BACKGROUND Leishmaniasis is a zoonosis with worldwide prevalence that causes dermal lesions and can be serious in humans. This report presents a case of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) that was apparently associated with a zoonotic transmission in a peri-urban area of the city of Portoviejo, Ecuador, close to mountainous and forested sites. CASE REPORT For 37 years, we have studied transmission of leishmaniasis in Ecuador, and have seen a wide variety of clinical presentations of the disease caused by different strains of the parasite Leishmania in patients, including pregnant women, without marked difference among them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe vector Lutzomyia sand flies and reservoir host mammals of the Leishmania parasites, causing the Andean cutaneous leishmaniasis (Andean-CL, uta) in Peru and Ecuador were thoroughly reviewed, performing a survey of literatures including our unpublished data. The Peruvian L. (V.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo study the sand fly fauna, surveys were performed at four different leishmaniasis-endemic sites in Ecuador from February 2013 to April 2014. A modified and simplified version of the conventional Shannon trap was named "mini-Shannon trap" and put to multiple uses at the different study sites in limited, forested and narrow spaces. The mini-Shannon, CDC light trap and protected human landing method were employed for sand fly collection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPCR amplification and nucleotide sequencing of the mini-exon gene revealed that four strains isolated from a sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni), a squirrel (Sciurus granatensis) and two sandflies (Lutzomyia hartmanni) in Ecuador were indistinguishable from Endotrypanum monterogeii. Another strain isolated from Lu. hartmanni showed the high sequence similarity to E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to confirm that the third larvae stage found in fresh water fish and that the adult parasite found in definitive hosts, corresponded to different stages of the same parasite life cycle (G. spinigerum), we proceeded to the experimental infestation with the following finding of the adult parasite. We were able to confirm in a definitive way the identify of the larva found in fresh water fish.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe are presenting here an investigative study done in our country in order to demonstrate the G. spinigerum the way it is transmitted is nature; its ecosystem and the identification of the different varieties of fish that are intermediate hosts, infected with larvae. The internal and external morphology of the parasite's third larvae stage is also described.
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