Successful Isolation of Leishmania RNA Virus (LRV) from Leishmania major in a Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Focus in Central Iran: An Update on Cases

PURPOSE: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major vector-borne disease that affects people globally, including Iran. Different factors are associated with leishmaniasis pathogenicity; recently, a link of the possible relationship between Leishmania RNA Virus (LRV) and disease severity was proposed, especially in the New World leishmaniasis (NWL). This study was aimed to investigate the presence of LRV2 in Leishmania isolates in Aran o Bidgol, Isfahan province. METHODS: Samples were collected from 110 CL-suspected patients referred to the health center. In this study, we aimed to investigate CL cases (parasitologically and clinically), identify Leishmania species (by ITS1-PCR–RFLP), and finally detection of LRV2 (by RdRp-semi-nested PCR). RESULTS: Parasitological methods showed 60 positive cases, based on the HaeIII enzyme restriction profile, 59 cases were caused by L. major and 1 case by L. tropica. Our project is the first study on LRV2 isolation in Aran o Bidgol city and the LRV was successfully detected from a single L. major isolated in a women’s hand lesion. Using BLAST, 94.8–100% similarity was observed in the RdRp sequence of current LRV isolate with those available in GenBank from Iran or overseas. CONCLUSION: L. major was the main cause of CL in Aran o Bidgol, although L. tropica is also present in a much lower proportion in the area. This is the first report on the presence of LRV2 in Aran o Bidgol and the fifth in Iran.