Genetic Diversity of Leishmania major Isolated from Different Dermal Lesions Using ITS2 Region.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still considered to be an uncontrolled endemic disease that spreads in many countries. The current study aimed to determine intra-species relationships of L. major using ITS2 sequencing. METHODS: The study was conducted from the beginning of March to the end of November 2022. All medical information regarding CL was collected from patients of Thi-Qar province who attended the Dermatology Department of Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah city. Seventy-three samples were selected for the molecular identification after confirming microscopy with Giemsa stain. In this study, the primers were designed using NCBI GenBank sequence database and Primer 3 plus primer design online software. RESULTS: The results recorded 21 (28.77%) positive samples of L. major using the internal transcribed spacer 2 region (ITS2) in ribosomal RNA gene. The local L. major IQN.1-IQN.10 were submitted to NCBI GenBank database with accession numbers OM069357.1-OM069366.1, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that local isolates of L. major showed a close relationship with NCBI-BLAST L. major Iran isolate (KU680848.1). CONCLUSION: ITS2-PCR is suitable for identifying Leishmania spp. and determining genetic diversity. A phylogenetic data analysis may provide an idea on the genetic homogeneity of local isolates and knowing the genetic origin of the dermal lesion. However, the local isolates showed genetic proximity to the KU680848.1 isolate. This signifies the possibility of infection prevalence from Iranian areas. In general, genetic variation of L. major isolates may give several clinical manifestations of the cutaneous lesion. Therefore, determination of the heterogeneity is important for detecting the infection origin, epidemiology, therapy, and control strategies.

Prevalence of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis for Six Years in Al-Muthanna Province, Iraq: ITS1 as Marker of Molecular Identification of Old-World CL.

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Al-Muthanna Province, Iraq, as well as to characterize the Leishmania species that cause cutaneous lesions using conventional PCR (polymerase chain reaction) techniques for some patients during seven months of the year 2020. MATERIALS & METHODS: Medical information on Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) patients was obtained from archived records at the Al-Muthanna Health Office's public health department (2015 - 2020). In the Al- Hussein Teaching Hospital laboratory, 95 CL samples were collected and examined microscopically with Giemsa stain for molecular characterization. RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2020, 2325 patients (1,184 men and 1,141 women) were studied. Although CL occurred across all ages, the age range of 5 - 14 years had the highest proportion of infections (53%). This study found that most infections occurred between December and February, with the infections peaking in January. Only 63 of the 95 CL detected samples under the microscope were positive for the internal transcribed spacer 1 region (ITS1). L. tropica was found in 39 (61.9%) of the samples, while L. major was found in 24 (38.1%). In CL patients. Although dermal lesions developed in all body regions, a single lesion was the most common. Upper limbs (13 out of 16 samples) (33.3%) were infected with L. tropica, whereas lower limbs (37.5%) (9 out of 14 samples) were infected with L. major. In contrast to L. major, most L. tropica lesions occurred in urban areas. CONCLUSION: Our study indicated CL is endemic in Al-Muthanna province and the presence of two Leishmania spp. coexisting in the province. The molecular diagnosis is critical in determining the many clinical symptoms of the Leishmania parasite, as well as suitable therapeutic, epidemiological, and control strategies.

A Biochemical Analysis of Patients with COVID-19 Infection.

Several studies have demonstrated that age, comorbidities, and abnormalities in different clinical biomarkers can be important to understand disease severity. Although clinical features of COVID-19 have been widely described, the assessment of alterations of the most common biochemical markers that are reported in patients with COVID-19 still has not been well established. Here, we report clinical and blood biochemical indicators of 100 patients with COVID-19. Throat-swab upper respiratory samples were obtained from patients and real-time PCR was used to confirm SARS-CoV-2 infection. Gender, age, and clinical features such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and smoking habits were investigated. Biochemical parameters were categorized and analyzed according to these clinical characteristics. Triglycerides, GPT, and ALP are the biochemical markers that changed the most in the group of hypertension patients. Cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly different (P=0.01; P=0.04, respectively) between diabetic and nondiabetic patients with COVID-19. Potassium levels were significantly different (P=0.03) when comparing smokers with nonsmoker patients. Our results suggest several potential biochemical indexes that changed in patients with COVID-19 and whether certain comorbidity and clinical characteristics influence these markers.