Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is endemic in Northwest and southern Iran. Reports of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Northwest areas are rare, and its etiological agents are unknown. In the current study, we report six CL and two post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) cases caused by Leishmania infantum from endemic areas of VL in the Northwest. Smears were made from skin lesions of 30 suspect...

Serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity increases in diseases where cellular immunity is involved. Since cell-mediated immune responses play a paramount role in the pathogenesis and healing of the visceral leishmaniasis, therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the serum ADA activity in different pathological conditions. Adenosine deaminase was determined in sera of active visce...

Asymptomatic leishmaniasis may drive the epidemic and an important challenge to reach the goal of joint Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) elimination initiative taken by three Asian countries. The role of these asymptomatic carriers in disease transmission, prognosis at individual level and rate of transformation to symptomatic VL/Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) needs to be evaluated. Asym...

SETTING Two subdistricts in Bangladesh, Fulbaria and Trishal, which are hyperendemic for leishmaniasis. OBJECTIVE To determine 1) the numbers of patients diagnosed with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and post-kala azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) using an active case detection (ACD) strategy in Fulbaria and a passive case detection (PCD) strategy in Trishal, and 2) the time taken from symptoms t...

BACKGROUND Since Pars Abad district had been known as a focus of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Ardabil Province but the prevalence of the disease in nomadic tribes has not been determined, thus, this study was conducted. METHODS This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on children up to 12yr old of nomadic tribes from Pars Abad County, Ardabil Province, Iran in 2015. For each ind...

BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar is considered as a parasitic disease caused by the species of Leishmania donovani complex which is intracellular parasites. This systemic disease is endemic in some parts of provinc-es of Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of VL in Qom Province, central Iran using di-rect agglutination test (DAT). METHODS Overall...

We describe the case of an Italian patient with HIV infection who developed an atypical rash resembling post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) when receiving liposomal Amphotericin B (L-AMB) for secondary prophylaxis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). At the time of PKDL appearance, the patient was virologically suppressed but had failed to restore an adequate CD4+ T-cell count. Histology of s...

OBJECTIVES Clinical resistance to pentavalent antimonials results from an interplay between uptake, efflux and sequestration in Leishmania. Aquaglyceroporins (AQPs) have been shown to facilitate uptake of trivalent metalloids. Down-regulation of AQP1 in Leishmania results in resistance to trivalent antimony, whereas overexpression of AQP1 in drug-resistant parasites can reverse the resistance. ...

Currently no effective vaccine is available for human visceral leishmaniasis(VL) caused by Leishmania donovani. Previously, we showed that centrin1 and p27gene deleted live attenuated Leishmania parasites (LdCen1(-/-) and Ldp27(-/-)) are safe, immunogenic and protective in animal models. Here, to assess the correlates of protection, we evaluated immune responses induced by LdCen1(-/-) and Ldp27...

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or Kala-azar is a serious protozoan infectious disease caused by an obligate intracellular parasite. Cytokines have a major role in determining progression and severity of clinical manifestations in VL. We investigated polymorphisms in the TGFB1and IL8 genes, which are cytokines known to have a role in onset and severity of the disease. Polymorphisms at TGFB1 -509 C/...