الفهرس 
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Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a group of infectious diseases caused by at least 20
species of protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania in human
(Postigo, 2012). The parasites are transmitted by the bite of the female
sand fly (Volf and Myskova, 2012). It is prevalent in Europe, Africa,
Asia and the Americas. It kills thousands and debilitates millions of
people each year, with two million new cases reported annually and 350
million people at risk. It is the second cause of mortality after malaria and
the fourth cause of morbidity among all tropical parasitic diseases
(Bertholet et al., 2011).
Leishmaniasis is not one disease but represents several syndromes. These
range from self-healing and chronic cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) to
mucocutaneous (MCL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) (Palatnik-de-Sousa
et al., 2010). Visceral leishmaniasis is the most serious form in which
parasites leave the inoculation site and proliferate in liver, spleen, lymph
nodes and bone marrow, resulting in host immunosuppression and ultimately
death in the absence of treatment. Visceral leishmaniasis is manifested by
fever, hepatosplenomegaly, cachexia, anemia, pancytopenia and
hypergammaglobulinemia (Palatnik-de-Sousa, 2008) .
In CL, the parasites remain at the site of infection and cause localized
long-term ulceration. While in MCL, a chronic destruction of mucosal
tissue develops in less than 5% of affected individuals (Khanra et al.,
2011).
Development of a safe, effective, and affordable vaccine could be a
solution for prevention and control of this disease. The importance of
developing the vaccine is also due to the continuous spread, morbidity