leishmaniasis is considered endemic in 88 countries, as more than 12 million people suffer from the disease and a portion of the population of approximately 350 million is at risk of contracting it.
In the book “Leishmaniasis – knowledge, learning and innovation”, Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is approached in different aspects such as: (1) Geographic Challenge; (2) Endemic disease distributed in all Brazilian territories, including the Brazilian border regions with other countries in South America; (3) a complex disease whose treatment remains a challenge and finally, (4) a disease that, in the near future, may have a promising treatment based on less harmful natural products. In short, this book aims to share some knowledge acquired from years of experience in working with this disease. This research also aims to show the formation of an innovative product which may contribute to the pharmacological treatment derived from algae, with leishmanicidal potential and devoid of cytotoxicity to cells human.
Dilvani Oliveira Santos