[Leishmania infantum MON-1 isolated from a golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Grande Kabylie (Algeria)]. / Leishmania infantum MON-1 isolé d'un chacal doré (Canis aureus) en Grande Kabylie (Algérie).

In the north of Algeria, Leishmania infantum is responsible for two clinical forms of leishmaniasis: visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, for which dogs are the only proven reservoir host. In this study, the authors report, for the first time, the isolation of L. infantum from a golden jackal (Canis aureus) trapped in the Illoulen ou Malou region (Grande Kabylie). Two isolates were thus obtained from bone marrow and spleen and were identified by starch gel isoenzyme electrophoresis as L. infantum MON-1, the widespread zymodeme in the north of the country. Leishmania parasites have also been detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the biopsy of the spleen. The golden jackal, a prevalent wild canid in Northern Africa, could play a predominant role in the sylvatic foci of leishmaniasis and in the dissemination of the parasite in this region.

[Spread of Leishmania major to the north of Algeria]. / Extension de Leishmania major au nord de l'Algérie.

Since a long time, Leishmania major and L. infantum foci in Algeria were geographically separated by the mountains of the Tell Atlas which represent a natural barrier. Recently, a new focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) has emerged in the village of El M'hir, located on the north side of the chain of the Tell Atlas, in the basin of the Soummam. During the period 2004-2010, 152 CL cases have been registered and 12 isolates were obtained from patients who declared never having been outside the village the last years. The identification of the parasites showed that all strains belonged to L major MON-25. Investigations on the reservoir hosts showed the presence of the sand rat (Psammomys obesus), for the first time, in this locality. Five strains isolated from this rodent belonged to L. major MON-25. The sand rat, which is usually observed around the chotts in the Saharan and steppe areas, acts as the main reservoir of L. major in Algeria. Its presence in the new focus of El M'hir is reported for the first time. Entomological surveys carried out in 2009 showed the predominance of two sandfly species: Phlebotomus papatasi and P. perniciosus. The first one is known as a vector of L major in the Algerian Sahara. This study highlights the spread of L. major from the arid zones towards the semi arid areas, particularly in the Soummam valley. Climate changes and desertification observed in the steppe area northern Sahara could play a role in the extension of the disease.

[Epidemiology of Leishmania (L.) infantum, L. major and L. killicki in Tunisia: results and analysis of the identification of 226 human and canine isolates]. / Epidémiologie de Leishmania (L.) infantum, L. major et L. killicki en Tunisie: résultats et analyse de l'identification de 226 isolats humains et canins et revue de la littérature.

The epidemiological situation of leishmaniasis in Tunisia is characterised by the co-existence in a very limited territory (165,000 km2, Sahara included), of 4 clinical forms: the infantile visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and 3 cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) forms (sporadic, zoonotic and chronic). In addition to the useful epidemiological data, identification of the causative parasitic species is essential to determine the geographic distribution of each form and to select appropriate therapeutic procedure and suitable control measures. 226 Leishmania isolates, 135 human's coming from 59 VL cases and 76 CL cases and 91 canine's were identified by the isoenzyme electrophoresis reference technique. Results confirm the endemicity of the 4 forms mentioned above. The sporadic CL, confined to the North of the country is principally caused by L. infantum MON-24 (72.2%). VL which has reached the southern ridge in the central area of Tunisia, in the governorate of Kairouan (36 typed isolates), presents an unusual high proportion of L. infantum MON-24. In fact, this zymodeme, rather dermotropic is responsible for 47.2% of the cases vs 13% in the other regions of the country where L. infantum MON-1 remains predominant with 78.3% of typed isolates, the difference being statistically significant (P < 0.01). A third zymodeme, L. infantum MON-80 is sporadically pointed out during VL or in sporadic CL. Despite the high number of canine isolates (n=91) coming from 6 governorates, only the zymodeme L. infantum MON-1 was identified, letting hypothetic the reservoir of the 2 other zymodemes of the species identified in humans. Those absences may be related to cross infections, with a low sensitivity to L. infantum MON-24 leading to a selection of MON-1 at the time of culture passages. Hence it is important to develop molecular tools of direct identification on initial biological samples without going through cultures. Zoonotic CL remains the predominant cutaneous form in the central and southern area of Tunisia. However L. killicki, agent of the chronic CL, is confirming its presence out of its original focus of Tataouine in the southern-east of the country in both zoonotic CL and VL areas.

