Evidence for a new species of Leishmania associated with a focal disease outbreak in Ghana

Abstract

A previously unknown Leishmania spp., inferred by DNA sequence analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1), was detected in tissue biopsies from patients living in the Eastern Ghanaian community of Taviefe. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the ITS1 amplicon supports the possibility of an uncharacterized Leishmania spp.