Atypical mucocutaneous involvement with Leishmania donovani.

Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis has rarely been reported from India. The usual causative organisms of this infection are Leishmania braziliensis and L. tropica. Another species, L. donovani, which usually causes visceral leishmaniasis, has recently been reported to cause mucocutaneous disease in a few patients from Sri Lanka. We report two patients who had undiagnosed chronic skin lesions for several years. Skin biopsies revealed Leishmania and the species was characterized as L. donovani in both patients. There was considerable improvement in the skin lesions following treatment with liposomal amphotericin B.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus among Bhutanese refugees residing in Nepal.

The carrier rate of HBsAg is about 6% in Bhutan and 1% in Nepal. Since outbreaks of viral hepatitis are also known, its high prevalence in a migrated community, if any, maybe a potential threat to the local people. The present study was conducted in Beldangi 2 Extension Camp, a Bhutanese refugee camp located in eastern Nepal to know the HBsAg carrier rate among the refugees. With the help of semi-structured questionnaires, 500 volunteers enrolled were interviewed for the risk factors for HBV transmission. Blood samples of 467 subjects were tested for HBsAg by an immunoassay based on immunochromatographic sandwich principle. Out of 467 samples 4 were positive for HBsAg a prevalence rate of 0.9%. HBsAg carrier rate was found to be low in Bhutanese refugees. From the questionnaires it was also found that they were not engaged in any practice that could increase the chances of HBV transmission. The study shows that the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal in this geographical area are not a threat to the local people as far as HBV transmission is concerned.