Patients who recover from leishmaniasis usually show development of strong immunity and induction of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and delayed type hypersensitivity. In a randomized trial, we analyzed the IFN-γ response by using a Quantiferon-Leishmania assay against three Leishmania peptide antigens and compared it with results of the leishmanin skin test (LST) in persons residing in areas in Iran to w...

A case of visceral leishmaniasis in a young American Peace Corps volunteer is reported. Both clinical and epidemiologic evidence strongly supported the diagnosis; however, hepatic and splenic aspirates for the causative organism were negative. The diagnosis was eventually confirmed through serology, employing indirect immunofluorescence and complement fixation testing of serum. The patient clin...

Over a period of more than 10 years we have isolated and classified 161 Leishmania strains from cases of human visceral, cutaneous and mucosal leishmaniasis in immunocompetent subjects, from cases of visceral leishmaniasis in immunocompromised individuals with HIV, from dogs with leishmaniasis (visceral and cutaneous), from Rattus rattus and from sandflies. The strains were all L. infantum, the...

The article discusses habits related to the vectorial competence of Lutzomyia longipalpis, along with evidence confirming the importance of this sand fly species in the epidemiological chain of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. A new epidemiological profile for visceral leishmaniasis is also postulated, associated with domestic environments and the role of Lu. longipalpis in this process, its s...

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by different species of the protozoan genus Leishmania that infect animals as well as humans. It is transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies. There are three forms of leishmaniasis: cutaneus, mucocutaneus and visceral. Leishmania Donovani is the responsible for the visceral form and it causes fever, general discomfort and sple...

background: until now, the comparison of the rk39 strip test (rkt) and direct ag-glutination test (dat) for detection of visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is exclusively based on either positive or negative qualification of the reaction outcome. objective: in this study, we compared the diagnostic performance of rkt and dat for vl both qualitatively and semi-quantitatively. methods: for comparison ba...

In Brazil, visceral Leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania chagasi. The development of cutaneous lesions in visceral leishmaniasis patients has been described in two different clinical contexts. Patients with compromised immunity can develop skin lesions as a direct consequence of a current visceral disease. Equally, patients with a history of kala-azar and progressive, immune improvement occasi...

India and neighboring Nepal, Bangladesh along with Sudan and Brazil are the four largest foci of visceral leishmaniasis and account for 90% of the world's visceral leishmaniasis (VL) burden, with India being the worst affected. High degree of suspicion is usually based on patient presenting from endemic area with features of pancytopenia hepatosplenomegaly. Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytic (HLH...

BACKGROUND To describe an unusual clinical presentation of visceral leishmaniasis affecting the colon. CASE REPORT We report the case of an HIV-positive patient with visceral leishmaniasis. We describe the clinical case, the procedures performed, the treatment provided and the patient's evolution. A comparative table of previously reported similar cases is shown. DISCUSSION Visceral leishma...

Leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania protozoa. It is widely present in more than 88 countries worldwide, resulting in up to 80,000 deaths annually. Leishmaniasis occurs as visceral, cutaneous, or mucocutaneous variants. Mucosal involvement can occur secondarily to the cutaneous or visceral varieties. However, primary mucosal leishmaniasis (PML) occurs without any present or past cutaneous and ...