Cara Hennings, MD; Karen Bloch, MD, MPH; Jami Miller, MD; Jeffrey Zwerner, MD
From Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. Drs. Hennings, Miller, and Zwerner are from the Department of Dermatology, and Dr. Bloch is from the Department of Infectious Disease.
The authors report no conflict of interest.
Correspondence: Jami Miller, MD, Department of Dermatology, Vanderbilt University, 719 Thompson Ln, Ste 26300, Nashville, TN 37204 (jami.miller@vanderbilt.edu).
There currently are no vaccines or drugs available to prevent against leishmaniasis. Preventive measures such as avoiding outdoor activities from dusk to dawn when sandflies are the most active, wearing protective clothing, and applying insect repellent that contains DEET (diethyltoluamide) can help reduce a traveler’s risk for becoming infected. Mosquito nets also should be treated with permethrin, which acts as an insect repellent, as sandflies are so small that they can penetrate mosquito nets.1,3,11
Acknowledgements—We would like to thank Francis Steurer, MS, and Barbara Herwaldt, MD, MPH, at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, for their help with the identification of the Leishmania species.