ABSTRACT
Leishmaniasis a spectrum of diseases ranging from the cutaneous, to visceral presents in diverse clinical forms caused by multiple species, with different reservoir hosts and insect vectors Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by the protozoa of the Leishmania species, which is transmitted by the bite of a female sandfly. The resrvoir hosts are males [anthroponotic cycle] and domestic or wild animals [zoonotic cycle]. In man the disease takes four main clinical forms: visceral, cutaneous, mucocutaneous and diffuse cutaneous. Leishmaniasis, which is now found in four continents, is endemic in 82 countries [21 in the New world and 61 in the old]. Annual incidence is estimated at some 600,000 new clinical cases, officially reported, with a global prevalence of 12 million cases and a population at risk of approximately 350 million. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of knowledge and practices of students about leishmaniasis. For this cross-sectional descrptive investigation, 230 students were selected. The initial data were collecteded through a face to face interview. The data were anlysed using chi-squaire test. The results of research revealed that 44.4% of the students had informations about visceral and cutaneous leishmaniose and 72% knew that sand flies are the vector of leishmania. 6.55% of them believed that covering the sore could prevent the this transmission of this disease to human. Regarding the research results overall, the knowledge and practice rate of the students are not enough at present. Therefore their information must be increased through more educational programs and also in the mass media