Leishmaniasis skin lesions: characterization and determination of laboratory tests for their identification

Abstract

Leishmaniasis are diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. Worldwide there are many countries where leishmaniasis is endemic. Both cutaneous and visceral acquired cases are due to Leishmania infantum, but there may be other causes by other species in travelers or immigrants. Skin lesions appear too much in exposed areas and tend to heal spontaneously, leaving a scar. The diagnosis is difficult due to the non-specificity of the symptoms and the slow growth of the parasite in culture. In Ecuador it is an endemic disease of mandatory reporting since 2005, it is considered a public health problem due to its distribution dispersion, it is mainly prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions of Ecuador, both in the Amazon, Coast and inter-Andean valleys. It is characterized by presenting dermatological lesions predominantly on exposed body areas such as the face, neck, and extremities. In Ecuador in 2020, 924 cases were reported: 894 are of the cutaneous type and 30 of the mucocutaneous type. Therefore, the objective was to investigate the types of lesions caused by Leishmaniasis, their characterization and laboratory tests for their identification, for which it was carried out under a descriptive documentary design with the search for information from scientific articles and other scientifically relevant journals. . It was concluded that, at present, there are different methods and tests for the determination of leishmaniasis, being the Indirect Immunofluorescence Reaction (IFI) the most sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of this disease.