'Aleppo button' disease afflicts war-torn city The latest affliction to hit weary residents of Aleppo is written on their faces. Some call it the "Aleppo button", a welt caused by leishmaniasis, an illness that is sweeping the Syrian city. Transmitted by flies, the parasitic disease arrived along with the thousands of Syrians displaced from their homes by fighting. A natural sound version of an AFPTV report.