Leishmaniasis recidivans recurrence after 43 years: a clinical and immunologic report after successful treatment

M A Marovich1, R Lira, M Shepard

  • 1Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. mmarovich@hivresearch.org

We describe a patient with very late recurring leishmaniasis recidivans from whom lesional biopsy samples were obtained during and after topical steroid treatment that demonstrated the ability of the host to contain the parasite in the absence of therapy. Combination therapy with intralesional sodium stibogluconate and oral itraconazole was successful and immunologic data suggest that both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell subsets had roles in this disease process.

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