Treatment response of cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania aethiopica to cryotherapy and generic sodium stibogluconate from patients in Silti, Ethiopia.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ethiopia is caused mainly by Leishmania aethiopica. In this study, the response of L. aethiopica to sodium stibogluconate (SSG) and liquid nitrogen in Silti has been investigated.

Leishmania aethiopica: development of specific and sensitive PCR diagnostic test.

PCR has proved useful for rapid diagnosis and typing of Leishmania. Lack of specificity to discriminate between species and/or sensitivity to detect from clinical samples has always been an issue. Previously developed primers either require PCR-RFLP analysis for Leishmania aethiopica discrimination or lack sensitivity to detect L.

Outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Silti woreda, Ethiopia: risk factor assessment and causative agent identification.

An outbreak of skin lesions was reported in June 2005 in the district of Silti woreda, 150 km south of Addis Ababa, by the Christian Children's Fund (CCF) and confirmed to be cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) by our group from the Armauer Hansen Research Institute in July 2005. A house-to-house survey of 1907 residents in three kebeles of Silti woreda conducted in April 2006 showed a prevalence of 4.8%.

Phylogenetic and primary sequence characterization of cathepsin B cysteine proteases from the oxymonad flagellate Monocercomonoides.

Cysteine proteases are crucial for general lysosomal function and for the pathogenic mechanisms of many protistan parasites. Cathepsin B cysteine proteases are currently defined by the presence of the "occluding loop" motif and have been best characterized from humans and their parasites. Though related to a variety of pathogenic excavate flagellates, oxymonads are themselves commensals.

Leishmania aethiopica: identification and characterization of cathepsin L-like cysteine protease genes.

There is limited information on the biology and pathogenesis of Leishmania aethiopica, causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Ethiopia. In this study we have identified and characterized two cathepsin L-like cysteine protease genes, Laecpa and Laecpb, from L. aethiopica.

Identification, sequencing and expression of peroxidoxin genes from Leishmania aethiopica.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a painful, disfiguring and debilitating disease prevalent in Ethiopia and other countries around the world. In Ethiopia, CL is primarily caused by Leishmania aethiopica and less often by L. tropica and L.

Leishmania aethiopica: strain identification and characterization of superoxide dismutase-B genes.

This study was performed to characterize the genes that code for superoxide dismutase (SOD) in Leishmania aethiopica. It involved three main steps: specimen collection and parasite isolation, species identification, and molecular characterization of the SOD genes. Out of 20 skin slit specimens cultured and processed from suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis patients enrolled in the study, five (25%) were found to be positive for motile promastigotes.