Human mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in Três Braços, Bahia - Brazil: an area of Leishmania braziliensis braziliensis transmission. I. Laboratory diagnosis

Leishmanial parasites were detected in 71.2% of patients with cutaneous disease and 48% of patients with mucosal disease, using principally scanning of imprints mears and histological sections and hamster inoculation. Parasites were more frequent in early cutaneous lesions (p < 0.005) o fless than two month duration. Also they were more common in multiple than single mucosal lesions (p < 0.02) in spite of considerable prior glucan time therapy in the former group. 93% of cutaneous lesions had a positive leishmanin skin test and most of the negatives occurred in patients with lesions of less than one month duration. 97% of patients with single mucosal lesion and 79% with multiple mucosal lesions had a positive skin test. 86% of cutaneous disease and 90% of mucosal disease was associated with a positive indirect immunofluorescent antibody test at a ≥ 1/20 dilution. In both groups multiple lesions were associated with higher titres and titres were significantly higher in patients with mucosal disease compared with cutaneous disease (p < 0.01).