Can cutaneous leishmaniasis provoke a resurgence of kala-azar in the Indian subcontinent?

ABSTRACT:

Background

The ongoing kala-azar elimination program in Nepal is based on the assumption of anthroponotic transmission of the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani. This parasite species was recently also found in lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases, which are increasingly reported mainly from western Nepal. The question whether or not CL causing L. donovani can also contribute to VL is a crucial one to answer if the success of the VL elimination initiative in the Indian subcontinent is to be sustained, though evidence on sub-species level genomic differences between CL and VL causing L. donovani is currently lacking. This study aims to provide a genomic comparison of L. donovani parasites currently causing CL in Nepal with previously described L. donovani isolates.

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SUBMITTER: Bhattarai NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11866896 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature