Spread ofLeishmania killickito Central and South-West Tunisia

Abstract

Summary :Twenty cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases were notified from December 2001 to February 2002, in a small village in the district of Oueslatia (governorate of Kairouan, central Tunisia) which is an endemic focus of infantile visceral leishmaniasis due to Leishmania (L.) infantum and that had never been concerned previously by CL. The parasite typing of two isolates obtained from two children that have never left the region has identified L. killicki. This species had only been reported previously in a limited focus of Tunisian Southeast. In October 2002, an epidemiological survey with isoenzym characterization of the parasite led in a well-known focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis of South-West Tunisia also revealed the presence of L. killicki. These results suggest the spread of this species and stress the need of further investigations for a better control of CL in Tunisia. Résumé

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

“…As mentioned in section 2, additional cases were further reported and the spread of SCL towards central and southern Tunisia confirmed. Similarly, the first CCL case originating from outside the original foci of Tataouine area was again diagnosed in our laboratory ; and CCL spread was further confirmed by additional reports leading to the revised geographical distribution of the disease (Bouratbine et al, 2005;Aoun et al, 2008). In our laboratory, we used to diagnose ZCL since 1986.…”

“…Surprisingly, over the last decade, cases of CCL were reported in patients originating from areas where this form has never been previously reported, the first case being in a child from Meknassy in Sidi Bouzid governorate . Later, additional cases were reported from Kairouan, Gafsa and Siliana governorates, very far from the classical foci of Tataouine (Aoun et al, 2008;Ben Abda et al, 2009;Bouratbine et al, 2005).…”

The Phlebotomine Fauna (Diptera: Psychodidae) of the Eastern Coast of Tunisia

“…Recently, cases due to L. killicki have been reported in north, central, and southwestern Tunisia, in foci of CLM and CLI (Bouratbine et al 2005, Haouas et al 2005. The reservoir and the vector of this species are unknown.…”

Natural Infection of North African Gundi (Ctenodactylus gundi) by Leishmania tropica in the Focus of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Southeast Tunisia

“…In fact, this rodent is extremely abundant in all Tunisian L. tropica foci, where it is found in natural and peri-domestic environments. [8][9][10] On the other hand, natural infection of P. sergenti with Leishmania promastigotes was reported in the CL focus in southeastern Tunisia. 11 Likewise, P. sergenti has been recently identified as the L. tropica host in a sylvatic site populated by gundis (Massoutiera mzabi) of a neighboring region, namely Ghardaïa, south Algeria.…”

“…9 Until now, little data concerning the transmission routes of CL caused by L. tropica in Tunisia have been available. The relative paucity of CL cases and their spatial distribution excludes the anthroponotic character of the disease and suggests that CL caused by L. tropica might be a zoonosis 8,9 ; the putative reservoir host is the North African gundi (Ctenodactylus gundi). In fact, this rodent is extremely abundant in all Tunisian L. tropica foci, where it is found in natural and peri-domestic environments.…”