Publications

natural infection of north african gundi (ctenodactylus gundi) by leishmania tropica in the focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis, southeast tunisia.	north african gundis (ctenodactylus gundi) were trapped in the leishmania (l.) tropica focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis, situated in southeast tunisia and evaluated for leishmania infection by real-time kinetoplast dna polymerase chain reaction (pcr). species identification was performed by internal transcribed spacer one (its1)-pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) and high-resolution melting (hrm) analysis of the 7sl rna gene. real-time pcr on blood was positive in 6 of 13 (46.2% ...	0	22665601
[isolation of leishmania major yakimoff and shokhor, 1914 (kinetoplastida-trypanosomatidae) in meriones shawi-shawi (duvernoy, 1842) (rodentia-gerbillidae) in tunisia].	leishmania major, agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis, has been isolated from the rodent meriones shawi shawi in central tunisia. as a result, the north saharan arid mediterranean area can be considered as epidemiologically homogeneous.	1986	3729234
isolation of leishmania major from phlebotomus papatasi in tunisia.		1987	3449994
[clinico-epidemiologic forms of cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia].	from an analysis of 1,546 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis collected throughout tunisia three clinico-epidemiological forms could be determined. these forms are due to three different species of leishmania and are observed in different geographical areas. sporadic cutaneous leishmaniasis (scl), 63 cases. this form is found in northern tunisia, in known foci of kala-azar. 96% of the patients have a single, small, ulcerated and crusty lesion on the face surrounded by an important zone of infiltrat ...	1988	3242407
the squash blot technique and the detection of leishmania major in phlebotomus papatasi in tunisia.	this study describes the preliminary applications of the squash blot technique in tunisia, to detect leishmania major in naturally infected phlebotomus papatasi. 309 p. papatasi among 364 female sandflies squashed on to nylon gene screen dna transfer membranes, were identified using the 3.2 kb ribosomal p. papatasi specific dna probe described by ready et al. a second hybridization using the taq1 dna probe described by smith et al. (1989) allowed the detection and identification of the parasite ...	1993	7802506
use of recombinant dna probes for species identification of old world leishmania isolates.	recombinant dna probes from a genomic leishmania major library were screened for their potential to distinguish among old world leishmania taxa by southern blot analysis. a probe, pdk10, was selected and tested on a panel of 58 old world leishmania strains that had already been typed isoenzymatically; these strains belong to the different species described so far and had been isolated from various hosts and vectors in 14 countries. in the present study, 45 zymodemes were represented. using the p ...	1994	8203714
a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in tunisia treating cutaneous leishmaniasis with paromomycin ointment.	a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial was carried out in 1992 in central tunisia to assess the tolerability and efficacy of paromomycin ointment against zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania major. one hundred fifteen patients, 2--60 years of age, with a single lesion of parasitologically confirmed cutaneous leishmaniasis, were included in the trial. the ointment was applied twice a day from day 1 through day 14. clinical and parasitologic evaluations of lesions we ...	1995	7677218
[spontaneous course of lesions of leishmania major cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia].	the evolution of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) caused by l. major, was usually described with crosssectional studies of patients under anti-leishmanial drugs. this work aimed to describe the clinical and parasitological status by a follow-up study of patients with zcl and treated with a placebo.	1995	8526421
immunologic determinants of disease evolution in localized cutaneous leishmaniasis due to leishmania major.	localized cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania major is polymorphic in its clinical presentation and evolution. clinical and parasitologic features and disease evolution of 112 tunisian patients was evaluated. the expression of interleukin (il)-4, il-6, il-10, il-12 (p40), interferon (ifn)-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor (tnf)-alpha mrna was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in 73 biopsies. cytokine mrna expression varied individually over a wide range; tnf-alp ...	1998	9607850
