Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

"visceral leishmaniasis"

Original Article

Visceral Leishmaniasis in Rural Areas of Alborz Province of Iran and Implication to Health Policy: Aliehsan Heidari, Mehdi Mohebali, Kourosh Kabir, Hojatallah Barati, Yousef Soultani, Hossein Keshavarz, Behnaz Akhoundi, Homa Hajjaran, Hosein Reisi; Korean J Parasitol 2015;53(4):379-383.
Published online August 25, 2015; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2015.53.4.379

Abstract
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Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar mainly affects children in endemic areas. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of VL using direct agglutination test (DAT) in children living in rural districts of Alborz Province located 30 km from Tehran capital city of Iran. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was applied. Blood samples were randomly collected from 1,007 children under 10 years of age in the clusters. A total of 37 (3.7%) of the studied population showed anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies with titers of ≥1:800. There was a significant association between positive sera and various parts of the rural areas of Alborz Province (P<0.002). Two children with anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies titers of ≥1:3,200 indicated kala-azar clinical features and treated with anti-leishmaniasis drugs in pediatric hospital. The findings of this study indicated that Leishmania infection is prevalent in rural areas of Alborz Province. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the awareness and alertness among physicians and public health managers, particularly in high-risk rural areas of the province in Iran.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of Leishmania infantum in sandflies in Iran
Sara Rahimi, Homa Arshadi, Hamid Reza Shoraka, Aioub Sofizadeh, Arman Latifi
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine.2024; 17(11): 491. CrossRef
Unraveling the role of natural killer cells in leishmaniasis
Zahra Alizadeh, Pooya Omidnia, Farag M.A. Altalbawy, Gamal A. Gabr, Rasha Fadhel Obaid, Narges Rostami, Saeed Aslani, Aliehsan Heidari, Hamed Mohammadi
International Immunopharmacology.2023; 114: 109596. CrossRef
Prevalence of human visceral leishmaniasis in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Mosayeb Rostamian, Homayoon Bashiri, Vahid Yousefinejad, Arezoo Bozorgomid, Nasrollah Sohrabi, Saber Raeghi, Mohammad Taghi Khodayari, Keyghobad Ghadiri, Shahab Rezaeian
Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.2021; 75: 101604. CrossRef
Seroepidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis among free-roaming dogs and children in Zahedan city, southeast of Iran, 2018–2020
Baharak Akhtardanesh, Mahshid Mostafavi, Javad Khedri, Ayoob Fakhri, Iraj Sharifi, Mehdi Khoshsima Shahraki
Microbial Pathogenesis.2021; 161: 105234. CrossRef
Seroepidemiological study on visceral leishmaniasis in an endemic focus of central Iran during 2017
Leyli Zanjirani Farahani, Mehdi Mohebali, Behnaz Akhoundi, Abedin Saghafipour, Zahra Kakooei
Journal of Parasitic Diseases.2019; 43(1): 22. CrossRef
Paediatric visceral leishmaniasis: a retrospective study on clinical manifestations, demographic features and laboratory findings of hospitalised cases in Iran between 2006 and 2016
Manijeh Nourian, Aliehsan Heidari, Saleheh Tajali, Erfan Ghasemi, Mehdi Mohebali, Amir Heidari
Tropical Doctor.2019; 49(1): 59. CrossRef
Population structures of Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica the causative agents of kala-azar in Southwest Iran
Mohammad Amin Ghatee, Hossein Mirhendi, Mehdi Karamian, Walter R. Taylor, Iraj Sharifi, Massood Hosseinzadeh, Zahra Kanannejad
Parasitology Research.2018; 117(11): 3447. CrossRef
Autoantibodies in a Three-Year-Old Girl with Visceral Leishmaniasis: A Potential Diagnostic Pitfall
Gholamreza Pouladfar, Zahra Jafarpour, Amir Hossein Babaei, Bahman Pourabbas, Bita Geramizadeh, Anahita Sanaei Dashti
Case Reports in Infectious Diseases.2016; 2016: 1. CrossRef

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Case Reports

Visceral Leishmaniasis without Fever in an 11-Month-Old Infant: a Rare Clinical Feature of Kala-azar: Shirin Sayyahfar, Shahla Ansari, Mehdi Mohebali, Babak Behnam; Korean J Parasitol 2014;52(2):189-191.
Published online April 18, 2014; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2014.52.2.189

Abstract
PDF

Visceral leishmaniasis or kala-azar is an endemic parasitic disease in some parts of the world which is characterized by fever, splenomegaly, and pancytopenia in most of the cases. Herein we report an 11 month-old male infant with diagnosis of kala-azar who presented with pallor, hepatosplenomegaly, failure to gain weight, and no history of fever. Surprisingly, fever started after beginning of meglumine antimoniate treatment in this patient. As far as we are aware of, this is a rare presentation of visceral leishmaniasis. Therefore, clinicians especially in endemic areas are highly recommended to include kala-azar among differential diagnosis of unexplained anemia without fever to prevent misdiagnosis of this potentially fatal, but treatable condition.

Citations

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Leishmaniasis – Still a diagnostic challenge: An individual participant data systematic review
Azza Sarfraz, Zouina Sarfraz, Maryyam Liaqat, Muhammad Hadi Khan, Hafiza Aqsa Abdul Jabbar, Muhammad Abdullah
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Abhyudaysingh Rana, Ashwini Gadde, Lipika Lippi, Shyam B. Bansal
Experimental and Clinical Transplantation.2022; 20(3): 311. CrossRef
Filariasis presenting as pancytopenia in a child
Anusree Krishna Mandal, Jadab Kumar Jana, Soumya Gayen, Abhay Charan Pal
BMJ Case Reports.2022; 15(5): e248930. CrossRef
A case of visceral leishmaniasis found by left oblique hernia: A case report
Guoqiang Zhang, Jihua Zhong, Ting Wang, Lu Zhong
Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
T cell suppression in the bone marrow of visceral leishmaniasis patients: impact of parasite load
P Kumar, P Misra, C P Thakur, A Saurabh, N Rishi, D K Mitra
Clinical and Experimental Immunology.2018; 191(3): 318. CrossRef
Diversity and incrimination of sandflies (Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) captured in city and suburbs of Hamadan, Hamadan province, west of Iran
Aref Salehzadeh, Somayeh Rafatbakhsh Iran, Milad Latifi, Motahare Mirhoseini
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine.2014; 7: S177. CrossRef

8,974 View
80 Download
8 Web of Science
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Visceral Leishmaniasis Mimicking Autoimmune Hepatitis, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Overlap: Ozlem Guzel Tunccan, Abdurrahman Tufan, G?l?in Telli, Nalan Aky?rek, Merve Pamuk?uo?lu, G?ldal Yılmaz, Kenan Hızel; Korean J Parasitol 2012;50(2):133-136.
Published online May 24, 2012; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2012.50.2.133

Abstract
PDF

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a life-threatening infection caused by Leishmania species. In addition to typical clinical findings as fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and cachexia, VL is associated with autoimmune phenomena. To date, VL mimicking or exacerbating various autoimmune diseases have been described, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Herein, we presented a patient with VL who had overlapping clinical features with SLE, AIH, as well as antimitochondrial antibody (AMA-M2) positive primary biliary cirrhosis.

Citations

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Autoantibodies in a Three-Year-Old Girl with Visceral Leishmaniasis: A Potential Diagnostic Pitfall
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Case Reports in Infectious Diseases.2016; 2016: 1. CrossRef
Visceral leishmaniasis mimicking systemic lupus erythematosus: Case series and a systematic literature review
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Visceral Leishmaniasis without Fever in an 11-Month-Old Infant: a Rare Clinical Feature of Kala-azar
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11,635 View
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Original Article

Viscerotropic growth pattern of Leishmania tropica in BALB/c mice is suggestive of a murine model for human viscerotropic leishmaniasis: Hamid Mahmoudzadeh-Niknam, Simin Sadat Kiaei, Davood Iravani; Korean J Parasitol 2007;45(4):247-253.
Published online December 20, 2007; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2007.45.4.247

Abstract
PDF

Leishmania (L.) tropica is a causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis, and occasionally of visceral or viscerotropic leishmaniasis in humans. Murine models of Leishmania infection have been proven to be useful for elucidation of mechanisms for pathogenesis and immunity in leishmaniasis. The aim of this study was to establish a murine model for human viscerotropic leishmaniasis, and the growth pattern of L. tropica was studied in different tissues of BALB/c mice in order to find out whether the parasite visceralizes in this murine model. L. major was used as a control as this species is known to cause a progressive infection in BALB/c mice. L. tropica or L. major was injected into the footpad of mice, and thickness of footpad, parasite loads in different tissues, and the weight of the spleen and lymph node were determined at different intervals. Results showed that L. tropica visceralizes to the spleen and grows there while its growth is controlled in footpad tissues. Dissemination of L. tropica to visceral organs in BALB/c mice was similar to the growth patterns of this parasite in human viscerotropic leishmaniasis. The BALB/c model of L. tropica infection may be considered as a good experimental model for human diseases.

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