Tropical parasite skin infection is now spreading to the United States, CDC warns

Sand flies can transmit the parasite when they bite humans.


We are now completely immersed in the fall - and although some of us cry the warmer weather, there is a key advantage: fewer mosquitoes. But although you may have the freedom of the itching Insect bites Until summer rolls again, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have just made a warning concerning another type of bite and leishmaniasis, a skin infection causing ulcers that result. Read the rest to know why the CDC warns against this growing problem.

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These skin infections were once only an concern for international travelers.

sand fly on leaf
Ezume Images / Shutterstock

Treatment found in the tropical and subtropical parts of the world, the fly of sand can bite humans and parasite called Leishmania , according to the Cleveland Clinic. This parasite causes leishmaniasis, a skin infection that causes skin ulcers or internal infections.

CDC generally warns travelers on the sand, even offering a List of destinations where they can be found. But now doctors are Case detection of leishmaniasis in the Americans who say that they not Traveling outside the United States, CNN reported.

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There are two common types of leishmaniasis.

man with sand fly bites
Elizaveta Galitckaia / Shutterstock

As part of a new study - which is presented in the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene this weekend - CDC Medical Epidemiologist Mary Kamb , MD, and his colleagues identified the parasite in the patient's tissue samples. Non-transporters infected with leishmaniasis have all presented visible ulcers, which generally appear near the sandy flop bite, Kamb told CNN.

"People could be asymptomatic and not develop anything, but when people are symptomatic, they develop ulcers on their skin and sometimes it starts like a small volcano with a crater," said Kamb.

These types of leishmaniasis are cutaneous. According to the CDC, the variety detected causes skin wounds that change size and appearance over time. Wounds can also be closed with bumps or bumps, or open like an ulcer, depending on the CDC.

The second common type, visceral leishmaniasis, is an infection of the internal organs. Symptoms can take several months or a year to come after a bite of infected fly, but if visceral leishmaniasis is not treated, it is fatal. You can get this kind when you travel to some countries; However, we don't think we are transmitted to the United States AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

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The sand speeds that can transport Leishmania have been identified in several states.

positive test for leishmania parasite
Jarun Ontakrai / Shutterstock

The skin samples for CDC study from Texas patients, of which CNN Note is the only state that forces doctors to report leishmaniasis diagnostics. However, cases have also been reported in the south-east of Oklahoma, and sand flies that may have the parasite could also be in several other southwest states.

Thanks to climate change, these flies were also found further north - in Delaware, Ohio, Maryland and New Jersey - but CNN notes that it is not known if the flies in these states have transmitted Infections.

In the study, most of the samples that were positive came from participants who traveled internationally, but 86 came from people who had not done so. The most common parasites, Leishmania Mexana , has two genotypes, one of which was found in 94% of infected people who had not traveled.

These results suggest that in the United States, this specific genotype, "CCC", could be the one that is endemic - or occurring regularly in a certain area. (It should also be noted that around six cases of leishmaniasis are reported in non-transporters in the United States each year, and although many Americans may not know much about leishmaniasis, the World Health Organization Lists as endemic here.)

Health managers have advice on staying safe.

man using bug spray
Galitskaya / Istock

As Gideon Wasserberg , PHD, professor of ecology for disease and medical entomology at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, told CNN, it is believed that the parasite could be carried by rats. Sand flies are infected after biting the rats, and flies then pass the parasite to humans. Wasserberg noted that people cannot generally be transmitted to each other.

With this new information in light, Wasserberg stressed the importance of staying safe if you are in a "hot rural area".

Managers note that sand flies are much smaller than mosquitoes. Thus, in areas where these pests are present, invest in window screens and nets for your bed which have smaller holes. These bugs can be rejected by bug vaporizers with Deet, so also get a bug approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

If you have a new skin shovel that does not disappear after an insect bite, contact your doctor, Wasserberg said by CNN. According to the Cleveland Clinic, leishmaniasis is "often healed when a diagnostic supplier and immediately treats it with drugs".

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Best Life offers the most up -to -date information for high -level experts, new research and health agencies, but our content is not supposed to replace professional advice. Regarding the medication you take or any other health issue you have, always consult your health care provider directly.


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