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. 2012 Dec;87(6):1028-37.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0211. Epub 2012 Oct 22.

Endemic transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in Bhutan

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Endemic transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in Bhutan

Thinley Yangzom et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Dec.

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis was first reported in Bhutan in 2006. We conducted studies of the parasite, possible vectors and reservoirs, and leishmanin skin test and risk factor surveys in three villages. Nineteen cases were reported from seven districts. Parasite typing yielded two novel microsatellite sequences, both related to Indian L. donovani. In one case village, 40 (18.5%) of 216 participants had positive leishmanin skin test results, compared with 3 (4.2%) of 72 in the other case village and 0 of 108 in the control village. Positive results were strongly associated with the village and increasing age. None of the tested dogs were infected. Eighteen sand flies were collected, 13 Phlebotomus species and 5 Sergentomyia species; polymerase chain reaction for leishmanial DNA was negative. This assessment suggests that endemic visceral leishmaniasis transmission has occurred in diverse locations in Bhutan. Surveillance, case investigations, and further parasite, vector, and reservoir studies are needed. The potential protective impact of bed nets should be evaluated.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Map of Bhutan with dzongkhags (districts) reporting cases of visceral leishmaniasis from 2005 to March 2011 circled in red. Nine cases were reported in Mongar, four in Trashiyangste, and two in Samtse; the other three dzongkhags each reported one case.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Partial alignment of the ITS sequence types found for the Bhutanese clinical isolates and the L. donovani complex strains representative of the different ITS types according to Kuhls and others. The 12 polymorphic microsatellites found previously are represented; an additional polymorphic site specific to the ITS2 sequence of patient 18 is shown (positions 868–876).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Phylogenetic relationships of Bhutanese L. donovani clinical isolates within the L. donovani complex. The most parsimonious tree found by heuristic search is presented; it was inferred by parsimony analysis of the nucleotide sequences of ITS1 and ITS2. The numbers above the branches indicate the percentages with which a given branch is supported in 1,000 bootstrap replications. The ITS types are those referred by Kuhls and others..
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Prevalence of positive results by the leishmanin skin test (LST) by age group in Ozorong village only, Bhutan, 2011.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Morphological characters used for the identification of the captured sand flies. (A) P. kiangsuensis (♂) paramere. (B) P. longiductus (♀), black arrows indicate the spermathecae. (C) P. longiductus (♂) aedeagus. (D) P. longiductus (♂) abdomen, sperm-pump, and long genital filaments can be observed.

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