A parasitic hemoflagellate of the subgenus Leishmania viannia that infects man and animals. It causes cutaneous (LEISHMANIASIS, CUTANEOUS), diffuse cutaneous (LEISHMANIASIS, DIFFUSE CUTANEOUS), and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (LEISHMANIASIS, MUCOCUTANEOUS) depending on the subspecies of this organism. The sandfly, Lutzomyia, is the vector. The Leishmania braziliensis complex includes the subspecies braziliensis and peruviana. Uta, a form of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the New World, is caused by the subspecies peruviana.