THE HEALTH and Veterinary services yesterday thoroughly examined and sprayed the area of Makounta, near Polis, where two incidents of visceral leishmaniasis, a rare parasitic disease, have been spotted.
Leishmaniasis is considered a rare disease and is not transmitted from human to human, but it can be transmitted by the bite of a mosquito or sand fly, which carries the disease mainly from dogs.
Cyprus has for decades been free of the disease, but now it has reappeared in the Makounta gypsy encampment.
Visceral leishmaniasis affects the liver and spleen and can cause a high temperature. Treatment is given at the Makarios Hospital in Nicosia, where the two Makounta residents were taken on Wednesday.
Health Minister Andreas Gavrielides yesterday confirmed the disease had been spotted in the gypsy encampment of Makounta and added that both incidents had been treated in the Makarios Hospital.
One of the patients was treated and cured, while the other remains under observation.
The Veterinary Services early yesterday morning went to Makounta, where they sprayed the area and took blood samples from the dogs living there for analysis.
Veterinary Official of the Athalassa Veterinary Clinic, Apostolos Mazeris, said the Services had an obligation to investigate the case.
“Seeing that dogs are also involved in the epidemiological chain, we are obliged to investigate whether that are infected animals in the area, or other factors that may assist in the transmission of the disease,” said Mazeris.
According to the official, the services yesterday examined the dogs that live in the area and took blood samples, while they also examined the living conditions of the Makounta residents, to see whether they contribute to the multiplication and development of the sand flies.
Mazeris reassured the public that the form of leishmaniasis spotted in Makounta was not transmitted from human to human. “It can be transmitted from dogs to humans,” he admitted, “but this is not a very common phenomenon and so there’s no need to panic.”
According to Chrystalla Hadjianastasiou, a Higher Medical Official of the Health Ministry, “Leishmaniasis is not passed on by common mosquitoes, but by a special kind of fly that exists only in isolated areas of Cyprus.”
And even if someone is bitten by an infected mosquito, that doesn’t mean there will be symptoms and health repercussions, she added.
“You could be bitten by an infected mosquito and not show any symptoms or carry the disease. It is all a matter of how strong a person’s organism is. Someone with a weak immune system is much more vulnerable to the virus.”
THE DISEASE
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease, transmitted by the bite of a certain species of sand fly. The disease is most commonly found in either a cutaneous (skin) form or a visceral (internal organ) form.
It can be found in approximately 90 countries around the world, including countries in the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe.
Leishmaniasis is a threat to people of all ages and is more commonly spotted in rural rather than urban areas, though it can be found in the outskirts of cities too.
Risk is highest between dusk and dawn, making the risk higher for those who work outdoors during the night.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is characterised by one or more skin sores, which can either be painful or painless and may form a scab. These develop weeks or sometimes months after a person has been bitten by a sand fly.
If left untreated, the sores can last from weeks to years and often develop raised edges and a central crater.
Visceral leishmaniasis sufferers develop symptoms such as fever, weight loss, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. These typically develop months after a person has become infected, but sometimes it can take years before its detected.
If untreated, symptomatic visceral leishmaniasis is often fatal.
No vaccines or drugs for preventing the infection are currently available, though there are preventive measures each individual can take, such as reducing contact with sand flies. Also it is advisable to avoid outdoor activity during the night when sand flies are most active.
Although sand flies are primarily night time biters, infection can also occur during the day, if resting flies are disturbed.
Sand flies are noiseless, which makes it hard to detect them and, unless a bite is felt, it might go unnoticed.
(Information: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov)
