First Molecular Epidemiological Study of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Libya

Abstract

BackgroundCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major public health problem in Libya. The objective of this study was to investigate, for the first time, epidemiological features of CL outbreaks in Libya including molecular identification of parasites, the geographical distribution of cases and possible scenarios of parasite transmission.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe studied 450 patients that came from 49 areas distributed in 12 districts in north-west Libya. The patients' ages ranged from 9 months to 87 years (median age 25 years); 54% of the cases were males. Skin scrapings spotted on glass slides were collected for molecular identification of causative agent. The ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) was amplified and subsequently characterized by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. In total, 195 samples were successfully identified of which 148 (75.9%) were Leishmania major, and 47 (24.1%) Leishmania tropica. CL cases infected with L. major were found in all CL areas whereas L. tropica cases came mainly from Al Jabal Al Gharbi (46.4%), Misrata (17.8%) and Tarhuna districts (10.7%). A trend of seasonality was noticed for the infections with L. major which showed a clear peak between November and January, but was less pronounced for infections by L. tropica.ConclusionThe first molecular study on CL in Libya revealed that the disease is caused by L. major and L. tropica and the epidemiological patterns in the different foci were the same as in other Mediterranean foci of CL.

Epidemiological Aspects of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Iran

“…In the present study, approximately 87% of the wounds exist on the hands, face, and neck because of sleeping in the outdoor, without the use of linen and lace, and lack of proper body cover in summer, considering the high prevalence of the disease in tropical regions, while in Brazil more than 34% of wounds occurred in the legs, given the type of wearing clothing among Brazilians (25). Other studies have also shown a higher frequency of the disease in men (23,30). In our study, 55% of the cases were men.…”

Comparison of PCR methods for detection of Leishmania siamensis infection

“…Several PCR approaches have been published based on different target genes, i.e., the cysteine protease B (cpb) [14], the cytochrome b (cyt b) [15], the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU-rRNA) gene [16], the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) [17], the heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) [18], the spliced leader mini-exon [19], the SSU-rRNA gene [20] and the triose-phosphate isomerase (tim) genes [21]. Of these, the ITS1 region of the SSU-rRNA gene has been one of the common genetic markers used to detect Leishmania species in the Old World [13,16,[22][23][24].…”

The Current Status of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Morocco

“…The disease is characterized by chronic skin lesions, leaving permanent scars with deformation of the infected area. It is distributed in many tropical and subtropical countries (1,2). It is a concern for WHO because it is affecting the population of 98 countries.…”