Evangelidou Maria, Makka Sofia, Papadogiannaki Ioanna, Koutantou Myrto, Tegos Nikolaos, Mpimpa Anastasia, Patsoula Eleni, Angelakis Emmanouil
Diagnostic Department and Public Health Laboratories, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 11521 Athens, Greece.
Unit of Parasitic and Tropical Infections, Laboratory for the Surveillance of Infectious Diseases (LSID), Division of Infectious, Parasitic Diseases and Zoonoses, Department of Public Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, 11521 Athens, Greece.
Pathogens. 2024 Aug 14;13(8):688. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13080688.
is considered the predominant species responsible for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Greece but limited molecular-typing-based studies have been performed so far. We retrospectively analyzed data and serum samples collected from 3661 individuals suspected for VL in a sixteen-year period, from 2005 to 2020, to study the seasonality and demographic characteristics of VL cases and to define the genotypes circulating in the country. Serum samples were tested with immunofluorescence assay and/or molecular assay. qPCR -positive samples were subjected to genotypic analysis based on polymorphisms in 12 microsatellite regions of the internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) 1 and 2. We diagnosed 219 definite (6%, sample with a positive molecular assay and/or antibody titer ≥ 1:400) and 230 probable (6.3%, sample with antibody titer between 1:100 and 1:200) VL cases. Data analysis revealed that amongst VL-definite cases, the age group (≥65) constitutes the most affected factor, since 36.9% of the VL cases belonged to this age group. Amongst the VL definite cases, the most frequently reported symptoms were fever (83%), splenomegaly (49%), and hepatomegaly (40%), but this was not the case for immunocompromised patients that developed non-typical symptoms of leishmaniasis. Although no statistically significant differences in the overall seasonality of VL cases were observed, February and June showed a significantly higher proportion of VL cases compared to August and December. Genotyping of ITS1 and ITS2 regions revealed that all VL cases belong to ITS type A of Our study provides epidemiological information on VL and demonstrates for the first time, providing genotypic data, the circulation of ITS type A in Greece.
被认为是希腊内脏利什曼病（VL）的主要致病物种，但迄今为止基于分子分型的研究有限。我们回顾性分析了2005年至2020年16年间从3661名疑似患VL的个体中收集的数据和血清样本，以研究VL病例的季节性和人口统计学特征，并确定该国流行的基因型。血清样本通过免疫荧光测定和/或分子测定进行检测。对qPCR阳性样本基于内部转录间隔区（ITS）1和2的12个微卫星区域的多态性进行基因分型分析。我们诊断出219例确诊VL病例（6%，分子测定阳性和/或抗体滴度≥1:400的样本）和230例疑似VL病例（6.3%，抗体滴度在1:100至1:200之间的样本）。数据分析显示，在确诊的VL病例中，年龄组（≥65岁）是受影响最大的因素，因为36.9%的VL病例属于该年龄组。在确诊的VL病例中，最常报告的症状是发热（83%）、脾肿大（49%）和肝肿大（40%），但免疫功能低下的患者出现非典型利什曼病症状时并非如此。虽然未观察到VL病例总体季节性有统计学显著差异，但与8月和12月相比，2月和6月的VL病例比例显著更高。ITS1和ITS2区域的基因分型显示，所有VL病例均属于A类型。我们的研究提供了关于VL的流行病学信息，并首次提供基因分型数据，证明了A类型在希腊的流行情况。
