Leishmania mexicana
![](/Images/godic/202501/23/Leishmania_mexicana3611.jpg")
![False colour SEM micrograph of Promastigote form Leishmania mexicana as found in the sandfly midgut. The cell body is shown in orange and the flagellum is in red. 119 pixels/μm.](/Images/godic/202501/23/LeishmaniaMexicana_Promastigote_SEM3611.jpg")
![Amastigote form Leishmania mexicana as found in mammalian macrophages, 219 pixels/μm.](/Images/godic/202501/23/LeishmaniaMexicana_Amastigote_SEM3611.jpg")
![](/Images/godic/202501/23/Leishmania_LifeCycle3612.gif")
Leishmania mexicana is a Leishmania species and is one of the causative species of leishmaniasis.
Leishmania mexicana is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that causes the mildest form of leishmaniasis. This species of Leishmania is found in South and Central America. Infection with L. mexicana occurs when an individual is bitten by an infected sand fly that injects the infective promastigotes, which are carried in the proboscis, directly into the skin.