Molecular diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis in an endemic area of Acre State in the Amazonian Region of Brazil

Abstract INTRODUCTION This study proposes to identify the Leishmania species found in the skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) patients from Brasiléia municipality (Acre). METHODS Skin biopsy imprints or biopsy fragments were assayed via kDNA-PCR/RFLP and FRET-real-time PCR. RESULTS Of individuals with suspected CL, 18 were positive for Leishmania kDNA. Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis (61.1%) and Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis (5.5%) were identified in the positive samples. CONCLUSIONS These results are congruent with the previous reports in Acre and Bolivia, revealing L. braziliensis as the most prevalent species. L. guyanensis identification also corroborates with the epidemiology of the disease in the Amazon Basin.