Epidemic visceral leishmaniasis in southern Sudan: identity and systematic position of the parasites from patients and vectors

Abstract

Twenty-five strains of Leishmania donovani isolated from humans and Phlebotomus orientalis in an epidemic area of southern Sudan were shown to belong to 3 very similar zymodemes: MON 18 (11 strains), MON 30 (1 strain) and MON 82 (13 strains). The 3 zymodemes are very closely related and seem to behave as a single population.