JOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Year:2019 | Volume:7 | Issue:3|Papers Count:7

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Iran could be considered as an emerging disease that is rapidly increasing and expanding its traditional geographical range to new foci. Sixteen registered emerging epidemics have occurred since 1998 in different provinces. Various risk factors, including agricultural development, earthquake, movement to endemic areas, construction of buildings near colonies of rodents, sleeping outside, cross-border movements, and poor sanitation, play crucial roles in the expansion of the disease. The mentioned risk factors can lead to the gradual or sudden emergence of new CL epidemics, and long-lasting endemic foci can also erupt into epidemics. This paper reviews the emerging epidemics published between 1998 and 2019 in Iran with particular emphasis on the operational aspects of control and related risk factors caused by anthroponotic CL (ACL) and zoonotic CL (ZCL). The competent surveillance system should be extended to all high-risk areas to facilitate controlling the emerging epidemics of ACL and ZCL in the affected areas.

The acute inflammatory response is the body’ s natural reaction to inciting stimuli, including trauma and pathogens. Well-known pro-inflammatory metabolites take control of this reaction to recruit the leukocytes into the inflamed tissue. These cells professionally ingest and kill the invading pathogens and clear the debris of dead or injured cells. This further signals the tissue regeneration and gain of function, another active process mediated by newly uncovered anti-inflammatory metabolites that downregulate the active inflammation. These molecules and their cognate receptors are novel targets for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. Although not very well understood, these mediators are suspected of supporting intracellular parasite survival (as Leishmania parasite) and are worth further investigation for innovative therapeutic interventions.

Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a severe disease that presents a real public health problem worldwide. Antileishmanial therapy remains expensive with intolerable side effects; therefore, it is essential to develop tolerable antileishmanial medications with a selective efficacy. Methods: In this study, the leishmanicidal activities of seven Algerian plant extracts, selected based on either ethnobotanical or chemotaxonomical data, were screened for their antileishmanial activity against promastigotes and amastigotes of cutaneous leishmaniasis agent Leishmania major (MON 25), and visceral leishmaniasis agent Leishmania infantum (MON 1). The cytotoxic activity against human monocytes THP1 was also determined. Results: In both species, amastigotes showed more sensitivity to the extracts than promastigotes. Erica arborea flower (IC50=43, 98 𝜇 g/mL), Marrubium vulgare leaves (IC50=45, 84 𝜇 g/mL) and Artemisia herba-alba Asso aerial parts (IC50=55, 21 𝜇 g/mL) had an almost similar inhibitory effect on L. major promastigote. Marrubium vulgare leaves (IC50=35, 63 𝜇 g/mL) was most effective against L. infantum promastigotes. Besides, these extracts exhibited low selectivity indices. The best results were obtained with M. vulgare on both L. major and L. infantum promastigotes (IC50s of 45, 84 μ g/ml and 35, 63 μ g/ml), and amastigotes (IC50s of 32, 15 μ g/ml and 18, 64 μ g/ml). The selectivity index was above two (2. 34 for L. major and 3. 01 for L. infantum), calculated based on the acceptable cytotoxic effect of M. vulgare on human macrophage cell line (CC50=107, 45 μ g/ml). Conclusion: Out of the seven methanol extracts tested against promastigotes of L. major and L. infantum, three showed promising activity with potent leishmanicidal effect and acceptable selectivity indices on L. major and L. Infantum.

Introduction: Leishmania cysteine protease B (CPB) is a parasite virulence factor that plays a vital role in host-parasitic interactions. Regarding the importance of the CPB gene, we used a quantitative real-time RT-PCR to investigate the expression of CPB in the Iranian isolates of different Leishmania species. Methods: In this study, 36 clinical samples were collected, out of which 29 belonged to cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), 3 to viscerotropic leishmaniasis (VTL), and 5 to visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients. Among CL isolates, 8 were Leishmania major, and 21 were Leishmania tropica, including 3 isolates from the lupoid type. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, gene expression analysis was performed by qPCR. Results: Our results showed the highest expression of CPB in isolates of Leishmania infantum, followed by L. major and L. tropica. Among L. tropica isolates, in the lupoid forms, the mean expression of CPB was ≈ 6. 4 times higher than that of non-lupoid isolates. In L. major isolates, a significant difference was observed between the level of gene expression and the duration of the infection. The expression level of CPB was associated with the severity of the infection in L. infantum isolates. Conclusion: The CPB gene expressed in all Leishmania species. The highest expression was in L. infantum species and the least expression in L. tropica. The transcript level of CPB increased in L. major isolates derived from patients with a higher number and duration of ulcers; however, further studies on more clinical samples are needed to explore our findings.

Introduction: Rodents are reservoir hosts of various infectious diseases. Many species and subspecies of genus Rattus play a significant role as potential reservoir hosts of different emerging and re-emerging diseases, including leishmaniasis. Methods: Rodents were captured using live wooden traps from different localities of Khuzestan Province, southwest of Iran. To precise identification of two sister species of rats, including Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus, morphological, molecular, and biosystematics characters were examined using amplification of mitochondrial Cytochrome b (Cytb) gene fragment. Results: Out of 119 captured rodents, 44 were R. rattus, 12 were R. norvegicus, and 63 belonged to other species (Tatera indica, Nesokia indica, Mus musculus). Partial Cyt b gene (≤ 624 bp) was amplified to characterize R. rattus and R. norvegicus, accurately. Three haplotypes of R. rattus (six samples) and a unique haplotype of R. norvegicus (three samples) were identified with some nucleotide variations. Conclusion: Mitochondrial results confirmed morphological disparity between the two Rattus species in Khuzestan Province. Therefore, we recommend applying an integrative approach to identify host reservoirs for infectious diseases, especially those suspected as reservoirs of cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

Dear Editor, For long, it had become evident to leishmaniases researchers that the pathological outcomes of infections such as cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are affected by complex interactions of multiple factors, including the genetic diversities of the parasite and its phlebotomine vector, the immunocompetence of the human hosts, the mammalian reservoirs and last but not least, the environmental conditions, which favors the propagation of the parasite in transition [1]. Hence, simplistic assumptions based on data obtained from small animal models or monitoring the fluctuations of a few available biomarkers [2] have not been able to elevate our understanding of the mechanisms that shape or control CL pathologies. This has left us with no approved vaccination or new therapeutic for any forms of CL. The above shortcomings were addressed during a two-day Leishmania panel session within the 2016 meeting of Pasteur Institutes of the MATI region (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Iran) with the participation of Institut Pasteur in Paris, which was...

A 79-year-old male presented with an ulcerated lesion on the glans penis. Histopathological evaluation of the biopsy from the lesion revealed the presence of Leishmania amastigotes and confirmed the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis. The patient was treated with several sessions of cryotherapy; the lesion healed and left no scar.