[A rare cause of septic syndrome]

The case report is presented of a 18-year old patient, who was admitted to the Haematology Department of the Hanusch Hospital with septic fever, an enlarged spleen and suspected bone marrow failure. Since the patient reported a stay in Sicily prior to the onset of his disease, an infection with Leishmania was suspected. The serological test was highly positive and Leishmania was also isolated from the spleen aspirate. Chemotherapy with Pentostam was successful and the patient made an uneventful recovery. This paper deals with the epidemiology of the disease and discusses the diagnostic approaches.