Natural infection with () supports (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) as a potential vector of leishmaniasis and characterization of a sp. isolated from the midges.

The prevalence of autochthonous leishmaniasis in Thailand is increasing but the natural vectors that are responsible for transmission remain unknown. Experimental infections in spp. () and () , the major causative pathogens in Thailand, have demonstrated that biting midges can act as competent vectors.

Enhancement of VGG16 model with multi-view and spatial dropout for classification of mosquito vectors.

Mosquitoes transmit pathogens that can cause numerous significant infectious diseases in humans and animals such as malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and encephalitis. Although the VGG16 model is not one of the most advanced CNN networks, it is reported that a fine-tuned VGG16 model achieves accuracy over 90% when applied to the classification of mosquitoes. The present study sets out to improve the accuracy and robustness of the VGG16 network by incorporating spatial dropout layers to regularize the network and by modifying its structure to incorporate multi-view inputs.

Amphotericin B resistance correlates with increased fitness and in () .

Amphotericin B (AmpB) deoxycholate is the available first-line drug used to treat visceral leishmaniasis caused by () , however, some cases of AmpB treatment failure have been reported in Thailand. Resistance to drugs is known to affect parasite fitness with a potential impact on parasite transmission but still little is known about the effect of resistance to drugs on . Here we aimed to gain insight into the fitness changes occurring after treatment failure or -induced resistance to AmpB.

Case Report: Simple Nodular Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by Autochthonous Leishmania (Mundinia) orientalis in an 18-Month-Old Girl: The First Pediatric Case in Thailand and Literature Review.

We report an autochthonous case of simple, localized cutaneous leishmaniasis in a healthy 18-month-old girl from southern Thailand. The patient presented with a solitary chronic cutaneous nodular lesion on her left cheek for approximately 1 year. Histopathological dissection of the cheek skin biopsy demonstrated remarkably nodular and interstitial infiltrates of lymphocytes and histiocytes full of intracellular oval-shaped amastigotes, consistent with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Stimulation of metacyclogenesis in () for mass production of metacyclic promastigotes.

() is a human pathogen causing leishmaniasis and studies on the properties of metacyclic promastigotes, the parasite's infective stage, are required for a better understanding of its transmission and infection. However, information on cultivation for mass production of metacyclic promastigotes and factors that stimulate their metacyclogenesis is limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a suitable methodology for generating promastigote cultures containing a high proportion and number of metacyclic promastigotes.

Significance of eggshell morphology as an additional tool to distinguish species of sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae).

Morphological characteristics of eggshells are important in sand fly ootaxonomy. In this study, eggshells from Phlebotomus stantoni Newstead, Sergentomyia khawi (Raynal), and Grassomyia indica (Theodor) sand flies collected in Chiang Mai province, Thailand were examined and characterized using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Then, eggshell morphology of these three species was described for the first time.

Molecular identification of two newly identified human pathogens causing leishmaniasis using PCR-based methods on the 3' untranslated region of the heat shock protein 70 (type I) gene.

PCR-based methods to amplify the 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the heat shock protein 70 (type I) gene (HSP70-I) have previously been used for typing of Leishmania but not with Leishmania (Mundinia) martiniquensis and L. (Mundinia) orientalis, newly identified human pathogens. Here, the 3'-UTRs of HSP70-I of L.

Chromosome-Scale Assembly of the Complete Genome Sequence of Leishmania (Mundinia) orientalis, Isolate LSCM4, Strain LV768.

Leishmania (Mundinia) orientalis is a kinetoplastid parasite first isolated in 2014 in Thailand. We report the complete genome sequence of () , sequenced using combined short-read and long-read technologies. This will facilitate greater understanding of this novel pathogen and its relationship to other members of the subgenus .

Experimental infection of Leishmania (Mundinia) martiniquensis in BALB/c mice and Syrian golden hamsters.

Our objective was to investigate clinical progression, presence of parasites and DNAs, parasite loads, and histological alterations in BALB/c mice and Syrian golden hamsters after intraperitoneal inoculation with Leishmania (Mundinia) martiniquensis promastigotes with a goal to choosing an appropriate animal model for visceral leishmaniasis. Infections were monitored for 16 weeks. Infected BALB/c mice were asymptomatic during the infection course.

Determination of anti-leishmanial drugs efficacy against using a colorimetric assay.

