Leishmaniosis in Peninsular Spain. A Historicd-bibliographic Review (1912- 1985)

Abstract

A bibliografic-historical review of leishmaniosis in Spain duting the period 1912-1985 is carried out. The bibliographical prospection has allowed to collect a total of 402 works; out of them only 79 are included in this review. From reading them, it can be deduced that, starting from its discovery in the coast of Levante in 1912, leishmaniosis has been a very well know direase in Spain, during the first third of our century, period in which a remarkable prevalence took place, as it follows from the works published basically by Pittaluga and colleagues. In them, plentiful clinical and epidemiologic data are collected, many of them having laid the foundations of this disease knoweledge in our country. Nevertheless, the extrapolation of data from other geographical regions introduced confusions, which have continued till recent time, basically on what refers to the existing relation between the aetiological agent and the clinical case. On the other hand, nowadays, current important matters such as the part of person?s inmune response in the appearance of a visceral or cutaneous case of leishamniosis, independently from the parasites specific identity or the presente of asymtomatic leishmaniosis, are already found in pioneer works. In the Course of the work, a review is made of the information, obtained form the Spanish bibliogmphy, on the leishmaniosis aetiological agent in Spain, the vector and the host as well as the various clinical cases of human and canine leishmaniosis, their epidemiology, diagnostic and treatment.