Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in U.S. Military Personnel -- Southwest/Central Asia, 2002-2003

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a vector-borne parasitic disease, is a risk for persons, including military personnel, who travel to or live in areas of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe where the disease is endemic.

The CDC has published a report providing preliminary data about 22 cases of CL in military personnel deployed during 2002-2003 to three countries in Southwest/Central Asia (Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait). The patients were evaluated and treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District of Columbia during August 2002-September 2003.

U.S. health-care providers should consider the possibility of CL in persons with chronic skin lesions who were deployed to Southwest/Central Asia or who were in other areas where leishmaniasis is endemic.

For more information and a copy of the report, visit the CDC's MMWR Report on Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

Download fact sheets from the DHCC, AFIOH/RSR, USACHPPM, and WRAMC:
Leishmaniasis Information for Service Members
Leishmaniasis Information for Clinicians