Genotyping Leishmania promastigotes isolated from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in south-eastern Turkey

OBJECTIVE: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a significant disease in south-eastern Anatolia because it is prevalent among Syrian refugees. We identified the causative Leishmania species in CL patients using molecular methods. METHODS: Novy–MacNeal–Nicolle medium was inoculated with aspirated fluid from suspected CL lesions and tested for amastigotes with Giemsa staining. PCR amplified the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of the Leishmania genome in cultures containing Leishmania promastigotes from 100 patients, which were genotyped with a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. A phylogenetic tree was constructed from ITS1 sequences of 95 culture fluid samples from these patients. RESULTS: Leishmania amastigotes were detected in 92% of cultures with growth. Leishmania promastigotes were typed as Leishmania tropica with both PCR–RFLP and sequencing. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of L. tropica as the causative agent of CL in our region allows the clinical course to be predicted, and guides treatment decisions and preventive measures.