TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhls, Katrin A1 - Moskalenko, Olga A1 - Sukiasyan, Anna A1 - Manukyan, Dezdemonia A1 - Melik-Andreasyan, Gayane A1 - Atshemyan, Liana A1 - Apresyan, Hripsime A1 - Strelkova, Margarita V. A1 - Jaeschke, Anja A1 - Wieland, Ralf A1 - Frohme, Marcus A1 - Cortes, Sofia A1 - Keshishyan, Ara T1 - Microsatellite based molecular epidemiology of Leishmania infantum from re-emerging foci of visceral leishmaniasis in Armenia and pilot risk assessment by ecological niche modeling JF - PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases N2 - Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. In Armenia visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is re-emerging since 1999 after a long break of 30 years, with 167 cases recorded until 2019. Molecular diagnosis of VL was implemented only in 2016, and the causative agent was identified as L. infantum. In the present study we expanded the investigation of the causative agent to a characterization at strain level and the identification of its phylogenetic position among the L. infantum genotypes circulating worldwide. This is the first study addressing genetic diversity and population structure of L. infantum in Armenia and in Transcaucasia. Armenia is an extremely interesting region due to its bio-geographic specificities e.g. the high number of different climates in this small mountainous country and the observed high diversity of sand fly species, part of which occurring in very high altitudes. Ecological niche modeling based on registered VL cases and sand fly vectors collected in active VL foci revealed that the risk of further spread of VL is very high due to climate change. Studies of this region should be expanded to enable targeted control measures. Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-14004 SN - 1935-2735 VL - 15 IS - 4 SP - e0009288 PB - Public Library of Science (PLoS) ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sukiasyan, Anna A1 - Keshishyan, Ara A1 - Manukyan, Dezdemonia A1 - Melik-Andreasyan, Gayane A1 - Atshemyan, Liana A1 - Apresyan, Hripsime A1 - Strelkova, Margarita V. A1 - Frohme, Marcus A1 - Cortes, Sofia A1 - Kuhls, Katrin T1 - Re-Emerging Foci of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Armenia – First Molecular Diagnosis of Clinical Samples JF - Parasitology N2 - Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) was firstly reported in Armenia in 1913. Following a considerable increase of the number of cases until the mid 1950s, the diseases disappeared after 1969 and re-emerged in 1999. Scientific literature about VL in Armenia is available only in Russian or Armenian. This paper presents a historical overview about leishmaniasis in Armenia based on this literature as well as an epidemiological update since the re-emergence of the disease. In 1999- 2016, 116 indigenous VL cases were recorded mainly in children in 8 of the 11 districts, however VL is underreported because of lack of trained medical personal and diagnostic facilities. The aim of this work was to apply for the first time molecular diagnosis of VL in Armenia. Out of 25 VL suspected patients, 22 were positive by microscopy and PCR. Genotyping using ITS1-PCR-RFLP and sequencing identified the causative agent of VL in Armenia as Leishmania infantum. The present work is an important step towards the inclusion of molecular techniques in the current diagnosis of VL in Armenia and the establishment of local molecular diagnostic facilities. Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-12018 SN - 1469-8161 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hornemann, Andrea A1 - Sinning, Denise A1 - Cortes, Sofia A1 - Campino, Lenea A1 - Emmer, Peggy A1 - Kuhls, Katrin A1 - Ulm, Gerhard A1 - Frohme, Marcus A1 - Beckhoff, Burkhard T1 - A pilot study on fingerprinting Leishmania species from the Old World using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy JF - Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry N2 - Leishmania species are protozoan parasites and the causative agents of leishmaniasis, a vector borne disease that imposes a large health burden on individuals living mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Different Leishmania species are responsible for the distinct clinical patterns, such as cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis, with the latter being potentially fatal if left untreated. For this reason, it is important to perform correct species identification and differentiation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is an analytical spectroscopic technique increasingly being used as a potential tool for identification of microorganisms for diagnostic purposes. By employing mid-infrared (MIR) spectral data, it is not only possible to assess the chemical structures but also to achieve differentiation supported by multivariate statistic analysis. This work comprises a pilot study on differentiation of Leishmania species of the Old World (L. major, L. tropica, L. infantum, and L. donovani) as well as hybrids of distinct species by using vibrational spectroscopic fingerprints. Films of intact Leishmania parasites and their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were characterized comparatively with respect to their biochemical nature and MIR spectral patterns. The strains’ hyperspectral datasets were multivariately examined by means of variance-based principal components analysis (PCA) and distance-based hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). With the implementation of MIR spectral datasets we show that a phenotypic differentiation of Leishmania at species and intra-species level is feasible. Thus, FTIR spectroscopy can be further exploited for building up spectral databases of Leishmania parasites in view of high-throughput analysis of clinical specimens. KW - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy KW - hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) KW - principal components analysis (PCA) KW - Leishmania KW - DNA KW - multivariate differentiation Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-10080 SN - 1432-1130 ER -