Characterisation of Leishmania isolates from Laikipia District, Kenya

Using cloned kDNA sequences from the reference strain of Leishmania tropica IC-067, we have screened leishmanial isolates from Laikipia District of Kenya and identified these isolates as L. tropica. One isolate, IC-331, from a rat (Rattus rattus) was typed as L. tropica. This is the first time that L. tropica has been isolated from a wild rodent in Kenya and thus the first indication that the disease caused by L. tropica might be a zoonosis. The leishmanial isolates, especially those of sandflies, display extensive heterogeneity, prompting a need for selecting local and/or regional reference strains to generate species-specific DNA probes for use in identifying field isolates.