DEVELOPMENT REPORT
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April 29, 2002: New Leishmaniasis Drug
By Jill Moss
This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
Doctors from the United States and Saudi Arabia have discovered a new treatment for the form of leishmaniasis
(LEASH-ma-NIGH-a-sis) disease that affects the skin. Currently, the World Health Organization estimates that
twelve-million people are infected with the disease. In addition, at least three-hundred-fifty-million people in
eighty-eight countries may be at risk of being infected.
Leishmaniasis is caused by tiny organisms called parasites. Small insects called sandflies spread the disease.
There are two major forms of leishmaniasis. The most severe form of the disease
affects organs in the body. It causes death if not treated quickly. Another kind of
leishmaniasis is called cutaneous, or skin-related. It causes serious wounds on the
face, arms and legs. Skin-related forms of leishmaniasis are the most common and
represent up to seventy-five percent of all new cases.
A new study about treating the disease was published in the New England Journal of
Medicine. The Saudi and American doctors found that the drug fluconazole (floo KAHN-
uh-zol) can be used to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis. Fluconazole is used to treat other skin diseases.
James Maguire is an expert on parasite diseases at the United States Centers for Disease Control. He took part in
the latest study. It tested fluconazole on more than one-hundred patients in Saudi Arabia. One group of patients
was given the drug every day for six weeks. The other group was given an inactive substance.
The doctors found that almost eighty percent of the patients taking fluconazole were completely healed. About
thirty-four percent of the people not taking the drug also were healed. The doctors also discovered that patients
experienced fewer side effects from fluconazole compared to older drugs used to treat leishmaniasis.
The doctors say the drug is effective against the most common form of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Middle
East and parts of Africa. However, they say it does not work well on the kind of the disease found in South Asia
and South America. The drug also costs a lot of money. Doctor Maguire says countries should provide
fluconazole for free or at a reduced cost to patients who need it.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.
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