An outbreak of the desert sub-type of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in Jiashi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.
Few outbreaks of the desert sub-type of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been described worldwide. In 2008, the incidence rate of VL in Jiashi County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the western part of the People's Republic of China, increased more than twenty-folds compared to the average annual incidence rate. The majority of the cases (96.6%) occurred among <2 year-old infants. For the first time in the desert area of Xinjiang, the parasites were isolated from bone marrow aspirates, using the NNN medium culture approach. The genetic analysis of the ITS-1 nucleotide sequence indicated that three isolates from eastern Jiashi County were genetically closely related and belonged to the Leishmaniainfantum group. However, they differed from an isolate from Kashi city which was classified as a member of the Leishmaniadonovani group.
Wang
Jun-Yun
JY
National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO Collaborating Center for Malaria, Schistosomiasis and Filariasis, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. wangjy0@yahoo.com.cn
Gao
Chun-Hua
CH
Yang
Yue-Tao
YT
Chen
Hai-Tang
HT
Zhu
Xue-Hua
XH
Lv
Shan
S
Chen
Sheng-Bang
SB
Tong
Su-Xiang
SX
Steinmann
Peter
P
Ziegelbauer
Kathrin
K
Zhou
Xiao-Nong
XN
D000818:Animals; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000032:analysis; D003889:Desert Climate; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology
D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer