A new focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the central area of Paraná State, southern Brazil

We report a new endemic zone of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the central area of the State of Paraná (Municipality of Prudentópolis), in southern Brazil. This region was not previously considered endemic for CL, and this work constitutes the first report of CL endemicity there. Leishmaniasis was confirmed by smear, culture, and ELISA. Parasites were isolated and identified by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (PCR-RAPD). Phylogeographical analysis, based on two different criteria, was able to distinguish between RAPD profiles from different geographical regions. In total, 100 patients were diagnosed with leishmaniasis by culture and serology methods. The reported incidence rate was 4.32%. Of the 100 patients, 92% of the patients had single lesions, and 79.98% of these lesions were located on their limbs. The fact that 61% of patients were male rural workers points to an extradomiciliar type of transmission. In houses where human leishmaniasis was diagnosed, 29% of the dogs presented anti-Leishmania antibodies. A total of 1663 phlebotomines, representing 5 species, were captured in the studied area with CDC-like light minitraps. Lutzomyia intermedia s.l. was the most prevalent species (94.40%). The isolated parasites were grouped with Leishmania (V.) braziliensis. The epidemiological implications are discussed in the present article.