Study of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the State of Campeche (Yucatan Peninsula), Mexico, over a period of two years / Estudio de la leishmaniasis cutánea en el estado de Campeche (Península de Yucatán), México, por un periodo de dos años

Objective. To study cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), in the Calakmul municipality of the Campeche State, during two years. Materials and methods. Individuals with skin lesions were evaluated. Aspirates taken from the lesions were cultured, PCR was performed to diagnose the Leishmania species. Results. The culture detected 42% of the samples. PCR diagnosed CL in 76% of the samples; of those 38% were from children and 62% from adults. 89% of the patients were infected with L. mexicana; 14.4% with Mexican strains of L. mexicana; 7% with L. braziliensis; 3.6% with L. mexicana and L. braziliensis. The most affected villages with CL were Dos Lagunas Sur with 12.3%, La Mancolona with 6.5% and La Guadalupe with 2.2% of prevalence, respectively. After the treatment with Glucantime, 96% of the patients were healed. Conclusion. CL is an important public health concern in Calakmul, and the parasite causing it belongs to Leishmania mexicana and Leishmania braziliensis complexes.

Objetivo. Estudiar la leishmaniasis cutánea en Calakmul, Campeche, México, durante dos años. Material y métodos. Se estudiaron individuos con lesiones cutáneas, se tomaron aspirados y se inocularon medios de cultivo; se realizó la técnica de PCR para identificar la especie de Leishmania. Resultados. Los cultivos detectaron 42% de las muestras. Con la PCR se amplificaron 76% de las muestras, 38% fueron tomadas de niños y 62% de adultos. En 89% de las muestras positivas se identificó Leishmania mexicana, en 14.4% cepas mexicanas de L. mexicana, en 7% L. braziliensis y en 3.6% L. mexicana y L. braziliensis. En Dos Lagunas Sur se encontró una prevalencia de 12.3%, en La Mancolona 6.5% y en La Virgen 2.2%. Del total de los pacientes, 96% se curó con Glucantime. Conclusion. La leishmaniasis cutánea es un problema de salud pública en Calakmul y las especies causantes pertenecen a los complejos Leishmania mexicana y Leishmania braziliensis.

Lactobacillus casei ssp. rhamnosus enhances non specific protection against Plasmodium chabaudi AS in mice

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the capacity of Lactobacillus casei ssp. rhamnosus to enhance resistance against Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi AS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: NIH mice were IP injected with viable lactobacillus casei seven days (LC1 group) or 7 and 14 days (LC2 group) before the challenge (day 0) with Plasmodium chabaudi parasitized red blood cells (pRBC). Control mice were inoculated with pRBC only. When parasitaemia was resolved, naive mice were injected with spleen cells from each group. The parasitaemia was measured. Nitric oxide (NO.) in serum was determined. RESULTS: Mice from the LC1 group presented a reduction in parasitaemia, with a prepatent period of five days, parasitaemia lasted 11 days, and the peak was (36.3 percent pRBC) on the 12th day post-infection. Mice from the LC2 group showed a prepatent period of five days, parasitaemia lasted eight days, and the peak (30 percent pRBC) was of on the 11th day. In the control, the prepatent period was three days, the parasitaemia lasted 15 days, and the peak (51 percent pRBC) was on day nine. Mice inoculated with spleen cells from the LC2 group showed a prepatent period of 21 days, parasitaemia lasted seven days, and the peak (13.5 percent pRBC) was on the 26th day. CONCLUSION: L. casei enhanced nonspecific resistance to P. chabaudi, as indicated by longer prepatent periods, reduced parasitaemia, and reduction in the viability of the parasites recovered from the spleen of infected mice, along with high concentrations of NO. in serum.

OBJETIVO: Evaluar la capacidad de Lactobacillus casei de aumentar la resistencia a la infección con Plasmodium chabaudi en ratones. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Ratones NIH fueron inyectados intraperitonealmente con L. casei viable 7 días (grupo LC1) o 7 y 14 días (grupo LC2) antes del reto (día 0) con glóbulos rojos parasitados (GRP) con P. chabaudi. Los testigos fueron inoculados con GRP solamente. Cuando la parasitemia se resolvió, se inocularon ratones limpios con células de bazo de cada grupo. Se midió la concentración de óxido nítrico (NO.) en suero. RESULTADOS: El grupo LC1 presentó un periodo prepatente de 5 días, una parasitemia de 11 días con el máximo (36.3 por ciento de GRP) el día 12. Los ratones del grupo LC2 mostraron un periodo prepatente de 5 días, una parasitemia de 8 días con el pico (30 por ciento de GRI) el día 11. En los testigos el periodo prepatente fue de 3 días, la parasitemia de 15 y su máximo (51 por ciento de GRI) el día 9. Los ratones que recibieron células de bazo del grupo LC2, mostraron un período prepatente de 21 días, una parasitemia de 7 con su máximo (13.5 por ciento de GRI) el día 26. CONCLUSION: L. casei aumenta la resistencia no específica hacia P. chabaudi a juzgar por los periodos prepatentes más largos, las bajas parasitemias, la reducción en la viabilidad y la elevación de la concentración de NO. en el suero, que presentaron los ratones estimulados con lactobacilos.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by members of Leishmania braziliensis complex in Nayarit, State of Mexico

