Les leishmanioses vues au travers du réseau international des Instituts Pasteur

Abstract

Les leishmanioses ont un impact important sur la santé humaine dans le monde du fait de leur fréquence, de la gravité de certaines de leurs formes cliniques et parce qu’elles touchent des populations particulièrement vulnérables. La localisation de certains Instituts Pasteur dans les zones d’endémie leishmanienne a de tout temps favorisé les actions de recherche et de santé publique des équipes pasteuriennes vis-à-vis de cette parasitose.

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania generate severe human diseases termed leishmaniases. Due to their frequency and the severity of certain clinical forms, these diseases represent a major public health problem and limit the economic growth in various developing countries. The presence of Pasteur Institutes in countries with endemic leishmaniasis has provided important incentives to develop a strong public health agenda in the Pasteur scientific community with respect to this important disease. A concerted effort is now coordinated through the recently created LeishRIIP platform (www.leishriip.org), which aims to identify synergies and complementary expertise between the eleven members of the international network of Pasteur Institutes working on various aspects of the disease including epidemiology, diagnosis, chemotherapy and vaccination.