Lainson R, Shaw J J
Nature. 1978 Jun 22;273(5664):595-600. doi: 10.1038/273595a0.
Of the diseases caused by protozoal parasites, leishmaniasis is probably second in importance only to malaria. Chemotherapeutic drugs are toxic, expensive and not 100% effective. This, and the absence of any non-living vaccine against the disease, means that control depends on eliminating either reservoirs or insect vectors, or both. Recently, a greatly increased knowledge of the Leishmania species involved, and of their natural hosts, has helped to define the nature and extent of the problem.
在由原生动物寄生虫引起的疾病中，利什曼病的重要性可能仅次于疟疾。化疗药物有毒、昂贵且并非100%有效。这一点，再加上缺乏针对该疾病的非活性疫苗，意味着疾病控制依赖于消灭储存宿主或昆虫媒介，或两者皆消灭。最近，人们对相关利什曼原虫种类及其天然宿主的了解大幅增加，这有助于明确问题的性质和范围。
