Descriptive and molecular epidemiology of leishmaniasis diagnosed from clinical samples in the United States, 2021-2022.

ABSTRACT: Leishmaniasis is a rare disease in the United States, with an estimated annual incidence of dozens of cases occurring primarily in travelers, migrants, and military personnel. True disease incidence is unknown, since leishmaniasis is not a nationally notifiable condition. Here, we describe the results of molecular leishmaniasis over a 1-year interval (September 2021 to August 2022) when our laboratory served as the primary national reference laboratory for molecular diagnosis of civilian leishmaniasis. We tested 218 specimens submitted from 36 states yielding 94 of the 186 (50.5%) positive cases with species or species complex-level identification and 18 novel mini-exon alleles. Most species belonged to subgenus Viannia (75.6%) and associated with cutaneous or mucocutaneous disease.

SUBMITTER: Truong TT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11448060 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature