ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To identify Leishmania using PCR.@*METHODS@#This study was conducted from April 2009 to March 2011 in order to identify Leishmania species in a new endemic area of CL in Lorestan, Iran. Samples were taken from 62 patients that referred to the health centers in different cities of Lorestan province, the presence of Leishmania was confirmed using direct smear and then grown in NNN media and mass cultured in RPMI 1 640 medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum. DNA was extracted from cultured promastigotes and used in ITS-PCR.@*RESULTS@#45(72.6%) samples out of 62 showed a band in the range of 485 bp and 17 (27.4%) with a band in the range of 626 bp which were similar to standard strains of Leishmania tropica(L. tropica) and Leishmania major(L. major), respectively. 50 (65.80%) of samples were collected from people with no history of travel in at least a year prior to the onset which shows that indigenous source of infection.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Since the vector and reservoir of the two species are different, so precise and extensive control and prevention methods should be designed and carried out.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Endemic Diseases , Iran , Epidemiology , Leishmania , Classification , Genetics , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous , Diagnosis , Epidemiology , Parasitology , Phylogeny , Protozoan Proteins , Genetics , Rural HealthABSTRACT
Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases that are created by intracellular parasites of Leishmania. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is considered as one of the health problems in some provinces of Iran. In this study, a total of 178 Giemsa-stained slides from confirmed cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis were examined. The slides were prepared from the patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis that referred to health centers and infected during the epidemic of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Poldokhtar city, Lorestan Province, Iran in 2006.Genomic DNA from each slide was extracted. After DNA extraction, ITS-PCR was used. Out of 178 slides, 129 [72.47%] samples had a band in the range of 485 bp and 49 [27.53%] samples 626 bp that matched L. tropica and L. major standard samples, respectively. This study showed that Leishmania DNA could be efficiently ex-tracted and amplified even from old Giemsa-stained microscopic slides that were stored more than 6 yr. In this study was shown that both L. tropica and L. major species exist in Lorestan Province