Correspondence

Visceral Leishmaniasis

N Engl J Med 1997; 336:965-966March 27, 1997

Article

To the Editor:

The Image in Clinical Medicine of leishmanial amastigotes (Oct. 3 issue)1 was striking, and the clinical history was unusual, but I was left with several questions: What was the leishmanial species? Was this woman an immigrant from an area with a different level of endemicity? Was the patient tested for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus?

Thomas A. Moore, M.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD 20892-0425

1 References

1. 1

   Garcia Bueno MJ, Herraez J. Visceral leishmaniasis. N Engl J Med 1996;335:1034-1034
   Full Text | Web of Science | Medline

Author/Editor Response

The authors reply:

To the Editor: The leishmania shown was not cultured, but the patient's indirect immunofluorescence test was reactive. The test was performed by the National Center of Microbiology, Virology, and Immunology of Majadahonda, which uses promastigotes of Leishmania infantum, the only leishmanial species found in Spain.1 The patient was not from an area with a different level of endemicity. Her test for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus was negative.

M.J. García Bueno, M.D.
J. Herraez García, M.D.
Hospital Campo Arañuelo, 10300 Navalmoral, Spain

1 References

1. 1

   Alvar Ezquerra J. Leishmaniasis. In: Farreras, Rozman, eds. Medicina interna. Barcelona, Spain: Mosby-Doyma, 1996:2444-7.
   

Citing Articles (1)

Citing Articles

1. 1

   Veronique Hofman, Pierre Marty, Christophe Perrin, Marie-Christine Saint-Paul, Yves Le Fichoux, Jean-Francois Michiels, Nicolas Glaichenhaus, Francine Pratlong, Paul Hofman. (2000) The histological spectrum of visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum MON-1 in acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Human Pathology 31:1, 75-84
   CrossRef