molecular identification of leishmania species isolated from human cutaneous leishmaniasis by rapd-pcr

background: characterization of leishmania parasites is necessary for epidemiological objectives such as documenting the distri­bution of predominant species and designing appropriate control measures. in this study, we aimed to identify leishma­nia species isolated from cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) patients, using rapd-pcr method. methods: this descriptive, cross-sectional study was designed against 20 leishmania spp. which were confirmed by para­si­tological examination, isolated from 30 suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis patients, referred to health centers of kerman­shah province from august 2006 to december 2007. all desirable samples were characterized by rapd-pcr method using five selected oligoprimers (ab1-o7, a4, 327, 329 and m13). electrophoresis patterns from each isolate were com­pared with reference strains of l. tropica, l. major and l. infantum. results: eighty nine percent and 11% of isolates were similar to l. major and l. tropica reference strain, respectively.  five of the isolates were identified as l. major using rapd-pcr, induce ulcers at the base tail of balb/c mice, 4-6 months after inocula­tion. conclusion: l. major is dominant in the studied areas and it seems that some parts of the kermanshah province to be pro­ba­bly considered as zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis areas in the middle west of iran.