Contribution of PCR in the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitosis that poses a public health problem both in the world and in Tunisia. Our study is a retrospective study having collected 84 patients suspected of LC sent to the Parasitology laboratory of the HMPIT during the year 2020 for biological confirmation. The diagnosis was made in 24 patients (28% positive rate). Direct examination was positive in 21 cases (87%). PCR was able to catch up with the diagnosis in 13% of cases. In addition, ITS-RFLP identified L. major in 92% of cases and L. infantumin 8% of cases. The average age of the patients was 29.6 years. The sex ratio was 23. 67% of our patients were from south-central Tunisia and 62% worked in these regions. The average duration of evolution of the lesions was 3.6 months. The lesions were ulcerated in 80% of the cases, multiple in 71% of the cases and localized to the limbs in 84%. Our study confirmed that the application of molecular techniques has allowed to improve the diagnosis of LC and to identify the species directly on the sample and thus the monitoring of the distribution of leishmanial species in Tunisia