MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF AMERICAN CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS IN THE TRI-BORDER AREA OF ASSIS BRASIL, ACRE STATE, BRAZIL

Author(s)

Garcia Teles, Carolina Bioni ^{[1, 2]} ; Medeiros, Jansen Fernandes ^[2] ; de Azevedo dos Santos, Ana Paula ^{[1, 2]} ; Rodrigues de Freitas, Luis Antonio ^[3] ; Katsuragawa, Tony Hiroshi ^[2] ; Cantanhede, Lilian Motta ^[2] ; Mattos Ferreira, Ricardo de Godoi ^[2] ; Aranha Camargo, Luis Marcelo ^{[1, 4]}

Affiliation

^[1] Fac Sao Lucas, Porto Velho, Rondonia - Brazil

^[2] Fiocruz Rondonia, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Porto Velho, Rondonia - Brazil

^[3] FIOCRUZ Bahia, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Ctr Pesquisa Goncalo Muniz, Salvador, BA - Brazil

^[4] Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Parasitol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo; v. 57, n. 4, p. 343-347, JUL-AUG 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 8

Abstract

In this study, Leishmania species were identified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The epidemiology of patients suspected of having American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the municipality of Assis Brasil, Acre State, located in the Brazil/Peru/Bolivia tri-border was also investigated. By PCR, the DNA of Leishmania was detected in 100% of the cases (37 samples) and a PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) of the hsp 70 gene identified the species in 32 samples: Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis (65.6%), L. (V.) shawi (28.1%), L. (V.) guyanensis (3.1%) and mixed infection L. (V.) guyanensis and L. (Leishmania) amazonensis (3.1%). This is the first report of L. (V.) shawi and L. (L.) amazonensis in Acre. The two predominant species were found in patients living in urban and rural areas. Most cases were found in males living in rural areas for at least three years and involved in rural work. This suggests, in most cases, a possible transmission of the disease from a rural/forest source, although some patients had not engaged in activities associated with permanence in forestall areas, which indicate a possible sandflies adaptation to the periurban setting. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 08/11319-0 - Aetiology and Epidemiology of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Assis Brasil, Acre, Brasil
• Grantee: Luís Marcelo Aranha Camargo
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants