Belova E M
Bull World Health Organ. 1971;44(4):553-60.
Promastigote flagellates have been isolated from various species of lizard and from some other reptiles. It is known that sandflies readily feed upon lizards and it has been thought that reptiles could be a reservoir for mammalian leishmaniasis. A feature of reptilian infections is the extreme scarcity of parasites in blood smears and in tissue impression smears but isolations may readily be made in culture media. The intradermal inoculation of promastigote cultures from lizards into mammals and man induces a positive leishmanial response and gives rise to long-lasting dermal knots from which living parasites can be recovered for periods of several months.Associations between promastigotes and lizards in parts of the USSR, particularly in the Turkmenian SSR, and experimental work in the USSR on the transmission of promastigote strains to a variety of mammals, including gerbils, mice, monkeys, and man, are reviewed. The author accepts the generally held view that although promastigote flagellates of reptiles are important in an evolutionary context, having probably given rise to the mammalian leishmanias, present-day strains must be considered nonpathogenic for mammals.
前鞭毛体鞭毛虫已从多种蜥蜴及其他一些爬行动物中分离出来。已知白蛉很容易吸食蜥蜴的血液，并且一直有人认为爬行动物可能是哺乳动物利什曼病的储存宿主。爬行动物感染的一个特点是在血液涂片和组织印片中寄生虫极为稀少，但在培养基中很容易分离到。将来自蜥蜴的前鞭毛体培养物皮内接种到哺乳动物和人体内会引发阳性利什曼反应，并产生持久的皮肤结节，从这些结节中可在数月内分离到活的寄生虫。本文综述了苏联部分地区，特别是土库曼苏维埃社会主义共和国境内前鞭毛体与蜥蜴之间的关联，以及苏联关于将前鞭毛体菌株传播给包括沙鼠、小鼠、猴子和人在内的多种哺乳动物的实验工作。作者认同普遍的观点，即尽管爬行动物的前鞭毛体鞭毛虫在进化背景下很重要，可能是哺乳动物利什曼病的起源，但目前的菌株必须被视为对哺乳动物无致病性。
