Review
Immunology
Greta Volpedo, Thalia Pacheco-Fernandez, Erin A. Holcomb, Natalie Cipriano, Blake Cox, Abhay R. Satoskar
Summary: Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting 12 million people worldwide. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common form, presenting as ulcerating skin lesions that can self-heal or become chronic. The balance of immune response and inflammatory mediators plays a vital role in the clinical presentation and outcome of the disease.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Awnish Kumar, Vishal Kumar Singh, Rahul Tiwari, Prasoon Madhukar, Shashi Kumar, Vibhav Gautam, Christian Engwerda, Shyam Sundar, Rajiv Kumar
Summary: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a severe and often fatal form of leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania donovani in the Indian sub-continent. Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a late cutaneous manifestation of VL, serving as a significant yet neglected reservoir of infection and posing a serious threat to the VL elimination program in India. Eradicating PKDL should be a priority within the current VL elimination program by understanding its pathogenesis and developing effective strategies for disease management.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Nibedeeta Rani Sarraf, Saikat Mukhopadhyay, Anindyajit Banerjee, Anjan Kumar Das, Syamal Roy, Saikat Chakrabarti, Madhumita Manna, Partha Saha
Summary: The study conducted whole genome sequencing of L. donovani strains from Indian patients, revealing unique genomic variations in 24 genes among para-KDL strains compared to other strains. These distinctive genomic changes among para-KDL strains could be significant for the parasites to become dermatotropic.
Article
Dermatology
Ritika Sengupta, Sneha Mitra, Aishwarya Dighal, Srija Moulik, Surya Jyati Chaudhuri, Nilay Kanti Das, Uttara Chatterjee, Mitali Chatterjee
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the factors contributing to the hypopigmentation in post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). The results showed a decrease in melanocytes and key enzymes related to melanogenesis pathway in PKDL patients. Additionally, elevated levels of cytokines and chemokines, along with increased infiltration of CD8(+) T-cells, were observed in PKDL patients. These findings suggest that the hypopigmentation in PKDL is associated with the destruction of melanocytes and an enhanced pro-inflammatory immune milieu.
EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ilka Grewe, Thomas Theo Brehm, Benno Kreuels, Oliver M. Steinmetz, Bernhard Dumoulin, Anne Marie Asemissen, Dennis Tappe, Michael Ramharter, Stefan Schmiedel
Summary: We report a case of Leishmania infantum reactivation in an immunocompetent patient who developed visceral leishmaniasis with secondary IgA nephropathy nine years after an initial episode of mucosal leishmaniasis, which had been treated with liposomal amphotericin B.
JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Rajesh Garlapati, Eva Iniguez, Tiago D. Serafim, Prabhas K. Mishra, Basab Rooj, Bikas Sinha, Jesus G. Valenzuela, Sridhar Srikantiah, Caryn Bern, Shaden Kamhawi
Summary: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a potentially deadly parasitic disease prevalent in the northern part of the Indian sub-continent. India, Bangladesh, and Nepal are working together to eliminate VL as a public health problem by 2020 through early detection, prompt treatment, and vector control measures. Despite being close to the elimination target, important aspects of vector biology and sand fly transmission dynamics still need to be determined to ensure sustained elimination.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Kristien Cloots, Pia Marino, Sakib Burza, Naresh Gill, Marleen Boelaert, Epco Hasker
Summary: The study found that VL-HIV+ and PKDL cases were both associated with a more than twofold increase in VL incidence at the village level in Bihar, India, indicating the importance of VL-HIV+ patients as infectious reservoirs for Leishmania.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Parasitology
Md Anik Ashfaq Khan, Khaledul Faisal, Rajashree Chowdhury, Rupen Nath, Prakash Ghosh, Debashis Ghosh, Faria Hossain, Ahmed Abd El Wahed, Dinesh Mondal
Summary: LD-RPA assay showed high sensitivity and positivity rate in detecting LD in sand flies from PKDL cases. It may be considered as a promising single molecular detection tool for investigations related to LD infections and host infectiousness in PKDL.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Stella Rousset, Mathilde Zenou, Aurelie Saunier, Fanny Varenne, Vincent Soler, Emilie Tournier, Lea Legrand, Laurence Lachaud, Pierre Buffet, Antoine Berry, Pierre Delobel, Guillaume Martin-Blondel
Summary: This study reported cases of post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) and compared the characteristics of two groups based on whether PKDL occurred in the context of immune recovery under antiretroviral therapy (ART) or not. The study found that PKDL can occur as part of an immune restoration disease under ART or as a relapse of visceral leishmaniasis in the context of AIDS. Comparisons between the two groups showed that patients in the immune recovery group had higher CD4(+) cell counts, lower rates of concomitant visceral leishmaniasis, and a trend towards more frequent ocular involvement.
Article
Microbiology
Keerti Kaumudee Dixit, V Ramesh, Shreya Upadhyay, Abhishek Kumar Singh, Om Prakash Singh, Shyam Sundar, Ruchi Singh, Poonam Salotra
Summary: The study found that using blood samples for PKDL diagnosis in India has the potential to increase diagnostic sensitivity for macular PKDL cases, aiding in fast-tracking VL elimination.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Srija Moulik, Shilpa Sengupta, Mitali Chatterjee
Summary: With the consolidation phase of the Visceral Leishmaniasis/Kala-azar Elimination Program in South Asia, the focus is on case detection, vector control, and identifying potential sources of infection to curb transmission. Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) cases are considered potential disease reservoirs, and immunological tests are gradually replacing tissue aspirates for diagnosis of VL.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Shyam Sundar, Jitendra Singh, Anju Dinkar, Neha Agrawal
Summary: This study assessed the safety and effectiveness of miltefosine for post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis. The cure rate was 76%, but a significant number of patients experienced ocular complications.
OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
J. S. Devipriya, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Rajendra Babu Veeri, Pavan Garapati, Rishikesh Kumar, Sameer Dhingra, Krishna Murti, V. Ravichandiran, Krishna Pandey
Summary: The study found a significant gap in knowledge, attitude, and practices towards visceral leishmaniasis among people living with HIV in Bihar, highlighting the need for enhanced health education initiatives in endemic areas to improve awareness and preventive practices for VL.
Editorial Material
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Begona Monge-Maillo, Francesca F. Norman, Sandra Chamorro-Tojeiro, Francesca Gioia, Jose-Antonio Perez-Molina, Carmen Chicharro, Javier Moreno, Rogelio Lopez-Velez
Summary: Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in an HIV-negative patient is rare, and this case highlights its association with other types of immunosuppression. In addition, this case report presents an effective therapeutic option with miltefosine, which can be very useful due to limited reported experience.
JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Rakhi Kusumesh, Anita Ambasta, Lalan Kumar Arya, Nilesh Mohan, Bibhuti Prassan Sinha, Vidyanand Ravidas
Summary: This study retrospectively analyzed 5 cases of PKDL patients who developed keratitis after receiving miltefosine treatment. All patients showed varying degrees of keratitis symptoms after 48 days of miltefosine treatment, with corticosteroid therapy and discontinuation of miltefosine effectively improving the keratitis condition.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2021)