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Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of the sandfly.
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Leishmaniasis refers to several different illnesses caused by infection with an organism called a protozoan. Protozoa are considered to be the most simple organisms in the animal kingdom.
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Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania that are spread by the bite of female phlebotomine sand flies of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World and Lutzomyia in the New World. Approximately 350 million people in eighty-eight countries are thought to be at risk for leishmania infection.
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