title: Indian kala-azar caused by Leishmania tropica.
abstract: Kala-azar, or visceral leishmaniasis, in India is generally assumed to be a result of infection with Leishmania donovani. 15 parasite isolates collected over the past 10 years from patients with classical disease were typed by monoclonal antibodies, isoenzymes, and kDNA analysis. 4 were shown to be L tropica, a species historically associated with cutaneous disease and more recently a mild "visceralising" disease from the Desert Storm experience. The results confirm that L tropica is a co-endemic agent of visceral leishmaniasis in India, and may shed light on the rising frequency of therapeutic unresponsiveness to sodium antimony gluconate, which complicates treatment of this lethal disease.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Sacks
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Kenney
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kreutzer
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Jaffe
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Neva
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007895:Leishmania tropica / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male