1. Imported leishmaniasis in travelers: a 7-year retrospective from a Parisian hospital in France.
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Aissaoui, Nesrine, Hamane, Samia, Gits-Muselli, Maud, Petit, Antoine, Benderdouche, Mazouz, Denis, Blandine, Alanio, Alexandre, Dellière, Sarah, Bagot, Martine, and Bretagne, Stéphane
- Subjects
LEISHMANIASIS ,LEISHMANIA major ,LEISHMANIA infantum ,CYTOCHROME b ,LEISHMANIA mexicana ,DIAGNOSTIC use of polymerase chain reaction - Abstract
Background: Leishmaniases are regularly seen in non-endemic areas due to the increase of international travels. They include cutaneous leishmaniases (CL) and mucocutaneous (MC) caused by different Leishmania species, and visceral leishmaniases (VL) which present with non-specific symptoms.Methods: We reviewed all consecutive leishmaniasis cases seen between September 2012 and May 2020. The diagnostic strategy included microscopy after May-Grünwald-Giemsa staining, a diagnostic quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay, and species identification based on sequencing of the cytochrome b gene.Results: Eighty-nine patients had a definitive leishmaniasis diagnosis. Nine patients had VL with Leishmania infantum. Eighty patients had CL. Twelve patients acquired CL after trips in Latin America (7 Leishmania guyanensis, 2 Leishmania braziliensis, 2 Leishmania mexicana, and 1 Leishmania panamensis). Species could be identified in 63 of the 68 CLs mainly after travel in North Africa (59%) with Leishmania major (65%), Leishmania tropica/killicki (24%), and L. infantum (11%), or in West Sub-Saharan Africa (32%), all due to L. major. The median day between appearance of the lesions and diagnosis was 90 [range 60-127].Conclusions: Our diagnostic strategy allows both positive diagnoses and species identifications. Travelers in West Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa should be better aware of the risk of contracting leishmananiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2021
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