A study of three isolates ofLeishmania donovanifrom patients with kala azar in Iraq

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Abstract
Three isolates of Leishmania donovani were successfully isolated from 80 parasitologically proven cases of active kala azar. Differences in the severity of the clinical picture were noted in the three cases from which the isolates were obtained. The course of infection under laboratory conditions was followed in three identical groups of hamsters and white mice which were inoculated with a standard dose of each isolate. The accumulation of parasites in the spleen and liver, peak parasitization and median time to death were observed. High infection rates occurred in the two groups of hamsters inoculated with L. donovani isolated from patients with severe clinical symptoms; a low infection rate was obtained in a third group of hamsters inoculated with an isolate from a patient with mild symptoms. Statistical differences between these groups were markedly significant. Preliminary studies of the same isolates in white mice confirmed the results in hamsters. These results suggest the possible existence in Iraq of more than one strain of L. donovani. Animal inoculation is stressed as the most suitable method for the differentiation of strains of Leishmania.