title: Leishmaniases in Maghreb: an endemic neglected disease.
abstract: Maghreb is known to be one of the most endemic areas of leishmaniases where both visceral and cutaneous forms are reported. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is older and has a higher prevalence than visceral one (VL). It is caused by four taxa (Leishmania (L.) major, L. infantum, L. tropica and L. killicki) which are responsible for a large clinical spectrum of lesions. Most transmission cycles of these taxa are known and many phlebotomine sandflies vectors and reservoir hosts are identified. The zoonotic transmission is well established for L. major. However, for L. infantum and L. killicki it needs more investigations to be proven. Regarding L. tropica, studies suggest it to be of both zoonotic and anthroponotic types. The isoenzymatic characterization of these four taxa showed a large enzymatic polymorphism varying from two zymodemes for L. major to 10 zymodemes for L. tropica. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is widely distributed and covers all bioclimatic stages with the coexistence of more than one taxon in the same foci. Visceral leishmaniasis is the second form of leishmaniases in Maghreb. Only L. infantum is known to cause this disease. The transmission cycle of this parasite is zoonotic but still not well known. The isoenzymatic identification of L. infantum causing VL showed the presence of six zymodemes. Geographically, VL is distributed in all bioclimatic stages of Maghreb countries. Despite all the previous studies realized on leishmaniases in Maghreb, they are still considered as neglected diseases because of the rarity or the absence of efficient control strategies.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie Médicale et Moléculaire (code LR12ES08), Département de Biologie Clinique B, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Monastir, Tunisia; Centre National de Référence des Leishmania, UMR MIVEGEC (CNRS 5290-IRD 224-UM1 et UM2), Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie, CHRU de Montpellier, Université Montpellier 1, 39 avenue Charles FLAHAULT, 34295 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. Electronic address: chaara.dhekra@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Dhekra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chaara
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie Médicale et Moléculaire (code LR12ES08), Département de Biologie Clinique B, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Monastir, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Najoua
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haouas
authors.affiliation: Centre National de Référence des Leishmania, UMR MIVEGEC (CNRS 5290-IRD 224-UM1 et UM2), Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie, CHRU de Montpellier, Université Montpellier 1, 39 avenue Charles FLAHAULT, 34295 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Jean Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dedet
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie Médicale et Moléculaire (code LR12ES08), Département de Biologie Clinique B, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Monastir, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Hamouda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Babba
authors.affiliation: Centre National de Référence des Leishmania, UMR MIVEGEC (CNRS 5290-IRD 224-UM1 et UM2), Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie, CHRU de Montpellier, Université Montpellier 1, 39 avenue Charles FLAHAULT, 34295 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pratlong
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000032:analysis; D007891:Leishmania / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D058069:Neglected Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D015995:Prevalence; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000254:growth & development; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes
keywords: Enzymatic polymorphism; Geographical distribution; Leishmania taxa; Leishmaniases; Maghreb; Transmission cycles