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. 2022 Jan;27(4):2002028.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.4.2002028.

Surveillance of leishmaniasis cases from 15 European centres, 2014 to 2019: a retrospective analysis

Gert Van der Auwera  1 , Leigh Davidsson  2 , Pierre Buffet  3 , Marie-Thérèse Ruf  4   5 , Marina Gramiccia  6 , Stefania Varani  7   8 , Carmen Chicharro  9 , Aldert Bart  10 , Gundel Harms  11 , Peter L Chiodini  12 , Hanne Brekke  13 , Florence Robert-Gangneux  14 , Sofia Cortes  15 , Jaco J Verweij  16 , Alessandra Scarabello  17 , Sara Karlsson Söbirk  18 , Romain Guéry  19 , Saskia van Henten  1 , Trentina Di Muccio  6 , Elena Carra  20 , Pieter van Thiel  10 , Martin Vandeputte  1 , Valeria Gaspari  7 , Johannes Blum  4   5 ; LeishMan Surveillance network  21 ; LeishMan Surveillance Network members who contributed to this article (in addition to authors above)
Collaborators, Affiliations

Surveillance of leishmaniasis cases from 15 European centres, 2014 to 2019: a retrospective analysis

Gert Van der Auwera et al. Euro Surveill. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

BackgroundSurveillance of human leishmaniasis in Europe is mostly limited to country-specific information from autochthonous infections in the southern part. As at the end of 2021, no integrated analysis has been performed for cases seen across centres in different European countries.AimTo provide a broad perspective on autochthonous and imported leishmaniasis cases in endemic and non-endemic countries in Europe.MethodsWe retrospectively collected records from cutaneous, mucosal and visceral leishmaniasis cases diagnosed in 15 centres between 2014 and 2019. Centres were located in 11 countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Data on country of infection, reason for travelling, infecting species, age and sex were analysed.ResultsWe obtained diagnostic files from 1,142 cases, of which 76%, 21% and 3% had cutaneous, visceral, and mucosal disease, respectively. Of these, 68% were men, and 32% women, with the median age of 37 years (range: 0-90) at diagnosis. Visceral leishmaniasis was mainly acquired in Europe (88%; 167/190), while cutaneous leishmaniasis was primarily imported from outside Europe (77%; 575/749). Sixty-two percent of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases from outside Europe were from the Old World, and 38% from the New World. Geographic species distribution largely confirmed known epidemiology, with notable exceptions.ConclusionsOur study confirms previous reports regarding geographic origin, species, and traveller subgroups importing leishmaniasis into Europe. We demonstrate the importance of pooling species typing data from many centres, even from areas where the aetiology is presumably known, to monitor changing epidemiology.

Keywords: Europe; Leishmania; authochthonous; imported; leishmaniasis; surveillance; travel.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of leishmaniasis cases identified by 15 European centres, 2014–2019
Figure 2
Figure 2
Probable region of infection and Leishmania species complex of leishmaniasis cases identified by 15 European centres, 2014–2019 (n = 1,142)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Stratification according to geographic origin, species complexes and populations of leishmaniasis cases from 15 European centres, 2014–2019
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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