[A case of visceral leishmaniasis].

A case of leishmaniasis (L. donovani) in a five year-old girl from Acatlan, State of Puebla, Mexico, is reported. She had had a 4-month history of malaise with 39 degrees C intermittent fever, hyporexia and a weight loss of 7 kg. She had spleen enlargement, and blood pancytopenia. A bone marrow study showed the Leishmania amastigotes; a positive blood culture on NNN media (Novy-Nicolle-MacNeal) confirmed the presence of promastigotes. A complete remission was achieved with methylglucamine. We present a review of the Mexican literature concerning visceral leishmaniasis.