title: Characterisation of Leishmania isolates from Laikipia District, Kenya.
abstract: Using cloned kDNA sequences from the reference strain of Leishmania tropica IC-067, we have screened leishmanial isolates from Laikipia District of Kenya and identified these isolates as L. tropica. One isolate, IC-331, from a rat (Rattus rattus) was typed as L. tropica. This is the first time that L. tropica has been isolated from a wild rodent in Kenya and thus the first indication that the disease caused by L. tropica might be a zoonosis. The leishmanial isolates, especially those of sandflies, display extensive heterogeneity, prompting a need for selecting local and/or regional reference strains to generate species-specific DNA probes for use in identifying field isolates.
authors.affiliation: The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: N N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Massamba
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Mutinga
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Kamau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography; D015342:DNA Probes; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D006801:Humans; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D007630:Kenya; D007895:Leishmania tropica / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000469:parasitology; D051381:Rats / Q000469:parasitology; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes