Abstract
All clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis exist in Colombia, the cutaneous form being the most frequent in the department of Sucre, where the Leishmania species associated with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is unknown. This study was carried out to determine which Leishmania species was responsible for CL in Sucre, based on amplification and sequencing of the Cyt b gene. Isolates of Leishmania were obtained after CL diagnosis of eight patients who received attention in several health care centers of the study area. The nucleotide sequences obtained from patients were compared to Leishmania reference strains and six of the isolates identified as Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, the remaining two being identified as Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis and Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis. This represents the first report of the presence of L. (V.) guyanensis on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
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Acknowledgments
We sincerely thank the clinicians of the health centers from Ovejas and Sampués municipalities for their support in the clinical sample collections, especially Mr. Calixto Galé (DASSSALUD). We also thank Dr. Iván Darío Vélez (PECET, Universidad de Antioquia) for providing the WHO reference strain. This study received financial support from DASSSALUD (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad Social en Salud de Sucre) and the Universidad de Sucre. Experiments were carried out according to the Colombian current laws.
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Martínez, L.P., Rebollo, J.A., Luna, A.L. et al. Molecular identification of the parasites causing cutaneous leishmaniasis on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Parasitol Res 106, 647–652 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1712-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1712-6