Cutaneous leishmaniosis: some aspects of epidemiology and a case report

Cutaneous leishmaniosis presents as unsightly wound, begins as an erythematous papule at the site of a sandfly bite on the exposed parts of the human and some mammalian body. The papule increases in size and becomes a nodule which eventually ulcerates and crusts over. The ulcer is typically large but painless unless there is secondary bacterial or fungal infection. The disease condition is associated with rural areas and poverty. The sandflies are found around human habitations and breed in specific organic wastes such as faeces, manure, rodent burrows and termitaria. This paper reviews the epidemiology of the sandflies and leishmania species and also considered a human case of cutaneous leishmaniosis in Sokoto, Sokoto state, Nigeria.