Leishmaniasis, sandfly fever and phlebotomine sandflies in Greece

Overview

The best way to describe leishmaniasis, sandfly fever and phlebotomine sandflies is to call them an esoteric subject which has attracted the attention of investigators with an eye for difficult, unusual and challenging tasks. Although the parasites causing leishmaniasis were first discovered in 1885 and named Leishmania in 1903, the disease had been described in Greece under different names much earlier. The first reports of kala-azar (called Ponos) were from the island of Spetses in 1835 and are regarded as the earliest records of the disease in the Mediterranean region. In 1882 and 1883 kala-azar was again described on the island of Hydra under the name "Tsanaki" with unknown etiology.

Interest in leishmaniasis in Greece began in the early part of this century with publications by Cardarnatis, Aravantinos, and a few other physicians. It continued later with Caminopetros, Blanc, Langeron, Adamopoulos, Papantonakis, Papadakis, Adler and Theodor, and Parrot. These were the pioneers who provided the impetus and established the foundation on which others built later.

The use of DDT and other modem insecticides to combat malaria after World War II, diminished the importance and thus the interest in sandfly-transmitted diseases. When reports of Kala-azar in children and dogs appeared frequently in the 1970s and 1980s, a new awakening on the subject occurred.