Data and statistics

Leishmaniasis occurs on 4 continents and is considered to be endemic in 88 countries, 72 of which are developing.

• 90% of all visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases occur in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal and Sudan.
• 90% of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis occurs in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru.
• 90% of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases occur in Afghanistan, Brazil, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Peru, Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic.

One of the major threats to controlling VL is its interaction with HIV infection. VL has emerged as an important opportunistic infection associated with HIV. In areas where VL is endemic, many people have asymptomatic infection. A concomitant HIV infection increases the risk of developing active VL by 100–2320 times. In southern Europe, up to 70% of cases of VL in adults are associated with HIV infection.