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Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Dorsal Skin of Hamsters: a Useful Model for the Screening of Antileishmanial Drugs
Published on: April 21, 2012
Clinical and histopathological features of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Saudi Arabia
M A E Uthman1, A A Satir, K S Tabbara
1Department of Dermatology, Solmaniya Medical Center, Manama, Bahrain. mirghani@agu.edu.bh
Background:
Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) caused by Leishmania major is a growing public health problem and endemic in many parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The vector is Phlebotomus papatasi and the animal reservoirs are mainly desert rodents.
Methods:
In this prospective study, the clinical and histopathological features of ZCL in 120 patients are described and classified. The majority of these patients (n = 84) were non-Saudi expatriate workers who suffered mostly from multiple and severely inflamed nodulo-ulcerative lesions on the exposed parts of the body. Saudi patients were mainly children (n = 21) with few(1-3) lesions on their limbs or sometimes unique erysipeloid facial lesions.
Results:
Histopathological grouping of ZCL lesions showed four types of granulomatous reactions based on the predominant types of inflammatory cells, presence or absence of necrosis and ranking of parasitic index.
Conclusion:
A possible correlation between histopathologic evolution of ZCL lesions and the immune status of the host is discussed.
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