14th ICID - Poster Abstracts - International Society for Infectious ...

When citing these abstracts please use the following reference:
Author(s) of abstract. Title of abstract [abstract]. Int J Infect Dis 2010;14S1: Abstract number.
Please note that the official publication of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases 2010, Volume 14, Supplement 1
is available electronically on http://www.sciencedirect.com
Final Abstract Number: 82.003
Session: Trypanosomiasis, Leishmaniasis & Schistosomiasis
Date: Friday, March 12, 2010
Time: 12:30-13:30
Room: Poster & Exhibition Area/Ground Level
Type: Poster Presentation
Leishmania aethiopica: The unusual etiologic agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ho District of
the Volta region of Ghana
G. Kwakye-Nuako
University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana
Background: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease of significant public health importance. An
outbreak of suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) was first seen in the Volta Region of Eastern
Ghana in 1999, and has remained an endemic area ever since. To improve the level of
understanding regarding leishmaniasis in West Africa, particularly in Ghana, there is a need to
provide information for the management of the disease. The study focused on the identification of
species of Leishmania parasites responsible for leishmaniasis infections reported in the Volta
Region of Ghana.
Methods: The Ho district, located in the middle zone of the Volta region in the south-eastern part
of Ghana, was the study site. It borders on the east with Togo in the West African sub-region.
Forty four samples were taken for the study. Skin scrapings were collected from the sites of
active lesion(s). Primers P5 and P6, were used to amplify a fragment of ~1500 bp of the
intergenic region between the ribosomal protein genes RPS7A and RPS7B on chromosome 1
and second primers P1 and P2, were used to amplify an internal fragment of ~1350bp in the
nested PCR. Products obtained from the nested PCR were digested using MspI enzyme.
Results: The bands produced from some samples showed a match to the control sample L.
aethiopica.
Conclusion: PCR was shown to be a useful diagnostic tool for Ghanaian CL.