It is estimated that visceral leishmaniasis (VL) affects more than 100 million people worldwide, with 1.5 to 2 million new cases and more than 750,000 deaths each year. As of the 2022 report, there were 50,000 to 90,000 infections worldwide in 2020, and the World Health Organization estimates that only between 25 to 45% of the cases were reported. Although<unk>  is only the second-most prevalent Leishmania causing VL, it is the most dangerous form and directly fatal to humans. Over 90% of reported cases are from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil. In India, it is prevalent in the eastern region including Bihar, West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Assam and foothills of Sikkim. It is responsible for tens of thousands of mortality among Africans in eastern and southern parts of Sudan. During the epidemic of 1984–1994 death toll was as high as 70% in the Sudanese population. Moreover, due to emergence of drug resistance the prevalence is not subsiding, and in fact has spread to central Europe. For example, during the late 1990s hundreds of cases were reported in Switzerland.
Leishmania donovani
Leishmania braziliensis
Leishmania major
Leishmania mexicana
Leishmania infantum
Leishmania amazonensis
Trypanosoma brucei
Brugia malayi