BACKGROUND Sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) in the genus Lutzomyia are the predominant vectors of the protozoan disease leishmaniasis in the New World. Within the watershed of the Panama Canal, the cutaneous form of leishmaniasis is a continuous health threat for residents, tourists and members of an international research community. Here we report the results of screening a tro...

Leishmania, a genus of parasites transmitted to human hosts and mammalian/reptilian reservoirs by an insect vector, is the causative agent of the human disease complex leishmaniasis. The evolutionary relationships within the genus Leishmania and its origins are the source of ongoing debate, reflected in conflicting phylogenetic and biogeographic reconstructions. This study employs a recently de...

We have set up an assay to study the interactions of live pathogens with their hosts by using protein and glycosaminoglycan arrays probed by surface plasmon resonance imaging. We have used this assay to characterize the interactions of Leishmania promastigotes with ~70 mammalian host biomolecules (extracellular proteins, glycosaminoglycans, growth factors, cell surface receptors). We have ident...

Kinetoplastid parasites of the Leishmania genus cause several forms of leishmaniasis. Leishmania species pathogenic to human are separated into two subgenera, Leishmania (Leishmania) and L. (Viannia). Species from the Viannia subgenus cause predominantly cutaneous leishmaniasis in Central and South America, occasionally leading to more severe clinical presentations. Although the genomes of seve...

both urban and rural cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) are endemic in different parts of iran and have long been recognized in most provinces. however, there is no report of endemicity of cl in rural areas of kashan, 200 km north of isfahan and 260 km south of tehran, iran. to our knowledge, this is the first report of outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in this area. to study and identify the natur...

Autochthonous cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) have been reported since 2001 in the Xakriabá Indigenous Reserve located in the municipality of São João das Missões in northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. In order to study the presence of Leishmania DNA in phlebotomine sand flies, six entomological collections were carried out from July 2008 through July 2009, using 40 light traps...

Leishmania species are protozoan parasites and the causative agents of leishmaniasis, a vector borne disease that imposes a large health burden on individuals living mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Different Leishmania species are responsible for the distinct clinical patterns, such as cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis, with the latter being potentially fatal if l...

Protozoan parasites of Leishmania spp. invade macrophages as promastigotes and differentiate into replicative amastigotes within parasitophorous vacuoles. Infection of inbred strains of mice with Leishmania major is a well-studied model of the mammalian immune response to Leishmania species, but the ultrastructure and biochemical properties of the parasitophorous vacuole occupied by this parasi...

BACKGROUND The objectives of our research were to search for Leishmania species in rodents in Fars province, south of Iran, and to compare molecular with conventional methods for detecting these parasites. METHODS Rodents were captured using live traps and screened for Leishmania species using molecular and conventional methods, including the taking of smears from each ear. Nested PCR was emp...

In Colombia, the cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common manifestation across the army personnel. Hence, it is mandatory to determine the species associated with the disease as well as the association with the clinical traits. A total of 273 samples of male patients with CL were included in the study and clinical data of the patients was studied. PCR and sequencing analyses (Cytb and HS...