Molecular Identification of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Species in the Northcentral Iranian Province of Alborz: Is There a New Focus on Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Province?
-
Susan Sheikhi
,
Aliehsan Heidari
,
Mehdi Mohebali
,
Hossein Keshavarz
,
Amir Heidari
,
Monireh Sezavar
,
Behnaz Akhoundi
,
Amir Bairami
Abstract
Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic infection in the Middle East, including Iran that is also spreading to new foci. We aimed to determine the leishmaniasis species causing CL in Alborz province.
Methods: Overall, out of 55-suspected CL patients referred to health centers in Alborz Province, north central Iran in 2019, 40 patients had positive smear for CL based on optical microscopy. The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) was amplified by PCR. Leishmania species were identified by PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) using BshF I (Hae III) enzyme.
Results: Out of the 40 positive patients with CL, 34 cases (85%) had been caused by Leishmania (L) major and six (15%) by L. tropica. Fifteen patients had no history of traveling to the disease endemic areas, of which nine were Iranians. Skin lesions and scars caused by CL were mostly observed on the hands and face. Moreover, more than two skin lesions were observed in 22 cases (55%), all of which were infected with L. major. A single skin ulcer was seen in 18 (45%) of the CL patients.
Conclusion: Climate change, reduced rainfall, and demographic changes such as migration into Alborz Province and the increasing marginalization of the population and their entry to settle in new areas might have caused natural transmission of both L. tropica and L. major in this province.
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21. Saghafipour A, Vatandoost H, Zahraei-Ramazani AR, et al. Epidemiological study on cutaneous leishmaniasis in an endemic area, of Qom province, cen-tral Iran. J Arthropod Borne Dis. 2017;11(3):403-13.
22. Mirahmadi H, Rezaee N, Mehravaran A, Heydarian P, Raeghi S. Detection of species and molecular typing of Leish-mania in suspected patients by targeting cytochrome b gene in Zahedan, south-east of Iran. Vet World. 2018;11(5):700-5.
23. Khan K, Khan NH, Wahid S. Systematic Review of Leishmaniasis in Pakistan: Evaluating Spatial Distribution and Risk Factors. J Parasitol. 2021; 107(4):630-8.
24. Hajjaran H, Saberi R, Borjian A, et al. The Geographical Distribution of Hu-man Cutaneous and Visceral Leishmania Species Identified by Molecular Meth-ods in Iran: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Front Public Health. 2021; 9:661674.
2. Mohebali M. Visceral leishmaniasis in Iran: Review of the Epidemiological and Clinical Features. Iran J Parasitol. 2013; 8(3):348-58.
3. Nourian M, Heidari A, Tajali S, Ghasemi E, Mohebali M, Heidari A. Paediatric visceral leishmaniasis: a ret-rospective study on clinical manifesta-tions, demographic features and labora-tory findings of hospitalised cases in Iran between 2006 and 2016. Trop Doct .2019; 49(1):59-61.
4. Najm M, Hadighi R, Heidari-Kharaji M, et al. Anti-Leishmanial Activity of Ar-temisia persica, A. spicigera, and A. fra-grance against Leishmania major. Iran J Parasitol. 2021;16(3):464-473.
5. Razavi MR, Shirzadi MR, Mohebali M. Human Cutaneous Leishmaniosis in Iran, Up to Date-2019. J Arthropod Borne Dis. 2021;15(2): 143–51.
6. Tawfeeq HM, Ali SA. Molecular-based assay for genotyping Leishmania spp. from clinically suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis lesions in the Garmian area, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Parasite Epidemiol Control. 2022; 17:e00240.
7. Firooz A, Mortazavi H, Khamesipour A, et al . Old world cutaneous leishmania-sis in Iran: clinical variants and treat-ments. J Dermatolog Treat. 2021;32(7):673-83.
8. Mohebali M, Kazemirad E, Hajjaran H,et al. Gene expression analysis of an-timony resistance in Leishmania tropica using quantitative real-time PCR focused on genes involved in trypanothione me-tabolism and drug transport. Arch Dermatol Res. 2019; 311(1):9-17.
9. Henry K, Mayet A, Hernandez M, et al. Outbreak of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis among military personnel in French Guiana, 2020: Clinical, phylogenetic, in-dividual and environmental aspects. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021; 15(11):e0009938.
10. Kolivand M, Fallah M, Salehzadeh A, et al. An epidemiological study of cutane-ous leishmaniasis using active case find-ing among elementary school students in Pakdasht, Southeast of Tehran, Iran 2013-2014. J Res Health Sci. 2015; 15(2):104–8.
11. Heidari A, Mohebali M, Kabir K, et al. Visceral leishmaniasis in rural areas of Alborz province of Iran and implica-tion to health policy. Korean J Parasitol. 2015; 53(4):379-83.
12. Heidari A, Mohebali M, Vahed M, et al. Molecular and Seroepidemiological survey of visceral leishmaniasis in owned dogs (Canis familiaris) in new foci of rural areas of Alborz Province, Central Part of Iran: A cross-sectional study in 2017. J Arthropod Borne Dis. 2020;14(1):38-46.
13. Kazemi-Rad E, Mohebali M, Hajjaran H, Rezaei SA, Mamishi S. Diagnosis and characterization of Leishmania species in Giemsa-stained slides by PCR-RFLP. Iran J Public Health. 2008;37 (1) :54-60.
14. Bahrami A, Rassi Y, Maleki N,et al. Leishmania infantum DNA detection in Phlebotomus tobbi in a new northern focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran. Asian Pac J Trop Dis. 2014; 4(2):110-4.
15. Glans H, Lind Karlberg M, Advani R, et al. High genome plasticity and frequent genetic exchange in Leishmania tropica isolates from Afghanistan, Iran and Syr-ia. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021;15(12):e0010110.
16. Ghatee MA, Taylor WR, Karamian M. The geographical distribution of cuta-neous leishmaniasis causative agents in Iran and its neighboring countries, a re-view. Front Public Health. 2020;8:11.
17. Karimi T, Sharifi I, Aflatoonian MR, et al. A long-lasting emerging epidemic of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in southeastern Iran: population move-ment and peri-urban settlements as a major risk factor. Parasit Vectors. 2021;14(1):122.
18. Panahi S, Abbasi M, Sayehmiri K, Sadegh S, Abdi J. Prevalence of cutane-ous leishmaniasis in Iran (2000-2016): A systematic review and meta-analysis study. Infect Disord Drug Targets. 2021;21(2):173-9.
19. Davoodi T, Khamesipour A, Shahabi S, Gholizadeh F, Pourkamal D, Hatam G. Geographical distribution and molecu-lar epidemiology of cutaneous leish-maniasis in Fars Province, southern Iran. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022; 29(3):4024-32.
20. Mohebali M, Darabi H, Hajjaran H, et al. Molecular and parasitological study of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Bushehr Province, southwest of the Islamic Re-public of Iran: a cross-sectional study during 2009–2012. J Parasit Dis. 2015; 39(3):371-6.
21. Saghafipour A, Vatandoost H, Zahraei-Ramazani AR, et al. Epidemiological study on cutaneous leishmaniasis in an endemic area, of Qom province, cen-tral Iran. J Arthropod Borne Dis. 2017;11(3):403-13.
22. Mirahmadi H, Rezaee N, Mehravaran A, Heydarian P, Raeghi S. Detection of species and molecular typing of Leish-mania in suspected patients by targeting cytochrome b gene in Zahedan, south-east of Iran. Vet World. 2018;11(5):700-5.
23. Khan K, Khan NH, Wahid S. Systematic Review of Leishmaniasis in Pakistan: Evaluating Spatial Distribution and Risk Factors. J Parasitol. 2021; 107(4):630-8.
24. Hajjaran H, Saberi R, Borjian A, et al. The Geographical Distribution of Hu-man Cutaneous and Visceral Leishmania Species Identified by Molecular Meth-ods in Iran: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Front Public Health. 2021; 9:661674.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 18 No 2 (2023) | |
| Section | Short Communication(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v18i2.13191 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Iran Leishmania major Leishmania tropica | ||
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Sheikhi S, Heidari A, Mohebali M, Keshavarz H, Heidari A, Sezavar M, Akhoundi B, Bairami A. Molecular Identification of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Species in the Northcentral Iranian Province of Alborz: Is There a New Focus on Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Province?. Iran J Parasitol. 2023;18(2):244-250.
