Zymodeme and serodeme characterization of Leishmania isolates obtained from Costa Rican patients

Thirty-four Leishmania isolates obtained from Costa Rican patients, from different geographical areas, were characterized by isoenzyme electrophoresis and indirect immunofluorescense with mono-clonal antibodies. Thirty-two were characterized as L. panamensis strains and two were L. braziliensis variants. We confirm the evident predominance of L. panamensis as the main etiological agent of leishmaniasis in Costa Rica and the existence of L. braziliensis in the country. Key words: leishmaniasis- Costa Rica- Leishmania panamensis- characterization- etiological agent Human leishmaniasis is widespread through-out Central America and constitutes an important public health problem. Annual incidence is esti-mated to be about 20,000 cases (Carreira et al. 1995), of which 4,000 to 5,000 correspond to Costa Rica (Zeledón 1992). The disease exists under dif-ferent clinical manifestations and in a variety of ecological and epidemiological patterns (Zeledón 1985) making it a complex problem that is diffi