title: First isolation of Leishmania from Northern Thailand: case report, identification as Leishmania martiniquensis and phylogenetic position within the Leishmania enriettii complex.
abstract: Since 1996, there have been several case reports of autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis in Thailand. Here we report a case in a 52-year-old Thai male from northern Thailand, who presented with subacute fever, huge splenomegaly and pancytopenia. Bone marrow aspiration revealed numerous amastigotes within macrophages. Isolation of Leishmania LSCM1 into culture and DNA sequence analysis (ribosomal RNA ITS-1 and large subunit of RNA polymerase II) revealed the parasites to be members of the Leishmania enriettii complex, and apparently identical to L. martiniquensis previously reported from the Caribbean island of Martinique. This is the first report of visceral leishmaniasis caused by L. martiniquensis from the region. Moreover, the majority of parasites previously identified as "L. siamensis" also appear to be L. martiniquensis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Thatawan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pothirat
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Adisak
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tantiworawit
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Romanee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chaiwarith
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Narissara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jariyapan
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Anchalee
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wannasan
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Padet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siriyasatien
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand; Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Khuanchai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Supparatpinyo
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michelle D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Godwin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kwakye-Nuako
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Bates
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D018313:Leishmania enriettii / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013785:Thailand