Abstract
Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica cause cutaneous leishmaniasis in humans and dogs in several parts of the world, with a large number of cases recorded in the Middle East. However, when they occur in sympatry, the role of each species of Leishmania in the epidemiology of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is not clear. To assess the frequency and to identify the species of Leishmania that infect humans and stray dogs in Riyadh and Al-Qaseem (Saudi Arabia), 311 stray dogs and 27 human patients who were suspected for Leishmania infection were examined for CL by a nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR). Seven (25.9%) out of 27 human patients scored positive for Leishmania spp. (i.e., L. major in five patients from Riyadh and L. tropica in two patients from Al-Qaseem). Out of 311 dogs, five (1.6%) were infected by L. tropica. Data herein presented demonstrate the occurrence of L. tropica in dogs and humans in Saudi Arabia, as well as the occurrence of L. major in humans.
Highlights
Leishmaniases are a complex group of diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, which are included in the group of neglected tropical diseases affecting mainly vulnerable human populations worldwide (WHO 2018)
In western Saudi Arabia (Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah province), cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) was diagnosed in human patients by internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) (El-Beshbishy et al 2013a, 2013b)
Of the 27 human patients who were examined, five out of 16 (31.2%) from Riyadh and two out of 11 (18.2%) from AlQaseem were positive for Leishmania spp
Summary
Leishmaniases are a complex group of diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, which are included in the group of neglected tropical diseases affecting mainly vulnerable human populations worldwide (WHO 2018). CL caused by Leishmania major has been reported in that country, with the highest prevalence being recorded in the Riyadh, Qassim, Al-Madinah, Al-Hassa, Hail, and Asir regions (AlTawfiq and AbuKhamsin 2004; Amin et al 2013; Alanazi et al 2016), where more than 26,300 cases had been estimated from 2006 to 2016 (Abuzaid et al 2017). Parasitol Res infantum, L. major, and Leishmania tropica in humans and wild animals in Saudi Arabia (Peters et al 1986; Elbihari et al 1987; Al-Zahrani et al 1988a, 1988b; Alanazi et al 2019a, 2019b). Leishmania spp. were detected in human patients in AlQaseem province, central Saudi Arabia, with prevalence of 49.5% for L. major, 28.6% for L. tropica, and 3.9% for L. infantum (Rasheed et al 2019)
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