leishmanin skin test lymphoproliferative responses and cytokine production after symptomatic or asymptomatic leishmania major infection in tunisia.	resistance to leishmania parasite infection requires the development of a cellular immune response that activates macrophage leishmanicidal activity. in this study we have investigated the lymphoproliferative responses and in vitro cytokine production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc) from individuals living in an endemic area for l. major infection in tunisia. the results were compared with the dth reaction of the leishmanin skin test (lst). sixty-seven individuals were included in t ...	1999	10209516
[efficacy of intra-lesional glucantime in the treatment of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in basic health care conditions].	a randomized placebo-controlled trial treating cutaneous lesions due to leishmania major with intralesionnel glucantime, was conducted in el guettar between december 1994 and june 1995, in order to assess efficacy of this therapy under field conditions. it included 109 patients: 52 were administrated glucantime and 57 received local treatment (eosin 5% and alcohol 95%). prognostic factors were similar in both groups. results did not reveal a significant difference between glucantime and eosin re ...	1999	14666752
leishmania major induces deactivation of extracellular signal regulated kinases 2 in human u937 macrophage like cells.	the protozoan parasite of the genus leishmania has developed strategies to evade host defence mechanisms. leishmania (l.) parasites interfere with several signalling pathways to inhibit phagocyte functions. in the present study, we analysed possible alteration of mapk activation during infection of human u937 cell line with leishmania major parasites. analysis of whole cell lysates by anti-phosphotyrosine immunoblotting, showed that the pattern of tyrosine phosphorylated proteins were different ...	2000	14658227
[concordance of leishmaniasis cutaneous tests in tunisia].	a cross sectional study aimed to evaluate the effect of antigenic preparation (leishmania infantum versus leishmania major) and dose of leishmania antigens (5 x 10(6) versus 2.5 x 10(6) parasites in the same volume) on the reproducibility of delayed type hypersensitivity leishmania skin test. results showed that among 34 individuals involved from visceral leishmaniasis endemic area. 26 (76.5%) had a positif leishmania infantum leishmania (l-l. infantum) test and 27 (79.4%) to leishmania major le ...	2001	14658234
[importance of amastigote forms morphology to differentiate leishmania infantum and leishmania major species].	the microscopic study of the dermal smears of 62 cases of cutaneous leishmaniose, 27 infected by leishmania (l.) infantum and 35 by l. major, showed that the amastigotes of l. infantum are meaningfully smaller (p < 0.001). this criteria is a simple pary alternative to distinguish these 2 species which have completely different epidemiology, recovery delay and prophylactic dispositions.	2003	15941068
leishmania major infection in the fat sand rat psammomys obesus in tunisia: interaction of host and parasite populations.	the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis, leishmania major, was studied in a tunisian population of the fat sand rat, psammomys obesus. seasonal changes in the abundances of parasite and host were monitored in a longitudinal field survey lasting 21 months. overall, 566 p. obesus, collected during 10 trapping sessions between may 1995 and january 1997, were examined. analysis of prevalence, using logistic regression, revealed that extrinsic factors, such as season and climatic conditions, a ...	2003	14511558
usefulness of pcr in the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia.	we assessed the efficiency of a pcr method in establishing the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) in tunisian patients. four hundred and thirty specimens collected passively from patients with cutaneous ulcers suggestive of leishmaniasis attending health centres for diagnosis were included in the study. dermal scrapings were analysed both by parasitological (examination of giemsa-stained smears and in vitro cultivation) methods and by a genus-specific pcr detecting a fragment of the 18s r ...	2005	16095641
the predictive validity of naturally acquired delayed-type hypersensitivity to leishmanin in resistance to leishmania major-associated cutaneous leishmaniasis.	to accurately quantify the different outcomes of leishmania major infection and to evaluate the fraction of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) cases prevented by naturally acquired leishmanin skin test (lst) reactivity, a cohort of 470 children was followed up in 2 endemic foci, remada and dhiba, in southern tunisia. during may 1997, before the zcl emergence season, lst was performed, and results were reassessed 12 months later. active case detection during the zcl emergence season showed a ...	2005	16267771
evidence for the existence of two distinct species: psammomys obesus and psammomys vexillaris within the sand rats (rodentia, gerbillinae), reservoirs of cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia.	a thorough taxonomic knowledge about putative animal reservoirs of transmissible diseases is an absolute prerequisite to any ecological investigation and epidemiological survey of zoonoses. indeed, accurate identification of these reservoirs is essential for predicting species-specific population outbreaks and therefore to develop accurate ecological control strategies. the systematic status of sand rats (genus psammomys) remains unclear despite the pivotal role of these rodents in the epidemiol ...	2006	16243007
[clinical polymorphism of cutaneous leishmaniasis in centre and south of tunisia].	the cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) is an affection which is quite well known in tunisia. the zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania major by far the more frequent, is endemo-epidemic in the centre and south of the country. it is characterized by clinical polymorphism. the aim of our study is to precise the different clinical aspects of the cl in our region through a prospective study of 102 cases. the average age was 37.8 years old (from 4 to 78 years old) with a slight female predo ...	2007	17402693
zooprophylaxis: impact of breeding rabbits around houses on reducing the indoor abundance of phlebotomus papatasi.	zooprophylaxis is the use of animals to deviate vectors from humans. the indoor abundance of phlebotomus papatasi in houses with rabbit holes in the peridomestic areas are significantly lower than the indoor abundance in houses without rabbit holes in their peridomestic areas. introduction of rabbits in artificial underground holes in peridomestic areas reduced significantly the indoor abundance of p. papatasi. cleaning rabbit holes in peridomestic area by removing all rabbit feces induced a sig ...	2008	18627242
[sporotrichoid cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia: a clinical and histological study].	the sporotrichoid variety of cutaneous leishmaniasis is defined by the presence of dermal and hypodermal nodules along the lymphatic stream, and remote from the primary inoculation lesions. this clinical form is usually considered rare. the aim of our study was to investigate the epidemiological, clinical, histological and evolutionary particularities of sporotrichoid cutaneous leishmaniasis in the south of tunisia.	2008	18342077
[mucosal leishmaniasis by contiguity with a skin lesion: another case report from tunisia].	three clinical forms of cutaneous leishmaniasis can be found in tunisia, i.e. the sporadic form due to leishmania infantum in the north, the zoonotic epidemic form due to leishmania major in the center and southwest, and the chronic cutaneous form due to leishmania tropica in the south. unlike cutaneous forms, mucosal involvement is uncommon. the purpose of this report is to describe another case of mucosal leishmaniasis due to contiguity with a skin lesion in a 54-years-old woman. the patient r ...	2008	19639835
wr279,396, a third generation aminoglycoside ointment for the treatment of leishmania major cutaneous leishmaniasis: a phase 2, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study.	cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) is a disfiguring disease that confronts clinicians with a quandary: leave patients untreated or engage in a complex or toxic treatment. topical treatment of cl offers a practical and safe option. accordingly, the treatment of cl with wr279,396, a formulation of paromomycin and gentamicin in a hydrophilic base, was investigated in a phase 2 clinical study in tunisia and france.	2009	19415122
spatial correlation between phlebotomus papatasi scopoli (diptera: psychodidae) and incidence of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia.	the geographical distribution of phlebotomus papatasi scopoli, vector of leishmania major yakimoff and schokhor (kinetoplastida: trypanosomatidae), the etiologic agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl), was assessed during september 2006 through a transect from the north to the south of tunisia using cdc light traps. p. papatasi was found to be abundant in the arid and saharan bioclimatic zones and rare in the humid, subhumid, and semiarid bioclimatic zones. similarly, the highest incide ...	2009	19351095
screening of antileishmanial activity from marine sponge extracts collected off the tunisian coast.	the present study reports on the in vitro antileishmanial activity of two ircinidae (dictyoceratida, demospongiae, porifera) ircinia spinosula and sarcotragus sp. sampled from the east coast of tunisia. the ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, and aqueous extracts were tested against leishmania major promastigotes. the anti-proliferative activity was checked using different extracts concentration during 72 h. we found that the ic50 (sub-inhibitory concentration) values ranged from 1.39 to 264.67 mug/ ...	2010	20358229
development of a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay for leishmania major/leishmania killicki/leishmania infantum discrimination from clinical samples, application in a tunisian focus.	topoisomerase ii gene of leishmania genus was used to develop a molecular tool for detection and species differentiation of leishmania from clinical samples. identification was achieved by a polymerase chain reaction followed by digestion with 2 restriction endonucleases bstu1 and taq1. despite the relatively low sensitivity, it is able to differentiate between 3 complexes responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis.	2010	20846587
evaluation of antileishmanial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of essential oils extracted from plants issued from the leishmaniasis-endemic region of sned (tunisia).	in this study, we tested 10 essential oils (eos) extracted from 10 plants issued from sned region (tunisia) to evaluate both their leishmanicidal effects against leishmania major and l. infantum, and their cytotoxicity against murine macrophage cell line raw 264.7 (atcc, tib-71). the antioxidant activity was also monitored by the ddph method, while the chemical composition of active eo was assessed by gc-ms analysis. the results showed that the eos obtained from thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis (ri ...	2011	21740286
characterization of the antibody response to the saliva of phlebotomus papatasi in people living in endemic areas of cutaneous leishmaniasis.	abstract. important data obtained in mice raise the possibility that immunization against the saliva of sand flies could protect from leishmaniasis. sand fly saliva stimulates the production of specific antibodies in individuals living in endemic areas of parasite transmission. to characterize the humoral immune response against the saliva of phlebotomus papatasi in humans, we carried out a prospective study on 200 children living in areas of leishmania major transmission. we showed that 83% of ...	2011	21540371
first detection of leishmania killicki (kinetoplastida, trypanosomatidae) in ctenodactylus gundi (rodentia, ctenodactylidae), a possible reservoir of human cutaneous leishmaniasis in tunisia.	abstract:	2011	21834996
twenty-four new human cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis due to leishmania killicki in metlaoui, southwestern tunisia: probable role of phlebotomus sergenti in the transmission.	metlaoui district in the south-west of tunisia is a classical focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) due to leishmania major. since 2005, a single case of cl due to l. killicki has been reported. we report twenty four human cases due to this parasite, affecting men and women from 2 to 70 years old. leishmania killicki have been typed using molecular techniques: polymerase chain reaction (pcr) followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) and gene sequencing. four strains from patien ...	2012	22306359
[leishmania major yakimoff et schokhor, 1914 (kinetoplastida: trypanosomatidae) in meriones shawi duvernoy, 1842 (rodentia: gerbillidae): persistence of the infection in meriones and its infectivity for the sand fly vector (phlebotomus) papatasi scopoli, 1786 (diptera: psychodidae)].	the ability of the sand fly phlebotomus papatasi to transmit leishmania major, the etiologic agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis, to meriones shawi, the natural reservoir host of this parasite, was studied under laboratory conditions. sand flies became infected with l. major after feeding on a lesion of needle-inoculated m. shawi. moreover, p. papatasi, previously infected with l. major, transmitted the parasite to m. shawi by bite during a second bloodmeal. two months after the blood-meal ...	2012	23055379
updating the salivary gland transcriptome of phlebotomus papatasi (tunisian strain): the search for sand fly-secreted immunogenic proteins for humans.	sand fly saliva plays an important role in both blood feeding and outcome of leishmania infection. a cellular immune response against a phlebotomus papatasi salivary protein was shown to protect rodents against leishmania major infection. in humans, p. papatasi salivary proteins induce a systemic cellular immune response as well as a specific antisaliva humoral immune response, making these salivary proteins attractive targets as markers of exposure for this leishmania vector. surprisingly, the ...	2012	23139741
salivary antigen sp32 is the immunodominant target of the antibody response to phlebotomus papatasi bites in humans.	zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) due to leishmania major is highly prevalent in tunisia and is transmitted by a hematophagous vector phlebotomus papatasi (p. papatasi). while probing for a blood meal, the sand fly injects saliva into the host's skin, which contains a variety of compounds that are highly immunogenic. we recently showed that the presence of anti-saliva antibodies was associated with an enhanced risk for leishmaniasis and identified the immunodominant salivary protein of phle ...	2012	23209854
temporal dynamics and impact of climate factors on the incidence of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in central tunisia.	old world zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) is a vector-borne human disease caused by leishmania major, a unicellular eukaryotic parasite transmitted by pool blood-feeding sand flies mainly to wild rodents, such as psammomys obesus. the human beings who share the rodent and sand fly habitats can be subverted as both sand fly blood resource. zcl is endemic in the middle east, central asia, subsaharan and north africa. like other vector-borne diseases, the incidence of zcl displayed by humans ...	2012	22563513
identification of tunisian leishmania spp. by pcr amplification of cysteine proteinase b (cpb) genes and phylogenetic analysis.	discrimination of the old world leishmania parasites is important for diagnosis and epidemiological studies of leishmaniasis. we have developed pcr assays that allow the discrimination between leishmania major, leishmania tropica and leishmania infantum tunisian species. the identification was performed by a simple pcr targeting cysteine protease b (cpb) gene copies. these pcr can be a routine molecular biology tools for discrimination of leishmania spp. from different geographical origins and d ...	2013	23228525
heterogeneity of molecular resistance patterns in antimony-resistant field isolates of leishmania species from the western mediterranean area.	antimonials remain the first-line treatment for the various manifestations of leishmaniasis in most areas where the disease is endemic, and increasing cases of therapeutic failure associated with parasite resistance have been reported. in this study, we assessed the molecular status of 47 clinical isolates of leishmania causing visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis from algeria, tunisia, and southern france. in total, we examined 14 genes that have been shown to exhibit significant variations in ...	2014	24913173
prevalence and determinants of leishmania major infection in emerging and old foci in tunisia.	zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) due to leishmania major (l. major) is still a serious public health problem in tunisia. this study aimed to compare the prevalence and risk factors associated with l. major infection in old and new foci using leishmanin skin test (lst) in central tunisia.	2014	25142220
rapd-pcr reveals genetic polymorphism among leishmania major strains from tunisian patients.	zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania (l.) major is endemoepidemic in the center and south of tunisia. the clinical course of the disease varies widely among different patients and geographic regions. although genetic diversity in l. major parasites has been suggested as a potential factor influencing their pathogenic variability, little information on genetic polymorphism among l. major strains is available in the literature. this work aimed to estimate the genetic variability w ...	2015	26170197
unexpected co-detection of promastigote and amastigote leishmania forms in a human cutaneous lesion: implications for leishmaniasis physiopathology and treatment.	cutaneous leishmaniasis pathogenicity depends on the survival and replication of the parasitic protozoa in the form of non-motile amastigotes inside macrophages. here, we report the unprecedented observation of both leishmania major amastigote and promastigote forms (the latter is normally detected only in the mid gut of the insect vector or in vitro culture) in a cutaneous lesion of a 6-year-old boy. this finding suggests that modifications of the skin lesion environment, such as maceration and ...	2015	25312011
validation of recombinant salivary protein ppsp32 as a suitable marker of human exposure to phlebotomus papatasi, the vector of leishmania major in tunisia.	during a blood meal, female sand flies, vectors of leishmania parasites, inject saliva into the host skin. sand fly saliva is composed of a large variety of components that exert different pharmacological activities facilitating the acquisition of blood by the insect. importantly, proteins present in saliva are able to elicit the production of specific anti-saliva antibodies, which can be used as markers for exposure to vector bites. serological tests using total sand fly salivary gland extracts ...	2015	26368935
first report of naturally infected sergentomyia minuta with leishmania major in tunisia.	many sand fly species are implicated in the transmission cycle of leishmania parasites around the world. incriminating new sand flies species, as vectors of leishmania is crucial to understanding the parasite-vector transmission cycle in different areas in tunisia and surrounding countries.	2015	26692017