Primary and secondary skin leishmaniasis in experimental rodent hosts.

Pathological observations are described from experimental infections of Syrian hamsters, nude mice and bank voles with different Leishmania strains isolated from travellers returning to Germany from endemic areas. The main purpose of the paper was to demonstrate the changing patterns of parasite predilection sites within appropriate experimental animals. Despite the occasionally-occurring episodes of altered predilection sites the principal organotropic behaviour of given Leishmania strain was remarkably constant in in vivo passages. Here a genetic background seems evident which justified a legal use of such host related properties in taxonomic considerations. It was noted that humans appear to be poor indicators of the micro-ecological abilities of Leishmania spp.