Outbreak of Leishmania tropica amongst militia members in a non-endemic district under conflict in the lowlands of Somali Region in Ethiopia

Abstract Following the emergence of a conflict, an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) occurred in a non- endemic lowland area in the Somali Region in Ethiopia, raising public health concerns. All 1050 patients were militia members, immunologically naïve and displaced into a conflict area with a likely sylvatic transmission cycle. We identified Leishmania tropica as the causative species, challenging the previous assumption that L. …