Leishmaniasis ranks the third in disease burden in disability-adjusted life years caused by neglected tropical diseases and is the second cause of parasite-related deaths after malaria; but for a variety of reasons, it is not receiving the attention that would be justified seeing its importance. Leishmaniasis is a diverse group of clinical syndromes caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. It is estimated that 350 million people are at risk in 88 countries, with a global incidence of 1–1.5 million cases of cutaneous and 500,000 cases of visceral leishmaniasis. Improvements in diagnostic methods for early case detection and latest combitorial chemotherapeutic methods have given a new hope for combating this deadly disease. The cell biology of Leishmania and mammalian cells differs considerably and this distinctness extends to the biochemical level. This provides the promise that many of the parasite’s proteins should be sufficiently different from hosts and can be successfully exploited as drug targets. This paper gives a brief overview of recent developments in the diagnosis and approaches in antileishmanial drug discovery and development. 1. Introduction Protozoan parasitic diseases remain a major concerned public health problem, especially in tropical regions. The major death toll is due to malaria, African and American trypanosomiasis, and leishmaniasis, whose high mortality rates in underdeveloped developing countries are associated to poor hygienic conditions and lack of efficient prophylactic measures [1]. For many years, the public health impacts of the parasitic diseases have been grossly underestimated, mainly due to lack of awareness of its serious impact on health. Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania cause severe diseases that threaten human beings, both for the high death rates involved and the economic loss resulting from morbidity, primarily in the tropical and subtropical areas [2]. It ranks the second only to malaria, and the control of leishmaniasis remains a serious problem with ever increasing cases worldwide. It has become a major focus of concern and a serious third world problem affecting the poorer sections of the society [3]. Leishmaniasis is included in the list of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) [4] and has a strong link to poverty [5]. The disease has been reported in 88 countries in five continents—Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America out of the seven continents (22 in the new world and 66 in the old world) [6], out of which 16 are developed countries, 72 are developing, and 13 of
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