Cutaneous Leishmaniasis during Pregnancy, Preterm Birth, and Neonatal Death: A Case Report

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) is an emergent public health concern, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. reports of pregnancy complications are scarce; however, as the endemic range of cl expands in iran, there is concern of possible detrimental effects on fetal development amongst infected mothers through pla-cental transmission of the parasite or enhanced maternal immune responses. we herein describe the first known case of persistent anthroponotic cl, plausibly re-sponsible for pregnancy complications, preterm birth, and neonatal death in a healthy iranian primigravida woman. diagnosis was based on physical examina-tions of the lesions on the back of both calves of the patient and laboratory anal-yses including direct smear, culture, and pcr. during active cl infection, the pa-tient gave birth to a premature female neonate who passed three days post-delivery due to immature lung development and subsequent respiratory distress syndrome. this report highlights the challenges associated with cl infection during pregnan-cy, exacerbation of lesions, and subsequent complications.