Unusual Signs and Symptoms in HIV-Positive Patients Coinfected with Leishmania spp: The Importance of Neglected Tropical Disease in Differential Diagnosis

Authors

  • Manuela Ceccarelli Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Unit of Infectious Diseases, University of Messina http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5987-3576
  • Emmanuele Venanzi Rullo Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Unit of Infectious Diseases, University of Messina
  • Fabrizio Condorelli Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro", Novara
  • Fabrizio Vitale Zoo-prophylactic Experimental Institute of Sicily, Palermo (PA)
  • Vincenzo Di Marco Zoo-prophylactic Experimental Institute of Sicily, Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (ME)
  • Giuseppe Nunnari Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Unit of Infectious Diseases, University of Messina
  • Giovanni Francesco Pellicanò Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and the Developmental Age “G. Barresi”, Unit of Infectious Diseases, University of Messina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2018.186

Keywords:

Leishmania, HIV, coinfection

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease affecting both animals and humans, acquired with the bite of sand flies or, in Injection Drug Users (IDUs), with contaminated needles, still hypoendemic in Sicily and the Mediterranean basin. Even though it is responsible for 20,000 to 40,000 deaths per year, this parasitic infection is still considered a neglected tropical disease. People Living with HIV (PLWH) are considered at high-risk of developing Leishmaniasis and, despite the introduction of Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART), mortality rate and relapses prevalence are still high in coinfected people.

We present a case of HIV-Leishmania coinfection, posing the attention on the atypical signs and symptoms and the importance of thinking about other causes than the HIV infection progression when the patient presents with a worsening of his immune status during HAART.

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Published

2018-04-25

How to Cite

1.
Ceccarelli M, Venanzi Rullo E, Condorelli F, Vitale F, Di Marco V, Nunnari G, Pellicanò GF. Unusual Signs and Symptoms in HIV-Positive Patients Coinfected with Leishmania spp: The Importance of Neglected Tropical Disease in Differential Diagnosis. Open Access Maced J Med Sci [Internet]. 2018 Apr. 25 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];6(5):843-7. Available from: https://oamjms.eu/index.php/mjms/article/view/oamjms.2018.186

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Section

C- Case Reports

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