Autochthonous Disseminated Dermal and Visceral Leishmaniasis in an AIDS Patient, Southern Thailand, Caused by Leishmania siamensis

Abstract

We report the first establishment of in vitro cultivation and genotypic characterization of Leishmania siamensis isolated from an autochthonous disseminated dermal and visceral leishmaniasis in a Thai acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patient. The molecular identification has shown that the parasite was identical to L. siamensis, a recently described Leishmania species reported in the southern provinces of Thailand. The phylogenetic analysis has confirmed L. siamensis as closely related to the zoonotic Leishmania species L. enrietti.