Autochthonous leishmaniasis caused by cases in Thailand have dramatically increased in the recent years. infection primarily occurs in immunocompromised patients, especially AIDS patients. In Thailand, amphotericin B is the only drug available for leishmaniasis treatment, and some patients relapse after amphotericin B therapy.

Antileishmanial Activity and Synergistic Effects of Amphotericin B Deoxycholate with Allicin and Andrographolide against In Vitro.

() is a causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis, but in HIV-infected patients both visceral and disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis are presented. Recurrence of the disease after treatment has been reported in some cases indicating that improved chemotherapy is required. In this study, the susceptibility of to Amphotericin B deoxycholate (AmB), allicin, and andrographolide was evaluated and the synergistic effects of allicin or andrographolide combined with AmB against intracellular amastigotes in mouse peritoneal exudate macrophages (PEMs) were investigated in vitro for the first time.

Development of Leishmania orientalis in the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) and the biting midge Culicoides soronensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

Leishmania (Mundinia) orientalis is a newly described species causing human leishmaniasis in Thailand whose natural vector is unknown. L. orientalis infections in sand flies and/or biting midges under laboratory conditions have not been previously investigated.

Characterization of IgE-binding proteins in the salivary glands of Simulium nigrogilvum (Diptera: Simuliidae).

Simulium dermatitis is an IgE-mediated skin reaction in animals and humans caused by the bites of black flies. Although Simulium nigrogilvum has been incriminated as the main human-biting black fly species in Thailand, information on its salivary allergens is lacking. Salivary gland extract of S.

Axenic amastigote cultivation and in vitro development of Leishmania orientalis.

Leishmania (Mundinia) orientalis is a recently described new species that causes leishmaniasis in Thailand. To facilitate characterization of this new species, an in vitro culture system to generate L. orientalis axenic amastigotes was developed.

Proteomes of the female salivary glands of Simulium nigrogilvum and Simulium nodosum, the main human-biting black flies in Thailand.

Although several studies have reported pharmacological and immunological activity, as well as the role of black flies in transmitting pathogens to vertebrate hosts through salivary glands (SG) during blood feeding, SG proteomes of the anthropophilic black flies in Thailand have never been reported. Therefore, this study determined the SG proteomes of female S. nigrogilvum and S.

Protein expression in female salivary glands of pyrethroid-susceptible and resistant strains of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Background: A group of insecticides called pyrethroids has been used extensively worldwide and development of pyrethroid resistance within mosquito populations, especially in Aedes aegypti, has rapidly spread through populations. In this study, SDS-PAGE, 2-DE coupled with NanoLC-MS, and bioinformatics were used to analyze the female salivary gland proteins of pyrethroid-susceptible (PMD) and pyrethroid-resistant (PMD-R and UPK-R) strains of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes for the first time.

Salivary Gland Proteome during Adult Development and after Blood Feeding of Female Anopheles dissidens Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae).

Understanding changes in mosquito salivary proteins during the time that sporozoite maturation occurs and after blood feeding may give information regarding the roles of salivary proteins during the malarial transmission. Anopheles dissidens (formerly Anopheles barbirostris species A1) is a potential vector of Plasmodium vivax in Thailand. In this study, analyses of the proteomic profiles of female An.

Early detection of novel Leishmania species DNA in the saliva of two HIV-infected patients.

Background: Leishmaniasis caused by two new species of Leishmania; L. siamensis and L. martiniquensis have been recently described in Thailand.

MIDGUT ULTRASTRUCTURE OF FOURTH INSTAR OCHLEROTATUS TOGOI (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE).

The ultrastructure of the midgut of fourth instar Ochlerotatus togoi was investigated by light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. This study was performed to provide information to help devise future control efforts aimed at the larval stages of this vector of filariasis. The fourth instar midgut was approximately 2 mm in length and consisted of three morphologically distinct cell types: epithelial, regenerative, and endocrine cells.

First isolation of Leishmania from Northern Thailand: case report, identification as Leishmania martiniquensis and phylogenetic position within the Leishmania enriettii complex.

Since 1996, there have been several case reports of autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis in Thailand. Here we report a case in a 52-year-old Thai male from northern Thailand, who presented with subacute fever, huge splenomegaly and pancytopenia. Bone marrow aspiration revealed numerous amastigotes within macrophages.