Leishmaniasis in Turkey: Molecular characterization of Leishmania from human and canine clinical samples

Seray Ozensoy Toz, Abedelmajeed Nasereddin, Yusuf Ozbel, Hatice Ertabaklar, Gulnaz Culha, Naser Sevil, M. Ziya Alkan, Charles L. Jaffe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

52 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human leishmaniasis, both visceral and cutaneous, and canine leishmaniasis have been reported in Turkey for centuries. However, the advent of new diagnostic tools during the last 30 years has led to the recognition that leishmaniasis is an important public health problem throughout the country. In most disease foci both canine and human leishmaniases exist together and identification of parasite species causing these diseases is a pre-requisite for understanding disease epidemiology. A total of 109 samples obtained from human and canine leishmaniasis cases were examined using internal transcribed spacer 1 PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Our results indicate that two species, Leishmania tropica and Leishmania infantum, are primarily responsible for cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, respectively, in Turkey. However, a new focus of human cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. infantum in Hatay region is described. This finding further stresses the importance of Leishmania species molecular characterization in prescribing appropriate therapy and understanding the disease's transmission in different endemic foci.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1401-1406
Number of pages6
JournalTropical Medicine and International Health
Volume14
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2009

Keywords

  • Canine leishmaniasis
  • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
  • Leishmania infantum
  • Leishmania tropica
  • Visceral leishmaniasis

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