Leishmania donovani
Leishmania donovani: Life Cycle, Pathogenesis, Treatment Prevention and Diagnosis Leishmania donovani: The Causative Agent of Kalaazar (Visceral Leishmaniasis) Lifecycle Reservoir Hosts: Various mammals (e.g., dogs, foxes, rodents). Vector: Female sandflies. Require blood meals for egg maturation. Ingest macrophages containing amastigotes when feeding on an infected host. Inside the Sandfly: 1. Amastigotes transform into promastigotes in the gut. 2. Promastigotes multiply and migrate to the pharynx and proboscis. 3. This process takes about 10 days. Transmission to Humans: 1. Sandfly bites human, injecting promastigotes. 2. Promastigotes are engulfed by macrophages. 3. Inside macrophages, promastigotes transform back into amastigotes. Within the Human Host: 1. Amastigotes evade destruction by preventing vacuolelysosome fusion. 2. Infect other macrophages and reticuloendothelial cells. Cycle Completion: Another sandfly ingests