Further insight into the geographic distribution of Leishmania species in Peru by cytochrome b and mannose phosphate isomerase gene analyses.

• Main Authors: Hirotomo Kato, Abraham G Cáceres, Chisato Seki, Carmen Rosa Silupu García, Carlos Holguín Mauricci, Salvadora Concepción Castro Martínez, Dafne Moreno Paico, Josefa Leila Castro Muniz, Lucinda Doriz Troyes Rivera, Zoila Isabel Villegas Briones, Silvia Guerrero Quincho, Guísela Lucy Sulca Jayo, Edwin Tineo Villafuerte, Carlos Manrique de Lara Estrada, Fernando Rafael Arias, Fredy Santiago Passara, Nancy Ruelas Llerena, Makoto Kubo, Ahmed Tabbabi, Daisuke S Yamamoto, Yoshihisa Hashiguchi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-06-01
• Series: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007496

To obtain further insight into geographic distribution of Leishmania species in Peru, a countrywide survey, including central to southern rainforest areas where information on causative parasite species is limited, was performed based on cytochrome b (cyt b) and mannose phosphate isomerase (mpi) gene analyses. A total of 262 clinical samples were collected from patients suspected of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in 28 provinces of 13 departments, of which 99 samples were impregnated on FTA (Flinders Technology Associates) cards and 163 samples were Giemsa-stained smears. Leishmania species were successfully identified in 83 (83.8%) of FTA-spotted samples and 59 (36.2%) of Giemsa-stained smear samples. Among the 142 samples identified, the most dominant species was Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis (47.2%), followed by L. (V.) peruviana (26.1%), and others were L. (V.) guyanensis, L. (V.) lainsoni, L. (V.) shawi, a hybrid of L. (V.) braziliensis and L. (V.) peruviana, and Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. Besides the present epidemiological observations, the current study provided the following findings: 1) A hybrid of L. (V.) braziliensis and L. (V.) peruviana is present outside the Department of Huanuco, the only place reported, 2) Many cases of CL due to L. (V.) lainsoni, an uncommon causative species in Peru, were observed, and 3) L. (V.) shawi is widely circulating in southern Amazonian areas in Peru.