[In vitro evaluation of antileishmania activity of Artemisia herba alba Asso]. / Evaluation in vitro de l'activité antileishmanienne d'Artemisia herba-alba Asso.

Aqueous extract and essential oil of Artemisia herba-alba Asso were tested for their antileshmanial activity again Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major. The strongest leishmanicidal activity was observed with the essential oil at 2 micrograms/ml as versus the other two strains tested. The aqueous extract showed an antileshmanial activity at 4 micrograms/ml.

[Leishmania tropica cutaneous leishmaniasis in an emerging focus in North Morocco: new clinical forms]. / Leishmaniose cutanée à Leishmania tropica dans un foyer émergent au nord du Maroc: nouvelles formes cliniques.

INTRODUCTION: Leishmania tropica cutaneous leishmaniasis is usually described as dry, small and self-healing lesions, mainly located on the face and occurring in stable endemic foci. In 1989, similar aspects were observed in a rural hypoendemic focus in center Morocco where about 60 cases were diagnosed. In contrast, an epidemic urban focus in Taza-North Morocco--was identified in 1995 with peculiar clinical aspects. Our objectives is to describe these clinical characteristics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From October 1995 to November 1996, 132 cases were diagnosed from this new focus during a monthly active survey. Age, sex, duration of lesions, clinical aspects and therapeutic regimen were detailed for each patient. RESULTS: Among the patients, 56.8 p. 100 were women. Mean age was 24.6 +/- 21.5 years (range: 8 months to 85 years). The mean duration of lesions was 6.9 +/- 6.5 months and 91.4 p. 100 evoluted for less than one year. Impetiginized, ulcerocrusted and noduloulcerative forms were predominant (61 p. 100). Furthermore, severe, vegetant inflammatory and multiple lesions were observed in infants and elderly patients. Limbs were involved in 30 p. 100 of cases. Eighty-six patients were treated with intralesional glucantime regimen and cured in 72 p. 100 of cases. Intramuscular treatment by glucantime was required in case of multiple lesions and failure of local therapy. DISCUSSION: In this study, the high frequency of severe lesions in infants and elderly patients suggests that the introduction of the parasite occurred recently in this area. The brief duration of lesions confirms the acute character for cutaneous leishmaniasis related to L. tropica in this epidemic focus. The host immune status associated with parasite intrinsic factors probably plays a role in these perculiar clinical manifestations.

Short report: Leishmania tropica: etiologic agent of a case of canine visceral leishmaniasis in northern Morocco.

The domestic dog has been previously demonstrated to be the reservoir of Leishmania infantum, the etiologic agent of human visceral leishmaniasis around the Mediterranean Basin. It can also be infected with L. tropica, the etiologic agent of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Morocco. We report a canine L. tropica visceral infection for the first time in Morocco.

Epidemiology of human visceral leishmaniasis in Taounate, a northern province of Morocco.

We report the preliminary results of an epidemiological survey carried out in the locality of Ouled Hcein, province of Taounate (North Morocco) around one visceral leishmaniasis infant case. The strain isolated from the child was characterized by three methods as Leishmania infantum and its isoenzyme pattern was indistinguishable from zymodeme MON-1. The human survey in the locality of origin of the index case did not show any additional case and the serology was negative for the whole people sampled. The canine survey showed that the highest seroprevalence of the canine disease was found in the locality of Ouled Hcein (27.1%) when compared to 4 surrounding localities. The entomological survey showed that amongst the demonstrated L. infantum vectors around the Mediterranean Basin, Phlebotomus longicuspis was the predominant species. Furthermore, the survey led to the identification of one female of P. ariasi naturally infected with L. infantum, so this species should be at least one of the vectors of this parasite in this area. Thus, this study confirms that the transmission cycle of L. infantum in North Morocco is similar to the cycle found in the remaining Mediterranean area.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis: an emerging epidemic focus of Leishmania tropica in north Morocco.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Morocco occurs mainly in the south and is caused by Leishmania major and L. tropica. In 1995, for the first time, 4 autochthonous cases were confirmed by smear and/or culture from the province of Taza in north Morocco. An active survey revealed 128 more cases. The number had increased gradually since 1994. Most of the cases (86%) came from the suburbs of the city of Taza. All cultured and typed parasites were characterized as L. tropica MON-102. A leishmanin skin test survey among a random sample of the exposed population showed an overall positivity rate of 19.9%, with no correlation with age or gender. The spatial distribution of the cases and skin test positivity, their occurrence in all age groups, the highly variable clinical picture, the severity and large size of lesions in older patients, the slow recovery of some treated patients, and the isoenzymic monomorphism of the parasite, all suggested that cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. tropica is an emerging disease in Taza.