title: A case of visceral leishmaniasis and pulmonary tuberculosis in a post-partum woman.
abstract: Visceral leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum is a vector-borne zoonotic disease transmitted by sand fly bites endemic in rural or periurban areas of the Mediterranean basin. Pregnancy is accompanied by changes in immune response, mainly a decrease in cellular immunity and a proportional increase in humoral immunity. These physiological events result in increased risk of infection by pathogens whose immunity is based on a T-helper 1 predominant response. We describe a case of visceral leishmaniasis and pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosed in a post-partum woman four days after delivery. The diagnosis of leishmaniasis should be considered in pregnant women with fever and haematologic abnormalities in endemic regions or if a history of exposure in endemic areas is reported.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze per la promozione della salute e materno-infantile, Università di Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: claudia.colomba@libero.it.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colomba
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze per la promozione della salute e materno-infantile, Università di Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: lucia.adamoli5@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Adamoli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze per la promozione della salute e materno-infantile, Università di Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: marcellotrizzino@hotmail.it.
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trizzino
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze per la promozione della salute e materno-infantile, Università di Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: luciasira@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Siracusa
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze per la promozione della salute e materno-infantile, Università di Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: bonurasilvia@libero.it.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonura
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze per la promozione della salute e materno-infantile, Università di Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: mtolomeo@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Manlio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tolomeo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Discipline chirurgiche, oncologiche e stomatologiche, Università di Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: massimo.cajozzo@unipa.it.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cajozzo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze per la promozione della salute e materno-infantile, Università di Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: giovanni.giammanco@unipa.it.
authors.forename: Giovanni Maurizio
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Giammanco
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D060085:Coinfection / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018314:Leishmania infantum; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Pregnancy; Pulmonary Tuberculosis; Visceral leishmaniasis