An outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania major in an endemic focus in central Iran

AbstractZoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) caused byLeishmania major is an important endemic disease and a major public health concern in Iran. Following an outbreak of leishmaniasis in 2013 in one of the important foci in Iran, the researchers were prompted to determine the underlying causes of the epidemic.Adult sand flies were collected using sticky traps and aspirating tubes and infection withLeishmania parasites was evaluated. Also, rodents were captured using Sherman live traps and stray dogs were hunted and were tested for the presence of leishmanial infection. Active case detection was also conducted and data related to each household were recorded using a researcher-designed form. Nested PCR and PCR-RLFP techniques were employed to determineLeishmania infection in the samples.Phlebotomus papatasi was the most dominant species among the 7 different species of sand flies collected in this study.Sergentomyia clydei,Sergentomyia theodori, andSergentomyia grekovi were identified for the first time in the study area. 20% of collectedPh. papatasi species and oneMeriones libycus were infected withLeishmania major. Stray dogs demonstrated no lesions on different parts of their body. The relative frequency of active lesions and scars on the dogs were respectively 5.49% and 1.23% in 2013 and 5.82% and 0.56% in 2014.The highest number of ZCL cases due toL. major was recorded in Ardestan city.Phlebotomus papatasi is the main vector andM. libycus seems to be the primary reserv...
Source: Journal of Parasitic Diseases - Category: Parasitology Source Type: research