An imported case of Kala-azar in a 26-year-old Korean man is reported. The diagnosis was made by liver needle biopsy. Amastigotes were seen in Kupffer cells under light microscope, and their characteristic ultrastructural features were recognized under the electron microscope. This case represents an imported disease from Saudi Arabia where the patient spent one year as a construction worker, 8 months before the onset of the disease. This report also signifies the second description of Kala-azar in Korea, and the first case of Kala-azar imported from Saudi Arabia. This patient was successfully treated with sodium antimony gluconate (Pentostam), and follow up liver biopsy showed focal fibrous scar and otherwise normal liver without demonstrable organism.
parasitology ; protozoa ; Kala-azar ; Leishmania donovani ; case report ; Saudi Arabia ; electronmicroscopy

Female patient, 29 age, married, lives in Ha Long. Admitted of hospital 16/03/2001. Reason for admitted hospital: prolonged fever symtoms: splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, enlargement of the lymph glands, anemia, purpura. Investigation: thrombocytopenia, hypohemoglobin, hyperglobulin, HIV positive. Hypermacrophages were indentidied by microsscopy in the bone marrow smear: parasites in macrophages look like Amastigote of Leishmania parasites in the atlas (the morphology of human blood cells- abbott laboratories). Born marrow cultured in NNN medium: identidied promastigote. Diagnosis: visceral Leishmaniaxsis. It was confirmed by Karolinska hospital of Sweden, China, Singapore, Australia. This is first case indentified in Vietnam
Leishmaniasis, Visceral ; Leishmania donovani

A female patient 29 years old, married, lived in Halong was admitted to hospital in 16/03/2001. Reason for admitting hospital: prolonged fever. Symptoms: splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, enlargement of the lymph glands, amenia and purpura. Investigation: Thrombocytepenia, hypomemoglobin, hyperglobulin, HIV positive. Hypermacrophages were identified by microscopy in the born marrow smear: parasites in macrophages look like Amastigote of Leishmania parasites in the Atlas (The morphology of human blood cells- Abbott laboratories). Born marrow cultured in N.N.N medium: identified Promastigotes. Diagnosis: Visceral Leishmaniasis. It was confirmed by Karolinska hospital of Sweden, China, and Singapore. This is first case identified in Vietnam
Leishmaniasis, Visceral ; Leishmania donovani

Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral

No abstract available.
Female ; Humans ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral* ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic*

Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral ; diagnosis

OBJECTIVES: Leishmania parasites are the causative agents of leishmaniasis. The Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) form of the disease is fatal if not treated in most cases. This study examined the epidemiological aspects of VL in two southwest counties of Iran. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of hospitalized patients with a laboratory confirmation of VL from Larestan and Ghiro-Karzin Counties. RESULTS: For Larestan county, a decline in the incidence of VL has been observed from 2004 to 2015. Significantly more males (n = 14) than females (n = 6) were infected with VL in this county (p < 0.05), >95% of cases in children under 5 years of age. In Ghiro-Karzin county, the results were similar to a decline in VL infection from 2004 to 2015, and slightly more males (n = 14) than females (n = 11). Similarly, the majority of the patients infected with VL were children under 5 years old (88%). CONCLUSION: The results from this study indicate that although the incidence of VL infection has reduced over time, VL was more prevalent in boys under 5 years old, suggesting that more attention to controlling the parasite and its vector are required.
Child ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Iran* ; Leishmania ; Leishmaniasis ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral* ; Male ; Parasites ; Retrospective Studies

A patient with fever, chills, and pancytopenia as major clinical manifestations was presented. To investigate the cause, the patient's peripheral blood was collected for pathogen screening using metagenomic next - generation sequencing (mNGS). The DNA sequence of Leishmania donovani was detected, and Leishmania amastigotes were found in bone marrow smears using microscopy. The case was therefore definitively diagnosed as visceral leishmaniasis, and was cured and discharged from hospital following treatment with liposomal amphotericin B for 14 days. This is the first imported case of visceral leishmaniasis since the founding of Shenzhen City in 1979.
Humans ; Fever ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Leishmania donovani/genetics* ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral/drug therapy*

Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) from different endemic regions of China expresses different clinic and epidemiological features, and traditionally is classified as hilly, plain and desert types/foci. We concentrated our review on whether the pathogens from those foci were different at molecular level, if so, whether there are were molecular markers readily identifiable by molecular technologies. This was a review of a 20-year search for such markers by using kinetoplastic DNA (kDNA), nDNA hybridization, PCR-SSCP, RAPD and sequence analysis of SSU rDNA variable regions and LACK gene. The results showed that heterogeneities at molecular level exist in Leishmania isolated from different foci of China, which could be used as markers for different types of Leishmaniasis in China.
China ; DNA Fingerprinting ; DNA, Protozoan ; analysis ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Leishmania donovani ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral ; classification ; parasitology ; Mutation

Heishui county, located in northwest Sichuan province, southwestern China, is an endemic area of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and is the most intractable area. VL is never destroyed in it. Asymptomatic dogs (Leishmania parasites have been diagnosed but clinically healthy) are considered to be a potential reservoir host in zoonotic VL area, and most can lead to infection of individuals, that is a new challenge for controlling VL in humans. The present study aimed to assess the Leishmania infection rate of asymptomatic dogs in Heishui county. Total 105 asymptomatic domestic dogs were gathered from 4 districts in Heishui county to investigate the infection rate with serological and molecular methods based on ELISA and kinetoplast minicircle DNA(kDNA) PCR, respectively. Out of 105 dogs, 44 (41.9%) were positive by more than 1 method; 21 (20.0%) were positive by ELISA, and 30 (28.6%) were positive by kDNA-PCR. Our study showed that Leishmania infection of domestic dogs which is clinically healthy is prevalent in the studied district, and the asymptomatic dogs infected by Leishmania may be the primary reason for the prevalence of visceral leishmaniasis in the area.
Animals ; China* ; Dogs* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Leishmania* ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral* ; Methods ; Parasites ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence