Determinng intraspecies genetic diversity of Leishmania tropica by Multilocus microsatellite typing

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an important public health problem in Turkey. It has been a significant increase in the number of the cases in Southeastern Anatolia Region in recent years. CL has been most frequently seen in Sanliurfa. There is an expectation of a significant increase in the population of leishmaniasis cases with the influence of Syrian refugees arriving in Turkey. Identification of Leishmania species is crucial for diagnostic, therapeutic and epidemiologic purposes. In this study, we aimed to diagnosis of CL and identifying of parasite from Leishmania isolates, by using ITS1 PCR-RFLP. Samples were collected from 135 CL patients in Sanliurfa. After the specimens were inoculated in medium NNN, the ones which were cultures positive were cultivated in RPMI 1640 followed by PCR-RFLP. Genomic DNA was extracted phenol–chloroform procedure. The ITS 1 were amplified by using the primers L5.8 S and LITSR primers. Samples were examined by using ITS 1 PCR followed by RFLP analysis. Our results indicated that two species, L. tropica (132 samples) and L. major (3 samples), are responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sanlıurfa. Previous study has been reported that only L. tropica is the causative agent of CL in Sanliurfa. This is the first report of autochthonous CL cases caused by L. major in Sanliurfa in Southestern Anatolia Region. Public health measures should include L. major infections while researchers plan field studies to identify the vectors and reservoirs of L. major.