Publications

modeling zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis incidence in central tunisia from 2009-2015: forecasting models using climate variables as predictors.	transmission of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) depends on the presence, density and distribution of leishmania major rodent reservoir and the development of these rodents is known to have a significant dependence onenvironmental and climate factors. zcl in tunisia is one of the most common forms of leishmaniasis. the aim of this paper was to build a regression model of zcl cases to identify the relationship between zcl occurrence and possible risk factors, and to develop a predicting mod ...	2017	28841642
ecological niche modeling for the prediction of the geographic distribution of cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia.	cutaneous leishmaniasis is a very complex disease involving multiple factors that limit its emergence and spatial distribution. prediction of cutaneous leishmaniasis epidemics in tunisia remains difficult because most of the epidemiological tools used so far are descriptive in nature and mainly focus on a time dimension. the purpose of this work is to predict the potential geographic distribution of phlebotomus papatasi and zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania major in tunisia u ...	2016	26856914
first detection of leishmania major dna in sergentomyia (sintonius) clydei (sinton, 1928, psychodidae: phlebotominae), from an outbreak area of cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia.	in recent years there has been growing interest in sergentomyia species. their role in the spread of mammalian leishmaniasis appears repeatedly in the literature and the possibility of its implication in leishmania transmission to humans remains controversial. sergentomyia (sintonius) clydei is one of several cryptic species sharing therefore common morphologic criteria with others species of the subgenera sintonius. little is known about this specie in tunisia. we sampled and identified differe ...	2016	26538476
spatio-temporal genetic structuring of leishmania major in tunisia by microsatellite analysis.	in tunisia, cases of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania major are increasing and spreading from the south-west to new areas in the center. to improve the current knowledge on l. major evolution and population dynamics, we performed multi-locus microsatellite typing of human isolates from tunisian governorates where the disease is endemic (gafsa, kairouan and sidi bouzid governorates) and collected during two periods: 1991-1992 and 2008-2012. analysis (f-statistics and bayesian ...	2015	26302440
genotype profile of leishmania major strains isolated from tunisian rodent reservoir hosts revealed by multilocus microsatellite typing.	zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) caused by leishmania (l.) major parasites represents a major health problem with a large spectrum of clinical manifestations. psammomys (p.) obesus and meriones (m.) shawi represent the most important host reservoirs of these parasites in tunisia. we already reported that infection prevalence is different between these two rodent species. we aimed in this work to evaluate the importance of genetic diversity in l. major parasites isolated from different prov ...	2014	25203305
leishmania major infection among psammomys obesus and meriones shawi: reservoirs of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in sidi bouzid(central tunisia).	a study was undertaken between november 2008 and march 2010, in the focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis of central tunisia, to evaluate the role of psammomys obesus (n=472) and meriones shawi (n=167) as reservoir hosts for leishmania major infection. prevalence of l. major infection was 7% versus 5% for culture (p=not signifiant [ns]), 19% versus 16% for direct examination of smears (p=ns), and 20% versus 33% (p=ns) for indirect fluorescent antibody test among p. obesus and m. shawi, respectively. ...	2011	21919726
First report of natural infection of least weasel (Mustela nivalis Linnaeus, 1776) with Leishmania major in Tunisia.	Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis, caused by Leishmania major (L. major), is endemic in Tunisia. Several rodents have been identified as reservoir hosts of parasites. This study reports, for the first time, the natural infection with L. major zymodeme MON-25 in a specimen of least weasel: Mustela nivalis Linnaeus, 1776 (M. nivalis) collected in Sidi Bouzid. This finding justifies further research on larger samples of this animal to verify its role as a potential reservoir host for cutaneous leish ...	2011	21867414
[cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania infantum mon-24 in tunisia: extension of the focus to the center of the country].	three clinico-epidemiological forms of cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) were described in tunisia: the zoonotic cl (zcl) epidemic which occurred in the centre of the country caused by leishmania major mon-25, the chronic cl (ccl) in the south-east of the country caused by leishmania killicki mon-8 and the sporadic cl in the north (scl) caused by leishmania infantum mon-24. the latter form, described in 1991, prevails in northern tunisia with approximately thirty cases per year. its vector, unknown f ...	2008	18432004
leishmaniasis in central and southern tunisia: current geographical distribution of zymodemes.	the authors report the identification of leishmania strains isolated from the centre and the south of tunisia. 266 strains were isolated between 1998 and 2006 from human (n=221 strains) and dogs (n=45 strains) hosts. the isoenzymatic identification exhibits the presence of in total five zymodemes belonging to three leishmanio complexes: leishmania infantum, l. major and l. killicki. all strains isolated from human and canine visceral leishmaniasis belonged to l. infantum. zymodeme mon-1 was the ...	2007	17933302
phenology of phlebotomus papatasi (diptera: psychodidae) relative to the seasonal prevalence of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in central tunisia.	the population density of phlebotomus papatasi scopoli (diptera: psychodidae), vector of leishmania major yakimoff & schokhor (kinetoplastida: trypanosomatidae), the etiologic agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl), was assessed may-november 2005 in central tunisia by using sticky traps. the densities of p. papatasi were found to peak in early spring and again in the autumn. the lowest densities were observed in august. prevalence of zcl in the governorate of sidi bouzid peaks in decemb ...	2007	17427714
[an entomological survey in the focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (leishmania major) of sidi bouzid (tunisia) in 1985].	an entomological survey carried out in 1985 in the zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis foci of the center of tunisia (sidi bouzid governorate), showed the presence of 7 phlebotomine species. phlebotomus (p) papatasi, the most abundant species (84.6%), was essentially trapped in rodent burrows. its anthropophily was demonstrated by man-baiting catch. the highest population density was observed during july and august, for p. papatasi. its role in the transmission of z. c. l. in tunisia is discussed. ...	1987	3621397