The Parasitemia has Contributed to the Severity of Cases of Visceral Leishmaniasis

• Published in: Indian journal of microbiology Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 511 - 519
• Main Authors: Campelo, Cássio Marinho, Medvedovsky, Andres Christopher, de Holanda, Pablo Eliak Linhares, de Oliveira, Denis Francisco Gonçalves, de Albuquerque-Pinto, Luiz Carlos, Melo, Luciana Magalhães, Câmara, Lilia Maria Carneiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Springer India 01.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age groups; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Blood; Bone marrow; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Immune system; Leukocytes (neutrophilic); Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Molecular biology; Original Research Article; Parasitemia; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Prognosis; Risk analysis; Vector-borne diseases; Virulence; Visceral leishmaniasis; Clinical prognosis; Parasitemia; Visceral leishmaniasis; Severity of illness
• ISSN: 0046-8991; 0973-7715
• DOI: 10.1007/s12088-023-01182-6

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) occurs due to the evolution, virulence, and adaptation of Leishmania , vector biology, host immune system evasion, and reservoir hosts. Parasitemia can be involved as a warning regarding the clinical severity of VL The present study aims to evaluate the relationship between parasitemia and the prognosis of individuals with VL. Blood and bone marrow samples from individuals with VL were analyzed to identify parasite and quantify or measure parasite burden. Individuals were classified in the clinical score model of risk of death by disease proposed by Coura-Vital et al. (PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8(12): e33742014, 2014). 39/74 individuals presented a better prognosis, and 35/74 individuals presented a worse prognosis. HIV + VL co-infection was present in 32 individuals, of which 12 were considered severe. The group aged 51 to 64 was classified as severe, with a decrease in leukocytes ( p -value 0.0295) and neutrophils ( p -value 0.0476). L. infantum DNA was identified in blood and bone marrow, in 69 individuals, and not detected in 5 individuals. The quantification of the parasite showed greater parasitemia in bone marrow ( P  = 0.0003) with an average of 4.70 × 10 4 Leishmanias /mL about blood, with 0.29 × 10 4 Leishmanias /mL. Individuals in the age group aged 51 to 64 co-infected with HIV + VL had higher parasitemia ( p -value 0.0150) with 2.44 × 10 4 Leishmanias /mL in blood and bone marrow than in the group aged 20 to 50. Parasitemia, measured by molecular biology in blood and bone marrow, was related to the worst clinical prognosis of VL in the age group aged 51 to 64.