RESUMO
A suspected new species of Leishmania is described as the causative agent of the third reported case of autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis in a Thai man living in Southern Thailand. The results of PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer 1 of ssrRNA and the mini-exon genes were different from those of previously reported Leishmania species. A direct agglutination test (DAT) revealed that antibody against Leishmania infection was detected in nine domestic cats. No potential vectors could be identified. A large-scale epidemiological survey of leishmaniasis should be urgently conducted since visceral leishmaniasis is considered an emerging disease of public health concern in Thailand.
Assuntos
Leishmania/classificação , Leishmaniose Cutânea/genética , Leishmaniose Visceral/genética , Testes de Aglutinação , Animais , Anticorpos Antiprotozoários/genética , Gatos , DNA de Protozoário/análise , DNA de Protozoário/genética , DNA Espaçador Ribossômico/genética , Cães , Humanos , Leishmania/genética , Leishmania/imunologia , Leishmaniose Visceral/epidemiologia , Leishmaniose Visceral/imunologia , Masculino , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Polimorfismo de Fragmento de Restrição , Aves Domésticas , Coelhos , Ratos , TailândiaRESUMO
Human hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a major causative agent of acute hepatitis, and the isolates are categorised into four genotypes: I (GI), II (GII), III (GIII), and VII (GVII). Although viral hepatitis has been detected under a nationwide surveillance system in Thailand, the genetic variation of HAV has not yet been determined. In the present study, serum specimens were collected from acute hepatitis patients in Thailand from 1998-2002. The IgM-class antibody to HAV was detected in 156 out of 394 sera, counting as many as 39.6% of acute viral hepatitis cases. HAV RNA in the serum specimens was amplified by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and a phylogenetic analysis of the putative VP1/2A junction of the genome was performed. The isolates were grouped into two genetic groups, GIA and GIB. This is the first report to identify subgenotype IB (GIB) in Thailand. The genetic segregation was closely related to the province where hepatitis A occurred and the serum specimens were collected. In addition, genetically similar strains were identified in both 1998 and 2001-2002 isolates from two close provinces in the southern part of Thailand, suggesting that a strain indigenous to the province or district has been circulating in southern Thailand.