title: American tegumentary leishmaniasis: direct species identification of Leishmania in non-invasive clinical samples.
abstract: Species identification is highly relevant for improved prognosis and adequate treatment of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL). PCR-based methods are available for this purpose but should be simplified to improve accessibility. As a first step in this process, this paper describes a simplified protocol for collection of clinical samples. Using samples from 44 Bolivian patients with confirmed ATL, we demonstrated that hsp70 PCR-RFLP on skin scrapings collected with a tooth pick allowed identification of the parasite species with a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 100%. Our method should greatly facilitate individual patient management and epidemiological surveillance of ATL.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Parasitology, Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerpen, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ana Lineth
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Rudy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Parrado
authors.forename: Simonne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Doncker
authors.forename: Hernán
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bermudez
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dujardin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007891:Leishmania / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000469:parasitology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000469:parasitology; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins