Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of the sandfly and can cause skin disease and systemic disease. The systemic form can be fatal, but treatment with antimony-containing compounds produces a high cure rate.

Parasites are deposited in the skin by the bite of a sand-fly. These parasites (leishmania) produce a local sore at the site of the bite and migrate throughout the body, causing tissue destruction at distant sites.

Leishmaniasis is seen in the United States mainly in people who have traveled outside the U.S. There are several different types of leishmaniasis, but all are transmitted by the bite of a sandfly. An initial sore develops at the site of the bite, as shown here. The infection may spread through the body from that point.

Leishmaniasis is seen in the United States mainly in people who have traveled outside the U.S. There are several different types of leishmaniasis, but all are transmitted by the bite of a sandfly. An initial sore develops at the site of the bite, as shown here. The infection may spread through the body from that point.

Leishmaniasis is seen in the United States mainly in people who travel outside the U.S. There are several different types of leishmaniasis, but all are transmitted by the bite of a sandfly. This is the typical appearance of the early stage of leishmaniasis.