Abstract 2269 Quantification of the Inflammatory Response in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells after Infection with Leishmania infantum in the Presence of Inflammatory and Anti-inflammatory Stimulation

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease caused by the protozoan parasites; Leishmania infantum (LI) and Leishmania donovani (LD). VL has a 98% fatality rate in untreated patients and is one of the top 10 most neglected tropical diseases in terms of new drug development and is the second leading cause of death due to parasitic disease globally. Moreover, as climate change increases global temperatures, the distribution of Leishmania has increased, spreading north from the equator. Recently, Leishmaniasis was characterized as endemic in the southern US.