A small but severe danger is rising in warm, rural, and forest US regions. The quarter-sized mosquito-like sand fly transmits leishmaniasis' single-celled parasite. These tiny bloodsucking insects are most active at night and have the amazing ability to get past window screens or regular mosquito nets.
Sand fly bites often go unreported, according to Dr. Mary Kamb, a medical epidemiologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But Kamb and her CDC coworkers have seen a worrying pattern: Leishmaniasis cases have been found in people who say they have not gone outside the US.
Concerns concerning local transmission were raised when these data were reported at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's annual conference.
After a sand fly bite, leishmaniasis causes tiny lumps on the skin to turn into ulcerous sores. Although the lesions are not painful, they may scar and disfigure the face. When the liver, spleen, and bone marrow are infected, visceral leishmaniasis becomes more dangerous.
"People could be asymptomatic and not develop anything, but when people are symptomatic, they develop ulcers on their skin, and sometimes it starts like a little tiny volcano with a crater in it," Kamb said, as quoted by CNN in its report.
Climate Change Drives Sand Flies Northward
The majority of the skin samples included in the CDC research came from Texas, the only US state that mandates that physicians report leishmaniasis infections. Additionally, a recent study points to illnesses locally acquired in southeast Oklahoma. Traditionally, it was believed that travelers returning from Mexico spread leishmaniasis, but recent cases in Americans without a travel history have raised concerns about local transmission.
Leishmaniasis skin infections in non-travelers documented in the United States occur in around six instances per year. However, the public and medical experts are mostly unaware of this illness, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified as an endemic illness.
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Disease expansion to northern regions may be due to climate change. Because sand flies prefer higher temperatures, this trend facilitates their travel, and climate forecasts show that it will continue, according to Scientific American.
Controlling the Spread of the Disease
Controlling the insects that spread the parasites is a common focus of efforts to fight vector-borne illnesses like leishmaniasis. Sand flies, however, provide particular difficulties. They do not need standing water to reproduce, and they are much smaller than mosquitoes.
Up to one million individuals each year are thought to be infected with leishmaniasis, according to the WHO. Brazil reported the bulk of cases in the Americas; however, infections have been detected elsewhere around Latin America, per CBS News. Although most US states do not require leishmaniasis reports, the CDC is seeing an increase in requests for help identifying cases, showing a trend of rising knowledge and concern.
Consider taking these safety measures against disease-carrying sand flies while in warm, remote areas:
- Sand flies may be repelled by using DEET-containing insect sprays.
- Apply permethrin to your clothes and camping gear to stay protected.
- If insect bites cause recurrent skin blisters, particularly after nighttime outdoor activity, see a doctor.
A month-long course of medications, such as the parasite-fighting medication amphotericin B, is frequently required for leishmaniasis treatment.
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