Molecular Identification of <i>Leishmania</i> Species in an Outbreak of Re-Emerged Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Southwestern Iran During 2015 - 2016
| Author | Mehri Kargar | en |
| Author | Homa Hajjaran | en |
| Author | Javad Moazen | en |
| Author | Mohammad Reza Shirzadi | en |
| Author | Elham Kazemirad | en |
| Author | Hamid Kalantari | en |
| Author | Aref Teimouri | en |
| Author | Mehdi Mohebali | en |
| Orcid | Javad Moazen [0000-0002-9125-3876] | en |
| Orcid | Mehdi Mohebali [0000-0002-4164-9514] | en |
| Issued Date | 2021-06-30 | en |
| Abstract | Background: Dezful and its suburbs, as the second city in Khuzestan Province, southwest of Iran, has been an endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) with a low incidence rate since the last decades. However, the disease incidence has rapidly increased, and now is considered as a re-emerging parasitic disease in the area. Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the most prevalent CL species in Dezful Region. Methods: A total of 196 microscopically confirmed slides from CL patients referred to Dezful Health Center were randomly collected in the period of 2015 - 2016. After DNA extraction from microscopically positive slides, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was carried out on 61 eligible specimens using ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) gene. The HaeIII restriction enzyme was used for the identification of species. Results: Samples were randomly collected from 196 acute CL cases, including 110 (56.2%) males and 86 (43.8%) females. Most infections were seen in the age range of 2 - 7 years (65/196, 33.1%). Totally, 60.1% of the cases had only one lesion, and half of the lesions appeared on hands. Furthermore, 162 (82.7%) cases were referred to Dezful Health Center in the cold seasons (autumn and winter). Results of PCR-RFLP on 61 eligible isolates showed that 60 (98.4%) isolates were Leishmania major, and only 1 (1.6%) isolate was Leishmania tropica. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that L. major is the main agent of re-emerged CL in Dezful and its suburbs, and the disease is a zoonosis. | en |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5812/archcid.82209 | en |
| Keyword | Cutaneous Leishmaniasis | en |
| Keyword | ITS1 | en |
| Keyword | PCR-RFLP | en |
| Keyword | Dezful | en |
| Keyword | Iran | en |
| Publisher | Brieflands | en |
| Title | Molecular Identification of <i>Leishmania</i> Species in an Outbreak of Re-Emerged Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Southwestern Iran During 2015 - 2016 | en |
| Type | Research Article | en |