Identification of leishmania species using PCR assay on giemsa-stained slides prepared from cutaneous leishmaniasis patients.
BACKGROUND
Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases that are created by intracellular parasites of Leishmania. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is considered as one of the health problems in some provinces of Iran.


METHODS
In this study, a total of 178 Giemsa-stained slides from confirmed cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis were examined. The slides were prepared from the patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis that referred to health centers and infected during the epidemic of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Poldokhtar city, Lorestan Province, Iran in 2006.Genomic DNA from each slide was extracted. After DNA extraction, ITS-PCR was used.


RESULTS
Out of 178 slides, 129 (72.47%) samples had a band in the range of 485 bp and 49 (27.53%) samples 626 bp that matched L. tropica and L. major standard samples, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that Leishmania DNA could be efficiently extracted and amplified even from old Giemsa-stained microscopic slides that were stored more than 6 yr. In this study was shown that both L. tropica and L. major species exist in Lorestan Province.
Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
Farnaz
F
Kheirandish
Department of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Deputy of Health, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
Ali
A
Chegeni Sharafi
Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, M.C., Tehran, Iran ; Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Bahram
B
Kazemi
Department of Parasitology & Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mehdi
M
Mohebali
Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
Amanollah
A
Sarlak
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohamad Javad
MJ
Tarahi
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Kourosh
K
Holakouee
Department of Parasitology & Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Homa
H
Hajaran
Cutaneous leishmaniasis; Giemsa; Iran; Leishmania; PCR