Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 1;119(4):393-395.
doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trae102.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis: a neglected clinical manifestation among the tribal population in Nilambur, Kerala, India

P A Fathima  1 , Harish Kumar Shah  1 , R S Aiswarya  1 , P M Ajithlal  1 , T V Shailaja  2 , C Shubin  3 , K J Reena  4 , Prasanta Saini  1
Affiliations

Cutaneous leishmaniasis: a neglected clinical manifestation among the tribal population in Nilambur, Kerala, India

P A Fathima et al. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. .

Abstract

Background: 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.

Methods: 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.

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

Conclusion: 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.

Keywords: Leishmania donovani; Kerala; Western Ghats; atypical cutaneous leishmaniasis.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources