Genetic diversity of Leishmania amazonensis strains isolated in northeastern Brazil as revealed by DNA sequencing, PCR-based analyses and molecular karyotyping.

Background: Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis infection in man results in a clinical spectrum of disease manifestations ranging from cutaneous to mucosal or visceral involvement. In the present study, we have investigated the genetic variability of 18 L. amazonensis strains isolated in northeastern Brazil from patients with different clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis.