Leishmania donovaniand Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Sri Lanka

Abstract

To investigate the relationship of cutaneous leishmaniasis isolates from Sri Lanka to known species, we performed DNA sequencing and microsatellite analyses. We identified Leishmania donovani as the agent of Sri Lanka cutaneous leishmaniasis and showed that these parasites are closely related to those causing visceral leishmaniasis in the Indian subcontinent.

Knowledge on Leishmaniasis among Health Care Workers In Endemic Area

“…In 2003, the causative species was identified as Leishmania donovani zymodeme MON-37 (6). DNA sequencing and microsatellite analyses showed that these parasites are closely related to those causing visceral leishmaniasis in the Indian subcontinent (7). Mucocutaneous and visceral involvements were first reported in 2005 (8) and 2007 (9) respectively in Anuradhapura.…”

“…There were six cases of visceral Leishmaniasis (10,11). Until recent years, this has been a neglected disease locally and was thought to be a disease of military personnel (6,7). Recent literature (10,11,13,14) showed that this was a disease of locals, where farmers and children who engaged in outdoor activities were the mostly affected.…”

The first documentation of the immune response to cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania donovani in Sri Lanka.

“…DNA sequencing and microsatellite analyses have shown that these parasites are closely related to those causing VL in the Indian subcontinent (L. donovani, MON-2). 6,7 The term "leishmaniasis" encompasses a spectrum of acute or chronic cutaneous and visceral diseases. Evidence has shown that resistance to Leishmania infection is mainly due to the cellular immune response of the host, which results in leishmaniacidal macrophage activation.…”

Surveillance for Antibodies to Leishmania spp. in Dogs from Sri Lanka

“…Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis characterized cutaneous L. donovani strains from Sri Lanka as zymodeme MON-37 (Karunaweera et al, 2003), which differs from India, where VL is predominantly caused by L. donovani zymodeme MON-2. DNA sequencing and microsatellite analyses demonstrated that Indian and Sri Lankan L. donovani strains are genetically similar, but highlighted the important biological differences between geographically close parasites (Siriwardana et al, 2007).…”