Life cycle of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Larestan, southern Iran

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) with diverse clinical manifestations is prevalent and remains a major public health problem in Iran, while its incidence has been doubled over the last decade. This study was performed for the first time in Larestan, Fars province, located in southern part of Iran to determine infectious patterns in the reservoir hosts and sand fly vectors using parasitological and molecular methods. Thirty two rodents and 156 sand flies were evaluated for the patterns of Leishmania infection. PCR was performed to characterize the parasites using the culture of parasite in Evans medium. Tatera indica, Gerbillus spp. and Meriones crassus were the trapped animals and Phlebotomus papatasi was the trapped fly. L. major was isolated and identified as the causative agent of CL from T. indica, Gerbillus spp and two female Ph. papatasi (Alamarvdasht). Among the trapped rodents, four T. incida were positive for L. major in Larestan region including Alamarvdasht town (2 males), and Lamerd town (2 females). L. major was also isolated from two female Gerbillus spp in Lamerd and Lar towns in Larestan region. No infection was detected in M. crassus in the area. This is the first report detecting L. major in naturally infected T. indica, Gerbillus spp and Phlebotomus papatasi in Larestan region.