Status of endemicity of cutaneous leishmaniasis, worldwide, 2015

Recurrent epidemics of visceral leishmaniasis in East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan) have caused high morbidity and mortality in affected communities. Likewise, major epidemics of cutaneous leishmaniasis have affected different parts Afghanistan and the Syrian Arab Republic. In 2014, more than 90% of new cases reported to WHO occurred in six countries: Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, the kala-azar elimination programme is progressing satisfactorily, and countries such as Bangladesh that reported more than 9000 cases in 2006 reported an average of some 600 news cases in 2014–2015. The majority of cutaneous Leishmaniasis cases occur in Afghanistan, Algeria, Brazil, Colombia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic.