Leishmania:

leishmania, any of several species of flagellate protists belonging to the genus Leishmania in the order Trypanosomatida. These protists are parasites of vertebrates, to which they are transmitted by species of bloodsucking sand flies in the genera Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia. The leishmanial parasites assume two forms: a round or oval leishmanial stage, which lives and multiplies in the vertebrate host; and an elongate, motile, flagellated organism called a leptomonad, which is found in the ... Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by the Leishmania parasite found in sand flies. Leishmania (/ liːʃˈmeɪniə, - ˈmæn -/ [1]) is a genus of parasitic protozoans, single-celled eukaryotic organisms of the trypanosomatid group that are responsible for the disease leishmaniasis. [2][3][4] The parasites are transmitted by sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World, and of the genus Lutzomyia in the New World. There are 53 species and about 20 of them are responsible for human infections. [5][6] They are transmitted by around 100 species of sandflies. [7] The ... Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by the protozoa Leishmania and is most commonly transmitted by infected sandflies. It has been historically widespread in tropical climates across multiple continents including Europe, Africa, Asia, and America. In humans, these parasites replicate intracellular and present classically with a visceral or cutaneous disease.