An epidemiological study was carried out in the northern Mexican state, Nayarit. Fourteen patients with possible cutaneous leishmaniasis skin lesions gave positive Montenegro skin tests. Biopsies were taken from the skin ulcer and analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers for the Leishmania mexicana complex; however all biopsies were not amplified. PCR carried out with specific primers for the L. braziliensis complex resulted in the amplification of all patient DNA. DNA from 12 out of 14 biopsies gave positive amplification with primers species specific for L. (Viannia) braziliensis and hybridized with a species specific L. (V.) braziliensis probe. These results demonstrate the presence in Nayarit of at least two members of the L. braziliensis complex. Most of the cutaneous lesions were caused by L. (V.) braziliensis and two by another species belonging to the L. braziliensis complex. As far as we are aware, this is the first report of L. (V.) braziliensis in Nayarit. The main risk factor associated with the contraction of this disease in Nayarit is attributed to working on coffee plantations

Visceral leishmaniosis caused by Leishmania (L.) mexicana in a Mexican patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection

A 36 year old male was admitted in December 1997 to hospital with afternoon fever, malaise and hepatosplenomegaly. He also had a dry cough, dyspnoea and anaemia. Pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis carinii and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were documented. The HIV infection was confirmed in 1997 with 290,000 virus copies. The patient had been in the Mexican State of Chiapas which is known to be endemic for visceral leishmaniosis (VL) and localized cutaneous leishmaniosis (LCL). The visceral symptoms were diagnosed as VL and the causal agent was identified as Leishmania (L.) mexicana. Identification of Leishmania was carried out by the analysis of amplified DNA with specific primers belonging to the Leishmania subgenus and by dot blot positive hybridisation of these polymerase chain reaction derived products with kDNA from the L. (L.) mexicana MC strain used as probe. This is the first case in Mexico of VL caused by a species of Leishmania that typically produces a cutaneous disease form.

Infection of BALB/c, C57Bl/6 mice and F1 hybrid CB6F1 mice with strains of leishmania mexicana isolated from Mexican patients with localized or diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis

Mice from the syngeneic strains BALB/c, C57Bl/6 and (BALB/cxC57Bl/6) F1 hybrids (CB6F1) were infected in the fottpad with six different stains of Leishmania mexicana mexicana isolated from Mexican patients. Three Leishmania strains were isolated from patients with localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL, the benign form of the disease and three from patients with diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL, the malignant form of the disease). In BALB/c mice, four Leishmania strains showed a sustained fast growth from 4 to 5 weeks postinfection until the end of the experiment (15 weeks), and the other two grew slowly up to 10 or 12 weeks after infection and then started to grow faster. In C57Bl/6 mice four Leismania strains showed a limited to moderate growth up to 6 to 11 weeks postinfection and then started to decrease. One strain showed a moderate growth during the entire experiment and one strain grew as fast as in BLB/c mice up to 11 weeks postinfection and then started to decrease. The CB6F1 hybrid behaved like the C57Bl/6 parent strain with five Leishmania strains but was much more resistant to one Leishmania strain than the C57Bl/6 mice. Sex of the mouse did not influence the outcome of infection. One important purpose of this work was to see if the Leishmania strains that cause DCL are intrinsically more virulent than those that cause the benign form (LCL). Although important variations in virulence among the Leishmania strains were observed, especially in BALB/c mice, they were not correlated with the type of disease caused in humans

Relación huesped-parásito en leishmaniasis / Host-parasite relation in leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis es un conjunto de entidades clínicas que se manifestan como lesiones cutáneas, mucocutáneas o viscelares. Cada tipo tiene un comportamiento particular, aunque el agente causal es morfológicamente indistinguible. Se presentan aspectos observados en la relación huésped-parásito, esto es, la interacción entre Leishmania, macrófago y respuesta inmune del huésped