Leishmaniasis is a complex vector-borne disease mediated by Leishmania parasite and strong long-lasting CD4+ Th1 CD8+-T cell immunity required to control the infection. Thus far multivalent subunit vaccines have met this requirement more promisingly. However several full protein sequences cannot be easily arranged in one construct. Instead, new emerging immune-informatics based epitope formulat...

BACKGROUND A vaccine consisting of a single dose of whole-cell autoclave-killed Leishmania major (ALM) mixed with BCG was assessed in comparison with BCG alone against anthroponotic (human to human transmission) cutaneous leishmaniasis in a randomised double-blind trial in Bam, Iran. METHODS 3637 schoolchildren, aged 6-15 years, with no history of cutaneous leishmaniasis and no response to a ...

Periungual and paronychia-like skin lesions can mimic various diseases, setting up a diagnostic challenge that invariably requires correlation with complementary tests. We report a case of an ulcerated tumor of the nailfold diagnosed as leishmaniasis. Although paronychia-like cutaneous leishmaniasis is a rare variant, its epidemiological relevance in Brazil should prompt dermatologists to inclu...

In our present issue we publish two articles in which the value of a complement-fixation test in early diagnosis of kala-azar is stressed. The antigen used is that of Witebsky, Klingenstein and Kuhn prepared from the tubercle bacillus, and originally intended for complement-fixation tests in tuberculosis. In tuberculosis, however, the results are very poor. Work in South America, however, revea...

Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a skin manifestation that usually develops after treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a major public health problem in India. The diagnosis and management of PKDL is complex. This is the first case report from India in which PKDL occurred after paromomycin treatment for VL in an Indian patient.

Leishmaniasis causes significant morbidity and mortality, constituting an important global health problem for which there are few effective drugs. Given the urgent need to identify a safe and effective Leishmania vaccine to help prevent the two million new cases of human leishmaniasis worldwide each year, all reasonable efforts to achieve this goal should be made. This includes the use of anima...

The levels of protection found in vaccine studies of murine visceral leishmaniasis are significantly lower than for cutaneous leishmaniasis; whether this is due to the high-challenge murine model employed and/or is a consequence of differences required in tissue-specific local immune responses is not understood. Consequently, an intradermal murine model of visceral leishmaniasis has been explor...

Background: Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) plays an important role in resistance against leishmaniasis. Leishmanin test (Montenegro skin test) is a method in evaluation of immune system reaction against cutaneous leishmaniasis. The TDR/WHO reference Leishmanin produced by the Pasteur Institute of Iran is used worldwide. Two other antigens produced by Razi Serum Institute of Iran, Killed Leishmani...

Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoan Leishmania parasites that are transmitted through female sandfly bites. The disease is predominantly endemic to the tropics and semi-tropics and has been reported in more than 98 countries. Due to the side effects of anti-Leishmania drugs and the emergence of drug-resistant isolates, there is currently no encouraging prospect of introducing an effective ther...