Will the introduction of Leishmania tropica MON-58, in the island of Crete, lead to the settlement and spread of this rare zymodeme?

•Introduction of Leishmania tropica MON-58 in the island of Crete, Greece.•The isolation of L. tropica MON-58 from a local dog.•The first record of L. tropica in a host, other than human, in Greece.•Local vectors (Phlebotomus similis?) can circulate this pathogen in Crete.

The rare zymodeme, Leishmania tropica MON-58, was isolated from a young Afghan refugee with a facial cutaneous lesion who had come to live in Crete early 2008. The same zymodeme variant was isolated from a local dog that had never travelled outside the island, with symptoms of visceral leishmaniasis, which stayed in the area where the patient worked during the summer months. This is the first record of L. tropica in a host, other than human, in Greece and another example of introduction of a vector borne pathogen in a focus where local vector/s can sustain it, with the risk of initiation of new transmission cycle/s.

Graphical abstractWe report the introduction of a rare zymodeme variant, Leishmania tropica MON-58, in Greece and the possible initiation of a zoonotic transmission cycle.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide