Today, almost 2 million new leishmaniasis cases are noted annually; 1.5 million of these are cutaneous (CL), and others are visceral leishmaniasis (VL). In Sanliurfa, CL cases caused by Leishmania tropica but not by other agents such as L. infantum and L. major. L. tropica is a unique parasite species in Sanliurfa and is the causative agent of anthroponotic CL (transmitted from human to vector to human). Our aim was to report 3 new CL cases due to L. major ( 2 autochthonous and 1 imported) identified in Sanliurfa. Lesion aspiration samples taken from patients were inoculated into NNN culture. Following successful isolation in NNN, promastigotes were obtained by mass culture using RPMI + 20% FCS medium. Parasites species were identified as L. major using ITS-1 PCR-RFLP analysis. This is the first report of autochthonous CL cases caused by L. major in Sanliurfa, and it is estimated that the number of such cases will increase in this region. Public health measures should be taken for L. major infections, while researchers should plan field studies to identify the vectors and reservoirs of L. major.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an important public health problem in Turkey. CL has been most frequently seen in Sanliurfa. There is an expectation of increase in the population of leishmaniasis cases with the influence of Syrian refugees arriving in Turkey. In this study we aimed to diagnosis of CL and identifying of parasite from Leishmania isolates by using ITS 1 PCR RFLP. Samples were collected from 135 CL patients in Sanliurfa. After the specimens were inoculated in medium NNN, the ones which were cultures positive were cultivated in RPMI 1640 followed by PCR-RFLP. Genomic DNA was extracted phenol-chloroform procedure. Samples were examined by using ITS 1 PCR followed by RFLP analysis. Our results indicated that two species, L. tropica (132 samples) and L. major (3 samples), are responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sanlıurfa. Our study is the first scientific study in which it is reported molecular analyses of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases caused by L. major in Sanliurfa in Southestern Anatolia Region. Because CL cases caused by L.major are detected in our study, it is considered that genotyping is important for diagnosis of Leishmania and following change of epidemiology.

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