Skin-Disfiguring Parasite That Plagues Middle East, Latin America and Asia Now Detected in US, CDC Warns
A skin-disfiguring parasite has landed in America.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a parasite known as Leishmania may already be endemic in Texas and other southern states, CBS News reported.
The parasite, which is transmitted through the bites of infected female sandflies, causes a disease known as leishmaniasis, resulting in skin sores that develop weeks after the bite has occurred.
Cases of leishmaniasis typically affect individuals who have traveled abroad to tropical or subtropical regions.
However, the CDC has recently discovered 86 Leishmania cases from individuals who have no recent travel history outside America, NBC News reported.
Researchers also identified an exclusive Leishmania strain that exhibited distinct genetic characteristics compared to cases associated with travel.
