Epidemiological and immunological aspects of human visceral leishmaniasis on Margarita Island, Venezuela

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz

Olga Zerpa²  Marian Ulrich²  Margarita Benitez¹  Concepción Ávila¹  Vestalia Rodríguez²  Marta Centeno²  Doris Belizario²  Steven G Reed¹  Jacinto Convit² 

[1] ,Universidad Central de Venezuela Instituto de Biomedicina Caracas,Venezuela

关键词: American visceral leishmaniasis;    rK39 antigen;    leishmanin reactions;    control;    Margarita Island;    Venezuela;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0074-02762002000800002

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Sixty-five patients were diagnosed with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) on Margarita Island in the decade from 1990 to1999; 86.2% were <= 3 years old. All were leishmanin-negative at diagnosis. Evaluation of 23 cured patients in 1999 revealed that 22/23 had converted to leishmanin-positive; five had persisting antibodies to rK39 antigen, with no clinical evidence of disease. Leishmanin tests were positive in 20.2% of 1,643 healthy individuals from 417 households in endemic areas. Of the positive reactors, 39.8% were identified in 35 (8.4%) of the households, 15 of which had an antecedent case of VL, a serologically positive dog or both. Weak serological activity to rK39 antigen was detected in 3 of 488 human sera from the endemic areas. The presence of micro-foci of intense peri-urban transmission and the apparent absence of other Trypanosomatidae causing human disease offer a unique opportunity for the study of reservoirs, alternative vectors and evaluation of control measures on the Island.

【 授权许可】

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