A total blood lymphocyte proliferation (TLP) assay, recently developed for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), was evaluated as a tool for diagnosis of CL among patients with active lesions and apparently healthy people in an endemic area of the Jordan Valley. It was found that, in patients with lesions less than 3 months old, the TLP assay appeared insensitive, failing to detect about half of the patients in whom a diagnosis of CL had been made clinically. Blood specimens from patients with lesions of at least 3 months duration showed a positive correlation in 8 out of 10 cases. With healthy people resident in an endemic area the TLP assay was positive for 15 of 20 subjects with a past history of CL, and for only 3 of 16 without such a history. With another group of patients, not residents of an endemic area but who had spent 2 weeks together in an endemic area, and with a group of drug-treated patients, the results of the TLP assay showed a similar pattern: in patients with lesions less than 3 months old the test appeared rather insensitive, but in patients with lesions of more than 3 months duration, there was a high correlation between the TLP and clinical diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Changing patterns of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Israel and neighbouring territories.

The most frequent form of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Israel and the neighbouring territories is due to Leishmania major, which is endemic mainly in the Jordan Valley and in the Rift Valley. CL due to L. tropica is much less common, and in the past only sporadic cases have been reported. In this study we present data obtained during the years 1988-1992 regarding CL in the area. Our clinic has diagnosed a total of 371 leishmaniasis cases, most of whom acquired the infection in the Jordan Valley, mainly during June and July. About one-third of the patients had single lesions, and one-third more than 5 lesions. We also describe an outbreak of leishmaniasis in Kfar Adumim, a village 15 km east of Jerusalem, where leishmaniasis was previously unknown. Parasites were characterized by the polymerase chain reaction and by immunostaining, and found to be both L. tropica and L. major. The localization of the homes of the affected people on a slope where hyraxes were abundant suggests that these animals might have been involved in the transmission of L. tropica in this area.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Restriction endonuclease analysis of DNA from the Streptomyces phages SH3, SH5, SH10 and SH13.

Using 26 restriction endonucleases, a cleavage site survey was undertaken for DNAs of several unrelated Streptomyces phages SH3, SH5, SH10 and SH13. Only EcoRI was found to produce single cleavage in SH3 and SH10 DNA. The complete maps were prepared for the 2, 9 and 11 fragments of SH10 DNA, as generated by EcoRI, KpnI and BglII, respectively. The evidence is presented that SH10 DNA contains cohesive ends. Moreover, a clear-plaque mutant of SH10 was shown to contain a deletion of 790 bp in the right part of the genome, including two KpnI sites.

Bacteriophages↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Efficacious topical treatment for human cutaneous leishmaniasis with ethanolic lipid amphotericin B.

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Administration, Topical↗