Pourmohammadi B, Motazedian Mh, Hatam Gr, Kalantari M, Habibi P, Sarkari B
Dept. of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Iran J Parasitol. 2010 Dec;5(4):1-8.
Leishmaniasis is one of the infectious parasitic diseases of highest incidence in the world. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) has long been reported in Shiraz, Southern Iran. There is a need to find a sensitive and specific method for treatment and control of the disease.
We have compared the sensitivity of the conventional methods microscopy and cultivation of lesion scrapes against PCR amplification of parasite kinetoplast DNA from these samples. The samples (n=219) were obtained from the patients clinically suspected of CL. The smears were stained with Giemsa for microscopy and cultured in Novy-Nicolle-McNeal (NNN) blood agar for promastigote growth. For PCR, the dry smears were scraped off the slides and DNA was extracted.
The positive rates from 219 specimens were 76.71%, 50.68%, and 93.61% for microscopy, cultivation, and PCR, respectively. The highest correlation was found between PCR and microscopy method (P=0.014). In PCR assay, 95.61%, 3.9%, and 0.49% of the samples were identified as Leishmania major, L. tropica, and dermatropic L. infantum, respectively.
The PCR method appears to be the most sensitive for the diagnosis of CL and is valuable for identifying the other species of Leishmania with confusing dermatropic signs.
利什曼病是世界上发病率最高的传染性寄生虫病之一。伊朗南部设拉子长期以来一直有皮肤利什曼病（CL）的报道。需要找到一种敏感且特异的方法来治疗和控制该病。
我们比较了传统方法（病变刮片的显微镜检查和培养）与从这些样本中对寄生虫动基体DNA进行PCR扩增的敏感性。样本（n = 219）取自临床怀疑患有CL的患者。涂片用吉姆萨染色进行显微镜检查，并在诺维 - 尼科尔 - 麦克尼尔（NNN）血琼脂中培养以促进前鞭毛体生长。对于PCR，将干涂片从载玻片上刮下并提取DNA。
219个标本的阳性率分别为：显微镜检查76.71%，培养50.68%，PCR 93.61%。PCR与显微镜检查方法之间的相关性最高（P = 0.014）。在PCR检测中，分别有95.61%、3.9%和0.49%的样本被鉴定为硕大利什曼原虫、热带利什曼原虫和皮肤型婴儿利什曼原虫。
PCR方法似乎是诊断CL最敏感的方法，对于鉴别具有混淆性皮肤体征的其他利什曼原虫种类具有重要价值。
