Molecular Identification of Leishmania Species Isolated From Human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Poledokhtar District, Lorestan Province, Iran

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis with zoonotic and anthroponotic forms is an endemic disease and a health problem in our country. Identification of parasite species and the type of disease is very important for treatment of disease as well as planning the control program. This study was carried out to identify the parasite species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis by Nested PCR in Poledokhtar district, Lorestan province, Iran. Objectives: Identification of Leishmania species on patients’ leishmanial infections in Poledokhtar district, Lorestan province, Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 52 cutaneous leishmaniasis patients who referred to Poledokhtar health centre laboratory since 2008 - 2011. DNA was extracted from slide samples by phenol- chloroform- isoamyl alcohol method, and was evaluated by specific primers of kinetoplast DNA (CSB1XR, CSB2XF, LiR and 13Z) using Nested-PCR. Results: From 52 confirmed parasitological cases, 31 (59.62%) were male and 21 (40.38%) were female. The results of PCR electrophoresis indicated that 50 (96.15%) cases were Leishmania major and 2 (3.85%) L. tropica. Conclusions: The results of the current study indicated that most of the recognized cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Poledokhtar were due to L. major. Further studies based on reservoir and vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis must be carried out in order to clarify the epidemiological aspect of leishmaniasis in Poledokhtar district.