Van der Auwera, Gert, Davidsson, Leigh, Buffet, Pierre, Ruf, Marie-Thérèse, Gramiccia, Marina, Varani, Stefania, Chicharro, Carmen, Bart, Aldert, Harms, Gundel, Chiodini, Peter L, Brekke, Hanne, Robert-Gangneux, Florence, Cortes, Sofia, Verweij, Jaco J, Scarabello, Alessandra, Karlsson Söbirk, Sara, Guéry, Romain, van Henten, Saskia, Di Muccio, Trentina, Carra, Elena, van Thiel, Pieter, Vandeputte, Martin, Gaspari, Valeria, Blum, Johannes, LeishMan Surveillance network, Van der Auwera G., Davidsson L., Buffet P., Ruf M.-T., Gramiccia M., Varani S., Chicharro C., Bart A., Harms G., Chiodini P.L., Brekke H., Robert-Gangneux F., Cortes S., Verweij J.J., Scarabello A., Karlsson Sobirk S., Guery R., van Henten S., Di Muccio T., Carra E., van Thiel P., Vandeputte M., Gaspari V., Blum J., APH - Global Health, Infectious diseases, AII - Infectious diseases, Chard-Hutchinson, Xavier, Institute of Tropical Medicine [Antwerp] (ITM), Public Health Agency of Sweden, CHU Necker - Enfants Malades [AP-HP], Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP), University of Basel (Unibas), Istituto Superiore di Sanita [Rome], Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria A. Meyer [Firenze, Italy], Instituto de Salud Carlos III [Madrid] (ISC), Amsterdam UMC - Amsterdam University Medical Center, Charité - UniversitätsMedizin = Charité - University Hospital [Berlin], University College London Hospitals (UCLH), Oslo University Hospital [Oslo], Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail (Irset), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Rennes (UR)-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP] (EHESP)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Structure Fédérative de Recherche en Biologie et Santé de Rennes ( Biosit : Biologie - Santé - Innovation Technologique ), École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP] (EHESP), Universidade Nova de Lisboa = NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA), National Institute for Infectious Diseases 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', Lund University [Lund], Hôpital privé du Confluent [Nantes], Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna 'Bruno Ubertini' (IZSLER), and Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS)
Background Surveillance of human leishmaniasis in Europe is mostly limited to country-specific information from autochthonous infections in the southern part. As at the end of 2021, no integrated analysis has been performed for cases seen across centres in different European countries. Aim To provide a broad perspective on autochthonous and imported leishmaniasis cases in endemic and non-endemic countries in Europe. Methods We retrospectively collected records from cutaneous, mucosal and visceral leishmaniasis cases diagnosed in 15 centres between 2014 and 2019. Centres were located in 11 countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Data on country of infection, reason for travelling, infecting species, age and sex were analysed. Results We obtained diagnostic files from 1,142 cases, of which 76%, 21% and 3% had cutaneous, visceral, and mucosal disease, respectively. Of these, 68% were men, and 32% women, with the median age of 37 years (range: 0–90) at diagnosis. Visceral leishmaniasis was mainly acquired in Europe (88%; 167/190), while cutaneous leishmaniasis was primarily imported from outside Europe (77%; 575/749). Sixty-two percent of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases from outside Europe were from the Old World, and 38% from the New World. Geographic species distribution largely confirmed known epidemiology, with notable exceptions. Conclusions Our study confirms previous reports regarding geographic origin, species, and traveller subgroups importing leishmaniasis into Europe. We demonstrate the importance of pooling species typing data from many centres, even from areas where the aetiology is presumably known, to monitor changing epidemiology.