Characterization of Leishmania spp. causing cutaneous leishmaniasis in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

In the State of Amazonas, American tegumentary leishmaniasis is endemic and presents a wide spectrum of clinical variability due to the large diversity of circulating species in the region. Isolates from patients in Manaus and its metropolitan region were characterized using monoclonal antibodies and isoenzymes belonging to four species of the parasite: Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis, 73% (153/209); Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, 14% (30/209); Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, 8% (17/209); and Leishmania (Viannia) naiffii, 4% (9/209). The most prevalent species was L. (V.) guyanensis. The principal finding of this study was the important quantity of infections involving more than one parasite species, representing 14% (29/209) of the total. The findings obtained in this work regarding the parasite are further highlighted by the fact that these isolates were obtained from clinical samples collected from single lesions

Epidemiologia da leishmaniose tegumentar na Comunidade São João, Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil Epidemiology of tegumentary leishmaniasis in São João, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

Em Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil, o grau de exposição dos indivíduos à leishmaniose está relacionado aos processos de ocupação desordenada. Para avaliar fatores predisponentes à gênese do surto, confirmar o diagnóstico parasitológico, tratar os doentes, avaliar agentes etiológicos, reservatórios e transmissores, realizou-se um estudo em Manaus, numa comunidade localizada no Km 4 da BR-174, durante 12 meses. Atendeu-se 451 indivíduos, dos quais foram diagnosticados 17 casos de leishmaniose tegumentar americana. Seis pacientes eram mulheres e 11 homens. A idade variou de um a 64 anos. Onze pacientes tinham entre uma e três lesões. Em relação aos reservatórios, três marsupiais foram capturados. Não foram encontrados hemoflagelados nos exames realizados. Dentre os insetos capturados, Lutzomyia umbratilis foi a espécie predominante. Grande parte dos pacientes de leishmaniose tegumentar americana tem atividades que os expõem aos vetores da Leishmania. Um grupo de pacientes foi infectado possivelmente no intra/peridomicílio. O perfil epidemiológico da leishmaniose tegumentar americana nessa comunidade é semelhante àquele observado em outros focos na região. Com essa casuística, a leishmaniose tegumentar americana é caracterizada como endêmica e como um problema de saúde pública local.<br>In Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil, the degree of individual exposure to leishmaniasis is related to disorganized land occupation. In order to evaluate predisposing factors for an outbreak, confirm the parasitological diagnosis, treat patients, and assess etiological agents, reservoirs, and vectors, a 12-month study was conducted in Manaus in a community located along the BR-174 federal highway. Some 451 individuals were studied, among whom 17 cases of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) were diagnosed (six women and 11 men). Age varied from one to 64 years. Eleven patients had from one to three lesions. As for reservoirs, three opossums were captured. No hemoflagellates were found in the blood tests. Lutzomyia umbratilis was the predominant vector species captured. Many ATL patients were engaged in activities that exposed them to Leishmania vectors. Some patients may have been infected in the household and peridomiciliary environments. The epidemiological profile of ATL in this community is similar that of other foci in the region. This case series characterizes ATL as an endemic local public health problem

Comparative genomics of canine-isolated Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis from an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Governador Valadares, southeastern Brazil

Leishmaniasis is a highly diverse group of diseases caused by kinetoplastid of the genus Leishmania. These parasites are taxonomically diverse, with human pathogenic species separated into two subgenera according to their development site inside the alimentary tract of the sand fly insect vector. The disease encompasses a variable spectrum of clinical manifestations with tegumentary or visceral symptoms. Among the causative species in Brazil, Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis is an important etiological agent of human cutaneous leishmaniasis that accounts for more than 8% of all cases in endemic regions. L. (L.) amazonensis is generally found in the north and northeast regions of Brazil. Here, we report the first isolation of L. (L.) amazonensis from dogs with clinical manifestations of visceral leishmaniasis in Governador Valadares, an endemic focus in the southeastern Brazilian State of Minas Gerais where L. (L.) infantum is also endemic. These isolates were characterized in terms of SNPs, chromosome and gene copy number variations, confirming that they are closely related to a previously sequenced isolate obtained in 1973 from the typical Northern range of this species. The results presented in this article will increase our knowledge of L. (L.) amazonensis-specific adaptations to infection, parasite survival and the transmission of this Amazonian species in a new endemic area of Brazil