Analysis of morphological variations of three Adlerius (Diptera: Psychodidae) species collected in two cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic foci of Turkey

Leishmaniasis, transmitted to human by sand flies, is a neglected vector-borne diseases and has two clinical forms: cutaneous (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Turkey. Subgenus of Adlerius are known as probable vectors of both forms of leishmaniasis in Turkey. Examined three species belonging to Adlerius are difficult to distinguish morphologically and have similar taxonomic characters. The aim of this study was to analyse and identify the possible morphological variations, of wild-caught sand fly specimens belonging to Adlerius subgenus. Six and seven morphological characters for female and male specimens were used, respectively. ANOVA, principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant function analysis (DFA) test were performed to determine the significant morphometric variables of the three species. Univariate and multivariate analyses of 13 morphometric variables via ANOVA, DFA and PCA showed that eight (six for females, two for males) morphometric variables had an accuracy of 100% for discriminating three Adlerius subgenus specimens. The analyses revealed significant differences on several morphological structures of Adlerius specimens. These results suggested that morphological and morphometrical features can be used to discriminate three Adlerius species, in which one of them is proven vector Leishmania (L.) tropica in two foci of Turkey.We thank Scientifc Research Projects Coordination Unit of Ege University, which supported our study with a project ID of `2009 TIP 32'.Scientifc Research Projects Coordination Unit of Ege Universit

Is phlebotomus halepensis natural vector of Leishmania tropica? A parasitological survey in a new cutaneous leishmaniasis focus in central anatolia of Turkey

56th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Tropical-Medicine-and-Hygiene -- NOV 04-08, 2007 -- Philadelphia, PAWOS: 000250758201251Amer Soc Trop Med & Hy

Assessment of In-vitro Antileishmanial Activities of Cynara scolymus Extracts Against Leishmania tropica

It was aimed to investigate in vitro antileishmanial activities of the receptacle, bractea, and stem leaves extracts of Cynara scolymus (artichoke) against Leishmania tropica. The Leishmania isolate, isolated from a cutaneous leishmaniasis patient from Manisa province, Turkey and stored in liquid nitrogen, was identified as L. tropica (MHOM/TR/2012/CBCL-LT) by genotyping. In vitro antileishmanial activities of C. scolymus plant extracts were examined by CelltTiter-glo and hemocytometry, and cytotoxic activities by MTT. IC50 values of receptacle water (WRC), aqueous ethanol (ARC) and ethanol (ERC), bractea leaf water (WBC), aqueous ethanol (ABC) and ethanol (EBC), and stem leaf water (WSC), aqueous ethanol (ASC) and ethanol (ESC) extracts were determined as 2.45 mg/mL, 1.52 mg/mL, 1.66 mg/mL, 3.45 mg/mL, 1.46 mg/mL and 0.58 mg/mL, 0.24 mg/mL, 0.21 mg/mL and 0.08 mg/mL, respectively. When these results are compared with the drug-free control group, it was determined that stem leaf aqueous ethanol (SI: 7.98), ethanol (SI: 4.96) and water (SI: 2.71) extracts with the highest selectivity index (SI) values showed antileishmanial activity (P0.05). Extracts of C. scolymus did not show cytotoxic activity except for WBC, WRC and ARC. In conclusion, the data presented in the current study indicated that C. scolymus stem leaf extracts (ESC, ASC and WSC) present effective antileishmanial activity. Future studies could focus on the identification and purification of the antileishmanial compounds within these extracts for analysis of their in vivo antileishmanial activity

Detection of permethrin resistance and phylogenetic clustering of turkish head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis; de Geer, 1767 populations

Baylan, Orhan/0000-0002-6529-7824; KARABELA, Semsi Nur/0000-0003-2562-3004WOS: 000525798800038PubMed: 32006522Head lice infestation caused by Pediculus humanus capitis de Geer, 1767 is one of the most common public health problems. the relationship between humans and head lice dates back millions of years ago that differentiated into different phylogenetic clades. Treatment of head lice infestation usually based on insecticide-based products, which promotes the resistance in the head lice populations. in the present study, we aimed to screen the presence of permethrin resistance among collected P. h. capitis specimens in Turkey. Three mutation sites (T917I, L920F, and M815I) were screened using real-time PCR and resistance was identified by melt analysis. of the studied specimens, resistance allele frequency (RAF) was found 0.98 for T917I, 0.99 for L920F, and 1.00 for M815I. the phylogenetic study revealed that Clade A and Clade B are present and overlap in Turkey. the present study is first to screen the resistance among Turkish head lice specimens. To not stimulate the pyrethroids resistance in head lice populations, early detection of resistance is crucial and will help the health professionals to choose suitable formula in the treatment. We suggest that the resistance status needs to be screened in randomly selected populations before any treatment application is given.Scientific Research Project Fund of the University of Health Sciences [2018/067]We thank Dr. Suha Kenan Arserim, Prof. Dr. Seray Toz and Prof. Dr. Yusuf Ozbel for their valuable helps. This study is supported by the Scientific Research Project Fund of the University of Health Sciences under project number 2018/067

Determination of sand fly fauna and molecular detection of Leishmania in sand flies in Antalya Province, Southern Turkey