[Infantile visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum zymodeme MON-24 in Algeria]. / Leishmaniose viscérale infantile causée par Leishmania infantum zymodème MON-24 en Algérie.

In Algeria, visceral leishmaniasis is caused principally by Leishmania infantum MON-1, a common agent of the disease on the edges of the mediterranean basin. Other zymodemes (MON-34 and MON-80) of the same complex have also been isolated from immunologically competent patients. In the present study, the authors report the presence of Leishmania infantum MON-24, the main agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in northern Algeria, in five children with visceral leishmaniasis.

[Leishmania infantum MON-1: the only zymodeme isolated in canine leishmaniasis in Tunisia]. / Leishmania infantum MON-1: seul zymodème isolé chez les chiens leishmaniens en Tunisie.

Iso-enzymatic characterization of 19 Leishmania strains isolated from Tunisian dogs revealed that all correspond to Leishmania infantum MON-1. This confirms the role of dog as a reservoir of the commonest zymodeme responsible for human visceral leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin. However, and in spite of the high number of identifications, many zymodemes, mainly the dermotropic ones as Leishmania infantum MON-24, frequently reported in humans, had never been isolated from dogs. The study of their cultural characteristics may contribute to explain the particular iso-enzymatic profile of dogs strains.

[Detection of Leishmania infantum MON-24 in the dog]. / Presence de Leishmania infantum MON-24 chez le chien.

Two forms of cutaneous leishmaniasis are endemic in Algeria. Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major is widespread in the steppe regions of the northern Sahara. Sporadic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum occurs in the north along the coastline. The main causative agent for the sporadic form is Leishmania infantum zymodeme MON-24. It has been isolated from the sandfly vector Phlebotomus perfiliewi. However all attempts to isolate this variant from dogs, i.e., the main reservoir of Leishmania infantum, have failed. The authors report the first successful detection of Leishmania infantum MON-24 in the dog.

Identification of Leishmania at the species level with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flightMALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) is now widely recognized as a powerful tool with which to identify bacteria and fungi at the species level, and sometimes in a rapid and accurate manner. We report herein an approach to identify, at the species level, Leishmania promastigotes from in vitro culture. We first constructed a reference database of spectra including the main Leishmania species known to cause human leishmaniasis. Then, the performance of the reference database in identifying Leishmania promastigotes was tested on a panel of 69 isolates obtained from patients. Our approach correctly identified 66 of the 69 isolates tested at the species level with log (score) values superior to 2. Two Leishmania isolates yielded non-interpretable MALDI-TOF MS patterns, owing to low log (score) values. Only one Leishmania isolate of Leishmania peruviana was misidentified as the closely related species Leishmania braziliensis, with a log (score) of 2.399. MALDI-TOF MS is a promising approach, providing rapid and accurate identification of Leishmania from in vitro culture at the species level.

Canine Leishmania infantum enzymatic polymorphism: a review including 1023 strains of the Mediterranean area, with special reference to Algeria.

This bibliographic review reports the isoenzyme polymorphism of 1023 Leishmania infantum strains isolated from dogs that have been characterized by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis in the Leishmania Reference Centre of Montpellier, or in other laboratories, to which this typification technique has already been transferred. Between 1981 and 2010, a total of 12 zymodemes were identified around the Mediterranean basin: MON-1, MON-24, MON-34, MON-72, MON-77, MON-80, MON-98, MON-105, MON-108, MON-199, MON-199 var NP1130 and MON-281, of which 6 were present in Algeria. The zymodeme MON-1 was predominant (86.5% of the strains). The dog was confirmed as the main reservoir of L. infantum MON-1, while the reservoir of the other zymodemes has not yet been identified. The enzymatic polymorphism is relatively high in Algeria and in Spain in contrast to other Mediterranean countries. The reasons for this polymorphism are discussed.