Leishmaniasis. An increasing problem.

Dr Harry Richards, Wellcome Foundation, explains the organisation's committment to leishmaniasis. To date mosquito control has also helped control the sand flies which carry leishmaniasis. However, due to political instability and the discontinuation of these programmes, the disease is still endemic in Africa and South America. Simple graphics are used to describe the lifecycle of the organism. The clinical manifestations are then described. Diagnosis is tricky. A clinician demonstrates the extraction of bone marrow to detect the parasites; a painful process. He demonstrates on an orange. Lesions are shown using stills. Drug treatments are suggested. A Wellcome Foundation product, Pentostam, is recommended.