Cutaneous leishmaniasis: an emerging epidemic focus of Leishmania tropica in north Morocco

Abstract

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Morocco occurs mainly in the south and is caused by Leishmania major and L. tropica. In 1995, for the first time, 4 autochthonous cases were confirmed by smear and/or culture from the province of Taza in north Morocco. An active survey revealed 128 more cases. The number had increased gradually since 1994. Most of the cases (86%) came from the suburbs of the city of Taza. All cultured and typed parasites were characterized as L. tropica MON-102. A leishmanin skin test survey among a random sample of the exposed population showed an overall positivity rate of 19.9%, with no correlation with age or gender. The spatial distribution of the cases and skin test positivity, their occurrence in all age groups, the highly variable clinical picture, the severity and large size of lesions in older patients, the slow recovery of some treated patients, and the isoenzymic monomorphism of the parasite, all suggested that cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. tropica is an emerging disease in Taza.

Risk Zones of Human Leishmaniases in the Western Mediterranean Basin: Correlations between Vector Sand Flies, Bioclimatology and Phytosociology

“…Correlations between bioclimatic belts, phytosociological groupings according to Emberger (1936Emberger ( , 1939, vector sand flies and leishmaniases. (1) Humid belt (Cedrus atlantica) and (2) of the eastern part of Rif mountain and the western part of Moyen-Atlas chain (Guessous-Idrissi et al 1997b). One case of canine visceral leishmaniasis, also due to L. tropica, was described in this area, where T. articulata is present and signifies semi-arid bioclimatic belt (GuessousIdrissi et al 1997a).…”

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Sri Lanka

“…A similar clinical picture was reported by Sharma et al ( 8 ) in a study in which the researchers encountered noduloulcerative plaques with or without crusting. The morphologic appearance of lesions is known to vary depending on the species or strain of the causative organism ( 13 ) and the immune status of the patient ( 14 ). …”

The Current Status of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Morocco

“…This CL has been known since 1914 (11). At first the disease was known by a few sporadic cases (10,12). Later, this disease has taken an epidemic form separated by calm periods (5).…”