Determinantes socioeconómicos y socioambientales de la leishmaniasis cutánea en territorios rurales endémicos del Ecuador

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a sand fly-borne parasitic disease that causes chronic ulcers and stigmatising scars and persists in rural areas of Ecuador. The study therefore aimed to determine how socioeconomic and socio-environmental factors favour the spread of cutaneous leishmaniasis in endemic rural populations of Ecuador. A PRISMA-guided systematic review was conducted in PubMed, SciELO, ScienceDirect, PMC and Springer, with a sample of 15 studies published between 2016 and 2025, selected from 150 records. Ecological conditions favourable to the vector, poverty and precarious housing, barriers to health service access, deforestation and coexistence with animal reservoirs sustained transmission. It was concluded that control requires integrating epidemiological surveillance with improvements in the household environment and environmental management.