Leishmaniasis of the ear treated successfully by photodynamic therapy

Abstract

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) are zoonoses caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania, transmission occurs by bite of a gnat called sandfly. It is a worldwide health problem. In fact, The World Health Organization (WHO) considers leishmaniasis to be one of the most serious parasitic diseases including Morocco because of the global warming [1,2]. In Morocco, major leshmaniasis, tropica and infantum are prevalent and are very common [2]. Among the problems reported in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniosis are difficulty in determining clinical diagnosis due to lack of access tomicroscopy onmany basic health services [3]; the serious side effects of pentavalent antimonial drugs and the variability of the efficacy against the different forms of Leishmania [3], making drugs and medical attention an expensive treatment because of the side effects [3]; besides, there have also been reports of patients not responding to drugs due to drug resistance or increased immunosuppression [3]. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is non-invasive therapy and can be repeated when necessary without damage to the patient’s health and without causing resistance in the parasite [4-7]. We report a case illustrate this difficulty to diagnosis and treat leshmaniasis in the immunocompromised who was treated successfully by (PDT).