Increase of imported Leishmaniasis in the Netherlands: a twelve year overview (1996-2007).

Surveillance data indicates that the number of cutaneous (CL), mucocutaneous (ML) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases has increased globally and in Europe during the past decades. Leishmaniasis is only seen as an imported disease in the Netherlands. We investigated occurrence in the Netherlands through an analysis of Leishmania patients sent to our laboratory and to the nationwide network of the pathology departments between 1996 and 2007. The majority of patients suffered from CL, and an outbreak among military personnel stationed in endemic regions in 2005 was noted. ML was rarely found. However, the occurrence of VL has clearly increased. Physicians in non-endemic regions should be aware that leishmaniasis can be contracted as close as Southern Europe and that it is not limited to tropical and subtropical regions only.