First Human Cases of Leishmania (Viannia) lainsoni Infection and a Search for the Vector Sand Flies in Ecuador.

• Published in: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Hirotomo Kato, Abdon E Bone, Tatsuyuki Mimori, Kazue Hashiguchi, Gonzalo F Shiguango, Silvio V Gonzales, Lenin N Velez, Angel G Guevara, Eduardo A Gomez, Yoshihisa Hashiguchi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004728; https://doaj.org/article/1a6d1332f16d48688e9b97e61cd1094f

An epidemiological study of leishmaniasis was performed in Amazonian areas of Ecuador since little information on the prevalent Leishmania and sand fly species responsible for the transmission is available. Of 33 clinical specimens from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), causative parasites were identified in 25 samples based on cytochrome b gene analysis. As reported previously, Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis and L. (V.) braziliensis were among the causative agents identified. In addition, L. (V.) lainsoni, for which infection is reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Suriname, and French Guiana, was identified in patients with CL from geographically separate areas in the Ecuadorian Amazon, corroborating the notion that L. (V.) lainsoni is widely distributed in South America. Sand flies were surveyed around the area where a patient with L. (V.) lainsoni was suspected to have been infected. However, natural infection of sand flies by L. (V.) lainsoni was not detected. Further extensive vector searches are necessary to define the transmission cycle of L. (V.) lainsoni in Ecuador.