Cutaneous leishmaniasis: review of 59 cases seen at the National Institutes of Health.

Fifty-nine cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis seen at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, are reviewed. The group of patients involved was unique in that the majority were American civilians, their disease was acquired in many different endemic areas of the world, and their illnesses represented all points on the clinical spectrum of cutaneous disease. The majority of American patients acquired leishmaniasis while engaging in activities related to their occupations. Cutaneous disease acquired in the New World usually consisted of one or two lesions, while multiple lesions often characterized Old World infections with Leishmania major. Patients with chronic relapsing or diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis were native to endemic areas and were infected at an early age. Even the localized form of cutaneous leishmaniasis was often extensive and difficult to treat. Diagnosis with culture and identification of the parasite to the subspecies level is instrumental in the selection of optimal therapy. Cutaneous leishmaniasis may be encountered increasingly often in the United States because of the frequent international travel of U.S. residents and the influx of immigrants from endemic areas of the world.