Leishmania major MON-26 isolated from naturally infected Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Isfahan Province, Iran.

In a survey of leishmania infections in phlebotomine sandflies in one of the most important focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) at Borkhar, a rural district north of the city of Isfahan, central Iran, Phlebotomus (phlebotomus) papatasi Scopoli from gerbil and jird burrows were naturally infected with Leishmania major zymodeme MON-26. This is the first isolation and characterization of L. major from P. papatasi in Iran, from an area where human and rodent infections with L. major have been present for a very long time.