Epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis in the Jenin District, West Bank: 1989-1998.

Abdeen, Ziad; Sawalha, Samer; Eisenberger, Carol L.; Khanfar, Haroun M.; Greenblatt, Charles L.; Yousef, Obaida; Schnur, Lionel F.; Azmi, Kifaya; Warburg, Alon; Bader, Khaldoun A.; Jaffe, Charles L.; Baneth, Gad

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2002.66.329

Cited by 31 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…DNA was extracted from blood on filter paper, lymph node and spleen aspirates, and from parasite cultures using the phenol/chloroform method, and internal transcribed spacer 1 region (ITS1) PCR was used to amplify leishmanial DNA from the samples essentially as previously described [8]. Identification of Leishmania parasites at species level was achieved by sequencing the ITS1 PCR product [5].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canine leishmaniosis and its relationship to human visceral leishmaniasis in Eastern Uzbekistan

et al. 2011

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BackgroundThe Namangan Region in the Pap District, located in Eastern Uzbekistan is the main focus of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Uzbekistan. In total, 28 cases of human VL were registered during 2006-2008 in this region. A study on the epidemiology of VL in this area was carried out in 2007-2008 in the villages of Chodak, Oltinkan, Gulistan and Chorkesar located at elevations of 900-1200 above sea level.ResultsA total of 162 dogs were tested for Leishmania infection. Blood was drawn for serology and PCR. When clinical signs of the disease were present, aspirates from lymph nodes and the spleen were taken. Forty-two dogs (25.9%) had clinical signs suggestive of VL and 51 (31.5%) were sero-positive. ITS-1 PCR was performed for 135 dogs using blood and tissue samples and 40 (29.6%) of them were PCR-positive. Leishmanial parasites were cultured from lymph node or spleen aspirates from 10 dogs.Eight Leishmania strains isolated from dogs were typed by multi-locus microsatellite typing (MLMT) and by multilocus enzyme electrophoretic analysis (MLEE), using a 15 enzyme system. These analyses revealed that the strains belong to the most common zymodeme of L. infantum, i.e., MON-1, and form a unique group when compared to MON-1 strains from other geographical regions.ConclusionsThe data obtained through this study confirm the existence of an active focus of VL in the Namangan region of Uzbekistan. The fact that L. infantum was the causative agent of canine infection with typical clinical signs, and also of human infection affecting only infants, suggests that a zoonotic form of VL similar in epidemiology to Mediterranean VL is present in Uzbekistan.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canine leishmaniosis and its relationship to human visceral leishmaniasis in Eastern Uzbekistan

et al. 2011

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“…The age of the infected individual also appears to be crucial, as a high proportion of the patients are children. This age-related higher prevalence of disease is most remarkable in visceral leishmaniasis [2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10]. The mechanisms resulting in this higher incidence of clinical cases in children however are poorly understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-Related Alteration of Arginase Activity Impacts on Severity of Leishmaniasis

et al. 2008

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BackgroundThe leishmaniases are a group of vector-borne parasitic diseases that represent a major international public health problem; they belong to the most neglected tropical diseases and have one of the highest rates of morbidity and mortality. The clinical outcome of infection with Leishmania parasites depends on a variety of factors such as parasite species, vector-derived products, genetics, behaviour, and nutrition. The age of the infected individuals also appears to be critical, as a significant proportion of clinical cases occur in children; this age-related higher prevalence of disease is most remarkable in visceral leishmaniasis. The mechanisms resulting in this higher incidence of clinical disease in children are poorly understood. We have recently revealed that sustained arginase activity promotes uncontrolled parasite growth and pathology in vivo. Here, we tested the hypothesis that arginase-mediated L-arginine metabolism differs with age.MethodologyThe age distribution of patients with visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis was determined in cohorts of patients in our clinics in endemic areas in Ethiopia. To exclude factors that are difficult to control in patients, we assessed the impact of ageing on the manifestations of experimental leishmaniasis. We determined parasite burden, T cell responses, and macrophage effector functions in young and aged mice during the course of infection.ResultsOur results show that younger mice develop exacerbated lesion pathology and higher parasite burdens than aged mice. This aggravated disease development in younger individuals does not correlate with a change in T helper cytokine profile. To address the underlying mechanisms responsible for the more severe infections in younger mice, we investigated macrophage effector functions. Our results show that macrophages from younger mice do not have an impaired capacity to kill parasites; however, they express significantly higher levels of arginase 1 than aged mice and promote parasite growth more efficiently. Thus, our results demonstrate that ageing differentially impacts on L-arginine metabolism and subsequent effector functions of physiologically distinct macrophage subsets.ConclusionsHere, we show that arginase-mediated L-arginine metabolism is modulated with age and affects the capacity of macrophages to express arginase; the increased capacity to upregulate this enzyme in younger individuals results in a more permissive environment for parasite growth, increased disease severity and pathology. These results suggest that the difference in arginase-mediated L-arginine catabolism is likely to be an important factor contributing to the increased incidence of clinical cases in children. Thus, targeting L-arginine metabolism might be a promising therapeutic strategy against leishmaniasis, especially in children and young adults.

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“…Many different PCR-based methods targeting microsatellites, kinetoplastic DNA, telomeric sequences, or gp63, hsp70, miniexon, ␤-tubulin, or rRNA genes have been proposed (reviewed in references 46, 48, and 51). Among these methods, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses of PCR-amplified sequences of multicopy genes have shown promising results (1,12,23,28,30,33,52). Since the work of Cupolillo et al (12), PCR-RFLP methods on the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the ribosomal genes have been performed on New World (NW) Leishmania species (4, 10, 19, 39), but these methods have been conducted mostly on Old World Leishmania species (7,17,35,(42)(43)(44)(45).…”

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Use of PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis To Identify the Main New WorldLeishmaniaSpecies and Analyze Their Taxonomic Properties and Polymorphism by Application of the Assay to Clinical Samples

et al. 2006

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At least 13 characterized Leishmania species are known to infect humans in South America. Five of these parasites are transmitted in the sylvatic ecotopes of the whole French Guianan territory and responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis. For the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses have shown promising results. Thus, the end of the small subunit and internal transcribed spacer 1 of the rRNA genes were sequenced and targeted by PCR-RFLP analysis in the 10 main New World (NW) Leishmania species from the two subgenera. Then, the procedure was tested on 40 samples from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis, and its results were compared with those of conventional methods.

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Epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis in the Jenin District, West Bank: 1989-1998.

Cited by 31 publications

References 18 publications

Canine leishmaniosis and its relationship to human visceral leishmaniasis in Eastern Uzbekistan

Canine leishmaniosis and its relationship to human visceral leishmaniasis in Eastern Uzbekistan

Age-Related Alteration of Arginase Activity Impacts on Severity of Leishmaniasis

Use of PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis To Identify the Main New WorldLeishmaniaSpecies and Analyze Their Taxonomic Properties and Polymorphism by Application of the Assay to Clinical Samples

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