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About the Authors:
Dalila Y. Martínez
Contributed equally to this work with: Dalila Y. Martínez, Kristien Verdonck
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliations Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru, Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Kristien Verdonck
Contributed equally to this work with: Dalila Y. Martínez, Kristien Verdonck
Affiliations Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru, Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4078
Paul M. Kaye
Affiliation: Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, United Kingdom
Vanessa Adaui
Affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
Katja Polman
Affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Alejandro Llanos-Cuentas
Affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
Jean-Claude Dujardin
Affiliations Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Marleen Boelaert
Affiliation: Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, BelgiumAbstract
Background
Tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) is a disease of skin and/or mucosal tissues caused by Leishmania parasites. TL patients may concurrently carry other pathogens, which may influence the clinical outcome of TL.
Methodology and principal findings
This review focuses on the frequency of TL coinfections in human populations, interactions between Leishmania and other pathogens in animal models and human subjects, and implications of TL coinfections for clinical practice. For the purpose of this review, TL is defined as all forms of cutaneous (localised, disseminated, or diffuse) and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection, superinfection with skin bacteria, and skin manifestations of visceral leishmaniasis are not included. We searched MEDLINE and other databases and included 73 records: 21 experimental studies in animals and 52 studies about human subjects (mainly cross-sectional and case studies). Several reports describe the frequency of Trypanosoma cruzi coinfection in TL patients in Argentina (about 41%) and the frequency of helminthiasis in TL patients in Brazil (15% to 88%). Different hypotheses have been explored...