Uncovering the role of skin microbiome and immune response in cutaneous leishmaniasis

The parasitic disease leishmaniasis is found primarily in Central and South America, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, and Central Asia and is transmitted to humans by a sand fly. An estimated 1.5 million new cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis—the most common form of the disease—occur each year. There is no vaccine, and treatment with anti-parasitic drugs is often unsuccessful.