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Etiologic Agent of an Epidemic of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Tolima, Colombia

American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) has been characterized as a zoonotic disease. However, peridomestic and domestic transmission have been recorded in at least nine countries in Central and South America. The present study was undertaken to identify the etiologic agent of a peridomestic epidemic of ACL in the Department of Tolima, Colombia. Leishmania isolates were obtained during the diagnosis of 56 patients with ACL who consulted the local leishmaniasis control program in three municipalities in Tolima. Species were identified using monoclonal antibodies and isoenzyme electrophoresis. A total of 53 (94.6%) of 56 isolates were identified as Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis. Three isolates (5.4%) were identified as L. (V.) panamensis. Leishmania (V.) guyanensis is the probable etiologic agent of the largest epidemic of cutaneous leishmaniasis recorded in Colombia. This species has not previously been reported outside the Amazon and southeastern regions of Colombia, and has not been described in the peridomestic setting or linked with an epidemic.

Received July 31, 2007. Accepted for publication October 21, 2007.

Acknowledgments: We thank the Secretaría de Salud del Tolima and personnel from the Leishmaniasis Control Program of the Hospital San Juan Bautista de Chaparral, in particular, Boris Sánchez, Rafael Montaña, and Lina Mora for their help in obtaining isolates and data from clinical histories. We also thank the Instituto Nacional de Salud (Rubén Santiago Nicholls and Martha Ayala) for providing isolates.

Financial support: This study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, International Collaboration in Infectious Disease Research Program grant AI065866-3.

^* Address correspondence to Nancy G. Saravia, Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Medicas, Avenida 1 Norte No. 3-03, AA 5390, Cali, Colombia. E-mail: saravian{at}cideim.org.co

Authors’ addresses: Isabel Rodríguez-Barraquer, Rafael Góngora, Martín Prager, Robinson Pacheco, Adriana Navas, Maria Consuelo Miranda, and Nancy G. Saravia, Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Medicas, Avenida 1 Norte No. 3-03, AA 5390, Cali, Colombia, E-mails: irodriguez{at}cideim.org.co, rafael_gongora{at}cideim.org.co, mprager{at}cideim.org.co, rpacheco{at}cideim.org.co, amanzu{at}cideim.org.co, clinico{at}cideim.org.co, and saravian{at}cideim.org.co. Luz Mery Montero, Hospital San Juan Bautista de Chaparral, Calle 11 con Carrera 9 y 10, Chaparral, Tolima, Colombia, E-mail: monteroamaya66{at}gmail.com. Cristina Ferro, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Avenida Calle 26 No. 51-20, Zona 6 CAN Bogotá, DC, Colombia, E-mail: crisferro{at}yahoo.com.

Reprint requests: Nancy G. Saravia, Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Medicas, Avenida 1 Norte No. 3-03, AA 5390, Cali, Colombia, Telephone: 57-2-668-2164, Fax: 57-2-667-2989, E-mail: saravian{at}cideim.org.co.