Epidemiology of human visceral leishnmaniasis in Tunisia

Pousse, H.; Besbes, A; Saïd, M. Ben; Ghenimi, L.; Kharrat, Habib

doi:10.1093/tropej/41.3.191

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…In Tunisia, VL is known to be endemic in the north (Anderson et al 1938, Vermeil 1956, Chadli et al 1968) with an incidence of 100 cases/year, and occurs occasionally in the center and the south (Aoun et al 2009). Recently, an increase of human VL incidence in VL foci has been recorded with many repeated sporadic cases in non‐endemic regions (Ayadi et al 1991, Pousse et al 1995, Ben Salah et al 2000, Aoun et al 2009). Also, an increase in the prevalence of canine VL has been observed in many regions of central Tunisia (Chargui et al 2007, Chargui et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in a previously non-endemic region of Tunisia: Detection ofLeishmaniaDNA inPhlebotomus perniciosus

Chargui

Haouas

Slama

et al. 2013

Journal of Vector Ecology

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Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has been endemic in northern Tunisia and has occurred sporadically in the center of Tunisia. Recently, there have been several cases from areas known to be free of VL. We report in this work all human and canine cases of VL recorded between 2003 and 2011 and an entomological study of phlebotomine fauna in a previously non-endemic region. Sixty-three cases of VL were diagnosed and identified as L. infantum using several different methods. Eight species of 179 sand flies were caught and identified by both morphological and molecular methods. Two genera were present, Phlebotomus and Sergentomya, with an abundance of the subgenus Phlebotomus (Larrousius) spp., a classic vector of VL in Tunisia. Moreover, Leishmania DNA was detected in seven unfed Phlebotomus pernicousus and L. infantum was identified in three of them. This result confirms the establishment of a transmission cycle of VL in the studied region by the coexistence of infected vectors with infected hosts. Journal of Vector Ecology 38 (1): 1-5. 2013.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in a previously non-endemic region of Tunisia: Detection ofLeishmaniaDNA inPhlebotomus perniciosus

Chargui

Haouas

Slama

et al. 2013

Journal of Vector Ecology

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“…In Tunisia, VL is primarily a pediatric disease and is responsible for considerably high morbidity and mortality rates (1,3,7). Its accurate diagnosis requires the availability of reliable laboratory methods, especially in the early stage of the disease, when clinical features of VL can cause it to be easily mistaken for other febrile illnesses (1,25).…”

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confidence: 99%

Diagnosis of Mediterranean Visceral Leishmaniasis by Detection of Leishmania Antibodies and Leishmania DNA in Oral Fluid Samples Collected Using an Oracol Device

et al. 2011

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Current methods for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) require invasive sampling procedures such as visceral aspiration and/or blood drawing. The use of diagnostic tests using oral fluid, which is easier to collect, would be more simple and practical for VL diagnosis, especially under field conditions. Oral fluids from 37 VL patients and 40 healthy controls were collected using Oracol devices. Blood samples and oral fluid specimens from both groups were analyzed by recombinant protein K39 (rK39) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative real-time PCR. Detection of antibodies in the oral fluid had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 97.5%. Antibody levels measured in serum and oral fluid showed a significant positive correlation ( ‫؍‬ 0.655 and P ‫؍‬ 0.01). Detection of Leishmania DNA in oral fluid had a sensitivity of 94.6% and a specificity of 90%. The median parasite load estimated in blood was 133 parasites/ml (interquartile range [IR], 10 to 1,048), whereas that in oral fluid specimens was 3 parasites/ml (IR, 0.41 to 92). However, there was no significant linear relationship between parasite loads assessed in the two biological samples ( ‫؍‬ 0.31 and P ‫؍‬ 0.06). VL diagnosis based on specific antibody detection and Leishmania DNA identification using oral fluid samples was equivalent in accuracy to that using blood and therefore is promising for clinical use.

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“…Number of visceral leishmaniasis cases reported in Tunisia (1903Tunisia ( -2010 Up to 1981, incidence was low to moderate and nearly all cases were reported from Zaghouan, North-West (Le Kef, Béja, Jendouba, Siliana), Tunis and Sousse governorates, located in the humid, sub-humid and semi-arid zones (Anderson et al, 1934(Anderson et al, , 1938Ben Ismail et al, 1986;Ben Rachid et al, 1983;Chadli et al, 1968;Khaldi et al, 1991;Nicolle, 1912;Vermeil, 1956). From the early 1980s, the incidence markedly increased and the disease progressed towards the south, mainly to Kairouan governorate and to a lesser extent to Sfax, Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine and Tozeur governorates, together with an increase in canine leishmaniasis (Ayadi et al, 1991;Bel Hadj et al, 1996;Ben Salah et al, 2000;Besbès et al, 1994;Bouratbine et al, 1998;Chargui et al, 2007;Pousse et al, 1995). Indeed, from the 1980s, the region of Kairouan emerged as a highly active VL focus, and by 1991-1992 it was recognized as the most active one, with 30 to 55 % of reported cases (Anonymous).…”

Section: Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2004; Pousse et al 1995). In HIV Tunisian patients, VL is infrequent; it is best diagnosed by PCR (Kallel et al, 2007).…”

Section: Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retrospective Analysis of Leishmaniasis in Central Tunisia: An Update on Emerging Epidemiological Trends

Mili¹,

Saghrouni²,

BenSaid³

et al. 2012

Current Topics in Tropical Medicine

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Epidemiology of human visceral leishnmaniasis in Tunisia

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in a previously non-endemic region of Tunisia: Detection ofLeishmaniaDNA inPhlebotomus perniciosus

Transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in a previously non-endemic region of Tunisia: Detection ofLeishmaniaDNA inPhlebotomus perniciosus

Diagnosis of Mediterranean Visceral Leishmaniasis by Detection of Leishmania Antibodies and Leishmania DNA in Oral Fluid Samples Collected Using an Oracol Device

Retrospective Analysis of Leishmaniasis in Central Tunisia: An Update on Emerging Epidemiological Trends

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