Leishmaniasis

Oxford Textbook of Medicine ◽

10.1093/med/9780198746690.003.0171 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1467-1475

Author(s):

Antony D.M. Bryceson ◽

Diana N.J. Lockwood

Keyword(s):

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Visceral Leishmaniasis ◽

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis ◽

Military Personnel ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Biopsy Material ◽

Phlebotomine Sandflies ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Reservoir Hosts ◽

Animal Reservoirs

Leishmaniasis is caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania, which are transmitted to humans from human or animal reservoirs by the bites of phlebotomine sandflies. In places the disease is common and important, with perhaps 500,000 cases of visceral leishmaniasis and 1.5–2 million cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis worldwide each year. Diagnosis is by demonstration of leishmania organisms in tissue smears or biopsy material by microscopy, culture, or detecting leishmaniai DNA by polymerase chain reaction. As an imported disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis is common in travellers, military personnel, and immigrants coming from endemic areas, while the diagnosis of the less common visceral leishmaniasis is frequently overlooked. Prevention is by controlling reservoir hosts and sandfly vectors, or by avoiding bites by vectors. There is no vaccine.

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Leishmaniasis

Oxford Textbook of Medicine ◽

10.1093/med/9780199204854.003.070812_update_001 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 1134-1142

Author(s):

A.D.M. Bryceson ◽

Diana N.J. Lockwood

Keyword(s):

Visceral Leishmaniasis ◽

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis ◽

Military Personnel ◽

Imported Disease ◽

Phlebotomine Sandflies ◽

Endemic Areas ◽

Animal Reservoirs

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Validity of the polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of clinically suspected cases of American visceral leishmaniasis

The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1016/j.bjid.2012.10.021 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 319-323

Author(s):

Celia Maria Silva Pedrosa ◽

Ricardo Arraes de Alencar Ximenes ◽

Wendell Alexandre Pinheiro de Almeida ◽

Eliana Maria Mauricio da Rocha

Keyword(s):

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Visceral Leishmaniasis ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Polymerase Chain

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USE OF THE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF ASYMPTOMATIC Leishmania INFECTION IN A VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS-ENDEMIC AREA

Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo ◽

10.1590/s0036-46652013000200006 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 55 (2) ◽

pp. 101-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Luciana Almeida Silva ◽

Héctor Dardo Romero ◽

Aline Fagundes ◽

Nédia Nehme ◽

Otávio Fernandes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Visceral Leishmaniasis ◽

Endemic Area ◽

Asymptomatic Infection ◽

Control Measures ◽

Skin Tests ◽

Leishmania Infection ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Serological Tests ◽

Polymerase Chain

The diagnosis of asymptomatic infection with Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi has become more important over recent years. Expansion of visceral leishmaniasis might be associated with other routes of transmission such as transfusion, congenital or even vector transmission, and subjects with asymptomatic infection are potential reservoirs. Moreover, the identification of infection may contribute to the management of patients with immunosuppressive conditions (HIV, transplants, use of immunomodulators) and to the assessment of the effectiveness of control measures. In this study, 149 subjects living in a visceral leishmaniasis endemic area were evaluated clinically and submitted to genus-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), serological testing, and the Montenegro skin test. Forty-nine (32.9%) of the subjects had a positive PCR result and none of them developed the disease within a follow-up period of three years. No association was observed between the results of PCR, serological and skin tests. A positive PCR result in subjects from the endemic area did not indicate a risk of progression to visceral leishmaniasis and was not associated with a positive result in the serological tests.

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