Imported new world cutaneous leishmaniasis in a traveller from Slovakia

We present a case of imported leishmaniasis in a 31-year-old woman from Slovakia, who visited the countries of South America for three months in 2011. On 29 and 31 August 2011, she was probably infected with Leishmania parasites in the jungles of Ecuador. Approximately one week after returning to Slovakia, a small papules appeared on patient's left leg. Another wound was found after two weeks. Both ulcers were enlarging. We proved amastigote forms of Leishmania spp. only in repeated dermal scrapings from the edge of the ulcer by Giemsa staining after negative results from examination of a wound scrape and biopsy specimen. We identified the species Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis as a causative agent by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and subsequent sequencing of the ITS region. Closure of wounds and scab formation were observed after 20 days of treatment with sodium stibogluconate. In the control microscopic examination after the end of the treatment, parasites were not present, and the PCR confirmed the negative result (Fig. 2, Ref. 31).