Case report: First case of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis in Suriname

Abstract

The main causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Suriname is Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis. This case report presents a patient infected with Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, a species never reported before in Suriname. This finding has clinical implications, because L. braziliensis has a distinct clinical phenotype characterized by mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, a more extensive and destructive form of CL that requires different treatment. Clinicians should be aware that chronic cutaneous ulcers in patients from the Guyana region could be caused by L. braziliensis. Copyright © 2012 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.