Are There Atypical Leishmania Species Responsible for the Kala-Azar Persistence in Northeast Iran?

PORPUSE: Human visceral leishmaniasis (HVL) is a severe form of leishmaniasis caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania.

METHODS

From 2013 to 2022, this study, molecular diagnosis was conducted on 50 pediatric bone marrow aspiration samples from northeast Iran, all of which had previously been confirmed to have visceral leishmaniasis. The ITS-rDNA gene and phylogenetic analysis were performed.

RESULTS

The results revealed that 49 samples tested positive for L. infantum species, whereas 1 sample was identified as L. major. All three L. infantum isolates showed similar haplotypes, whereas the L. major isolate exhibited nucleotide differences in the sequence analyzed.

CONCLUSION

It could be concluded that visceral manifestations of cutaneous leishmaniasis in children living in endemic areas should be considered a contributing factor to the development of HVL. The present study provides a relatively comprehensive snapshot of unusual leishmania species status that could be responsible for HVL development.