%0 Journal Article
%T Characterization of Leishmania Species Isolated from Cutaneous Human Samples from Central Region of Syria by RFLP Analysis
%A Samar Anis Al-Nahhas
%A Rania Magdy Kaldas
%J ISRN Parasitology
%D 2013
%R 10.5402/2013/308726
%X Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic disease and a public health problem in Hama governorate located in the central region of Syria. The aim of this study was to characterize Leishmania species isolated from human skin samples. A polymerase chain reaction, restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay, was performed on skin lesion material samples from 32 patients with confirmed CL by direct microscopic examination in order to prove its usefulness and efficiency for identification of Leishmania species. Leishmania tropica (L. tropica) is confirmed as an etiologic agent of CL in this area. 1. Introduction Leishmaniasis is a parasitic endemic disease that spreads over the world in tropical and subtropical regions. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is currently endemic in 87 countries worldwide (20 countries in the new world and 67 countries in the old world), with an estimation of new infected cases from 500,000 to one million annually [1]. In Syria, CL has two forms: zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) caused by L. major and anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) caused by L. tropica [2¨C4]. During the last decade, CL represented a major public health problem in Syria, because the incidence of CL has increased significantly. According to the Syrian Ministry of Health, Department of Infectious Diseases, the reported number of cutaneous leishmaniasis was 12,832 cases in 1999, and this number reached 46,148 cases in 2009. An average of 24% of the reported cases in Syria originated from the middle region (Hama, Idleb, and Homs governorates). Traditionally, diagnosis of leishmaniasis in Syria relies on the clinical manifestations of the disease with the detection of the intracellular stages of the parasite by direct examination of smears or biopsies of skin lesions and culturing of specimens [5, 6]. However, the Leishmania species identification is not possible using these methods because all Leishmania parasites are morphologically similar. Actually, isoenzyme analysis is the golden method for identification of Leishmania species and subspecies. However, this procedure is time consuming, culture dependent and requires considerable expertise [7¨C11]. Therefore, accurate diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis, treatment, disease prevention, and controlling strategies, as well as management decisions, require identification of the causative species of Leishmania parasite [10¨C12]. In the last decade, several PCR assays for detection and differentiation of parasites, including species-specific PCR, single-strand conformation polymorphisms (SSCP),
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.parasitology/2013/308726/