Quantitative distribution of <i>L. infantum</i> in malnourished and well-nourished hamsters.

<p>The parasite burden was quantified on the (A) liver, (B) spleen, (C) bone marrow, and (D) lymph node. Data represent means ± SD of 12 animals per group of a representative experiment of two independent assays. Splenic parasite loads were significantly increased in malnourished animals. The presence of parasites in blood was detected only in hamsters fed the 3% protein diet (2/12, data not shown).