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are diseases transmitted by infected female sand flies. Since the eradication of malaria in Turkey, CL is the main vector-borne disease in the country, with more than 2000 cases per year, making it a significant public health problem. The aims of this study were to carry out an entomological survey in Antalya Province, an endemic area for CL in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey, to identify sand fly fauna and to screen female specimens for the presence of Leishmania parasites (Leishmania infantum, L. tropica, L. major, and L. donovani) using molecular analysis. Sand flies were collected in 42 localities of seven districts in Antalya Province using CDC miniature light traps in two different periods, June 2012 and September 2013. The specimens were kept in 96% ethanol until the dissection was done. The head and genitalia of the specimens were cut for preparing individual slides for species identification. The rest of the body of female specimens was kept separately. The specimens were identified at the species level, and 27 pools were generated according to the locations and species for screening the presence of Leishmania. A commercial kit was used for DNA extractions. Real-time and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1) were then performed. In total, 1306 specimens comprising nine species belonging to the Phlebotomus genus were collected in the study region, with Phlebotomus neglectus/syriacus (38.82%) the most abundant, followed by P. alexandri (21.67%) and P. tobbi (20.44%). In the 27 pools, Leishmania infantum DNA was detected in four pools containing P. neglectus/syriacus and one pool containing P. tobbi. In conclusion, the sand fly fauna in the Antalya Province is diverse. The probable vector sand fly species are P. neglectus/syriacus and P. tobbi with high dominance (59.26%), which indicates a high risk of CL transmission. The data presented here may help to shed more light on the transmission cycles of the Leishmania parasite in this CL endemic area.This study is supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Project No. 112T270).Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey [112T270

Quantiferon-Leishmania as an Epidemiological Tool for Evaluating the Exposure to Leishmania Infection

The aim of the present preliminary study was to investigate the potential of measurement of IFN-γ secretion by T cells into blood plasma using QuantiFERON assay with leishmanial antigens to determine the presence of Leishmania infection. Blood samples from cured visceral (N = 18), and cutaneous (N = 20) leishmaniasis cases, and 20 healthy controls were tested. The IFN-γ responses to Leishmania major H2B and Leishmania infantum H2B antigens were detected from the majority of treated old visceral leishmaniasis cases, but not from controls. Future studies using larger groups will be required to establish the true potential of the assay for epidemiological screening of leishmaniasis

Antileishmanial Activity of Selected Turkish Medicinal Plants

WOS: 000350412700015Purpose: To determine the in vitro and in vivo anti-leishmanial activities of extracts obtained from Centaurea calolepis, Phlomis lycia, Eryngium thorifolium, Origanum sipyleum and Galium incanum ssp. centrale. Methods: To estimate the cytotoxicity of plant extracts, WST-1 assay was used. Parasite inhibition in the presence of plant extracts (25 - 500 mu g/ml) in comparision with control group and reference group (glucantime, 25 mu g/ml) at 12 - 72 h were determined in vitro on L. tropica promastigotes. The in vivo leishmanicidal activity of the extracts was evaluated against L. tropica-infected mice with glucantime as reference drug. Results: The chloroform extract of Galium incanum ssp. centrale showed the highest cytotoxicity with IC50 value of 0.0316 +/- 0.005 mu g/ml. In vitro parasite inhibition by the plant extracts ranged between 16.7 +/- 0.01 % and 100 +/- 0.00 % at 25 mu g/ml concentration. The methanol extract of Eryngium thorifolium possessed the highest activity on promastigotes of L. tropica with 100 % inhibition at 25 mu g/ml. The water and chloroform extracts of C. calolepis and water and methanol extracts of E. thorifolium at a dose of 100 mg/kg reduced parasitaemia in L. tropica infected mice. Conclusion: Parasite viability results suggest that the methanol extract of Eryngium thorifolium, regarded as non-cytotoxic, is a promising candidate drug for treating L. tropica infection.TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [110S289]This study received financial support from TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) - grant no. 110S289

Treatment of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) infestation: Is regular combing alone with a special detection comb effective at all levels?

WOS: 000351523900009PubMed ID: 25604670Head lice infestation (HLI) caused by Pediculus humanus capitis has been a public health problem worldwide. Specially designed combs are used to identify head lice, while anti-lice products are applied on the scalp for treatment. In the present study, we aimed to test whether combing only by precision detection comb (PDC) or metal pin comb (MPC) could be effective alternatives to the use of anti-lice products in children. A total of 560 children from two rural schools in Turkey were screened. In the PDC trial, children were combed every second day for 14 days, while in the MPC trial, combing was performed once in every four days for 15 days. Children were divided into two groups (dry combing and wet combing) for both trials and results were compared. The results showed no significant differences between dry and wet combing strategies for both combs for the removal of head lice (p>0.05). The number of adult head lice declined significantly on each subsequent combing day in both approaches, except on day 15 in the MPC trial. In the end, no louse was found in 54.1 and 48.9% of children in the PDC and MPC trials, respectively. Since family members of infested children were not available, they were not checked for HLI. Four times combing within 2 weeks with MPC combs was found effective for both treatment of low HLI and prevention of heavy HLI. In conclusion, regular combing by special combs decreases HLI level in children and is safely applicable as long-term treatment