Leishmaniasis Gone Viral: Social Media and an Outbreak of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Kanokporn Mongkolrattanothai; Santhosh M Nadipuram; Andrew C Krakowski; Margaret M Stone; Paul Krogstad; Deborah Lehman

doi:10.1111/pde.12910

Leishmaniasis Gone Viral: Social Media and an Outbreak of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Pediatr Dermatol. 2016 Sep;33(5):e276-7. doi: 10.1111/pde.12910. Epub 2016 Jul 28.

Authors

Kanokporn Mongkolrattanothai¹, Santhosh M Nadipuram², Andrew C Krakowski³, Margaret M Stone⁴, Paul Krogstad², Deborah Lehman⁵

Affiliations

¹ Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. [email protected].
² David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
³ Rady Children's Hospital and School of Medicine, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, California.
⁴ Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Woodland Hills, California.
⁵ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.

PMID: 27469423
DOI: 10.1111/pde.12910

Abstract

This report details how social media communication was used in a group of teens to diagnose cutaneous leishmaniasis that they acquired during a trip to Israel. Their posts quickly brought the cluster to the attention of the teens and their parents, leading to prompt recognition of the true etiology of their lesions and appropriate treatment.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Disease Outbreaks*
Female
Humans
Israel
Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / diagnosis*
Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / epidemiology
Social Media*
Travel