title: The increase in risk factors for leishmaniasis worldwide.
abstract: Economic development leads to changing interactions between humans and their physical and biological environment. Worldwide patterns of human settlement in urban areas have led in developing countries to a rapid growth of mega-cities where facilities for housing, drinking-water and sanitation are inadequate, thus creating opportunities for the transmission of communicable diseases such as leishmaniasis. Increasing risk factors are making leishmaniasis a growing public health concern for many countries around the world. Certain risk factors are new, while others previously known are becoming more significant. While some risk factors are related to a specific eco-epidemiological entity, others affect all forms of leishmaniasis. Risk factors are reviewed here entity by entity.
authors.affiliation: Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Response, Epidemic Disease Control, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Desjeux
mesh_terms: D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000453:epidemiology; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology