Autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis in the Russian Federation and the role of polymerase chain reaction as an alternative diagnostic method

The aim of the work is to summarize the available literature data on cases of visceral leishmaniasis in children registered in the Russian Federation, as well as to describe our own clinical observation of autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis in a 9-year-old child, in the diagnosis of which the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was used.

Materials and methods: a review of domestic and foreign literature over the past 20 years, including Internet resources, was carried out. We observed a 9-year-old child hospitalized in the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital. Leishmania DNA was determined in blood serum by PCR using the Amplisens – Leishmania-Fl reagent kit.

Results. It was established that the infection of the patient observed by us occurred on the territory of the Russian Federation in the Crimea. The diagnosis of leishmaniasis was confirmed by morphological examination of the bone marrow and the detection of pathogen DNA in the blood serum by PCR.

Conclusion. On the territory of the Russian Federation there are foci of autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis in the Crimea and the North Caucasus. Polymerase chain reaction is an alternative to bone marrow aspirate microscopy for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.

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