A selective liquid medium for primary isolation of South American Leishmanias

A selective liquid medium for direct isolation of Leishmania spp. from mucocutaneous lesions is described. Minimal inhibitory concentrations and synergy studies were performed and used to select 5-fluorocytosine as an antimycotic agent which inhibits contaminating fungi without an adverse effect on the parasite thus permitting its isolation from contaminated lesions. Penicillin-Streptomycin were included as antibacterial agents. Isolations have been obtained from biopsy material in an average of 5.6 days from 11 of 15 patients with mucous lesions.