title: First Human Cases of Leishmania (Viannia) lainsoni Infection and a Search for the Vector Sand Flies in Ecuador.
abstract: An epidemiological study of leishmaniasis was performed in Amazonian areas of Ecuador since little information on the prevalent Leishmania and sand fly species responsible for the transmission is available. Of 33 clinical specimens from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), causative parasites were identified in 25 samples based on cytochrome b gene analysis. As reported previously, Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis and L. (V.) braziliensis were among the causative agents identified. In addition, L. (V.) lainsoni, for which infection is reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Suriname, and French Guiana, was identified in patients with CL from geographically separate areas in the Ecuadorian Amazon, corroborating the notion that L. (V.) lainsoni is widely distributed in South America. Sand flies were surveyed around the area where a patient with L. (V.) lainsoni was suspected to have been infected. However, natural infection of sand flies by L. (V.) lainsoni was not detected. Further extensive vector searches are necessary to define the transmission cycle of L. (V.) lainsoni in Ecuador.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Zoology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.|Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirotomo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Servicio Nacional de Erradicacion de la Malaria (SNEM), Ministerio de Salud Publica, Coca, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Abdon E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bone
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mimori
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia y Medicina Tropical, Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Universidad Catolica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Kazue
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashiguchi
authors.affiliation: Servicio Nacional de Erradicacion de la Malaria (SNEM), Ministerio de Salud Publica, Coca, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Gonzalo F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Shiguango
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biomedicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Silvio V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia y Medicina Tropical, Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Universidad Catolica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Lenin N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Velez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biomedicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Angel G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Guevara
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia y Medicina Tropical, Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Universidad Catolica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Eduardo A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia y Medicina Tropical, Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Universidad Catolica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hashiguchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D004484:Ecuador / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D007891:Leishmania / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018334:Leishmania guyanensis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D012867:Skin / Q000469:parasitology; D013020:South America / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D045303:Cytochromes b