01620nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001260003400042653003700076653002400113653001800137100001500155700001200170700001600182700001600198700001600214700001300230700001300243700001200256245011900268520097800387022002501365       2024                            d  bOxford University Press (OUP)10aatypical cutaneous leishmaniasis10aLeishmania donovani10aWestern Ghats1 aFathima PA1 aShah HK1 aAiswarya RS1 aAjithlal PM1 aShailaja TV1 aShubin C1 aReena KJ1 aSaini P00aCutaneous leishmaniasis: a neglected clinical manifestation among the tribal population in Nilambur, Kerala, India3 a<p><strong>Background:</strong> Different clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis (cutaneous and visceral) caused by Leishmania donovani have been reported from Kerala, India. Leishmania donovani causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) (also called atypical CL [ACL]) is one of the major health concerns in the Western Ghats belt of the state.</p>

<p><strong>Methods:</strong> Skin biopsies of 20 patients with suspected CL from Nilambur, Kerala, were processed for CL diagnosis during the period 2022–2023. Parasite species were characterized using Leishmania-specific Internal Transcribed Spacer-Ⅰ (ITS-Ⅰ) PCR and ITS-Ⅰ RFLP analysis.</p>

<p><strong>Result: </strong>A total of 18 cases were confirmed to be CL and the parasite was identified as L. donovani.</p>

<p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> These indigenous ACL (CL due to L. donovani) reports from the small foci of Nilambur reveal an emerging endemic zone of leishmaniasis in the Western Ghats.</p>
  a0035-9203, 1878-3503