Background: Cutaneous and visceral forms of leishmaniasis are the most important protozoan infection in the Middle East
and North Africa (MENA).
Objectives: Review the current knowledge on leishmaniasis in the MENA.
Methods: The data presented in this review are gathered primarily from WHO reports and from an extensive literature search
on PubMed.
Results: There are four cycles of transmission of leishmaniasis: zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), induce by
Leishmania
(
L.)
major, transmitted by
Phlebotomus (
P.)
papatasi
, with rodent species of
Psammomys obesus
,
Meriones libycus
,
Nesokia indica
, and
Rhombomys opimus
are considered as host reservoirs. Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) is inducing by
L. infantum, transmitted
by several
Phlebotomus spp. of the sub-genus
Larroussius and mainly
P. perniciosus
in more than one-half of the MENA countries
and the dog species of
Canis familiaris
are considered as the main reservoirs. Anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL),
induce by
L. tropica and transmitted by
P. sergenti
, without any non-human reservoir in most cases. Anthroponotic visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) induces by
L. donovani spreads through
P. alexandri
, circulates exclusively in humans.
Conclusion: There are many challenges facing the successful control of leishmaniasis. However, there is continuing research
into the treatment of leishmaniasis and potentially vaccinations for the disease.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i1.4
Cite as: Tabbabi A. Review of Leishmaniasis in the Middle East and North Africa. Afri Health Sci. 2019;19(1): 1329-1337. https://dx.doi.
org/10.4314/ahs.v19i1.4 
