Incident diagnoses of leishmaniasis, active and reserve components, U.S. Armed Forces, 2001-2016

Abstract

During the surveillance period, there were 2,040 incident diagnoses/reports of leishmaniasis among members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Cutaneous leishmaniasis accounted for more than three-fifths (61.0%) of the total diagnoses/ reports among active component service members and for less than half (48.0%) of the total cases among reserve component members. The visceral form of leishmaniasis represented 1.2% of the total cases. Approximately two-fifths (40.6%) of the total diagnoses/reports were classified as "unspecified" with respect to the type of leishmaniasis. The lowest annual numbers of diagnoses/reports in the past decade were seen in 2011-2016 and reached a nadir of 11 cases in 2015. During the entire surveillance period, 71.7% of the total leishmaniasis cases were diagnosed or reported during the 7 months from early autumn to the beginning of spring (September-March) in the northern hemisphere. The majority of cases acquired in the Middle East (73.6%), South/Central America (87.5%), and other or unknown locations (64.5%) were diagnosed or reported during this 7-month interval.