A pilot study was undertaken to preliminary illustrate the leishmanin skin
test (LST) positivity to distinct antigen preparations (derived from
promastigote of either Leishmania major or L. amazonensis, or pooled L.
mexicana, L. amazonensis and L. guyanensis) in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL)
patients and healthy subjects living in two endemic foci in Nigeria. The
study was designed to provide insights into whether cross-species
leishmanin, such as that prepared from New World Leishmania could be useful
to detect cases of Old World leishmanial infection and to compare the
results with LST using L. major-derived leishmanin. The overall LST
positivity in individuals from Keana tested with the cross-species
leishmanin was 28.7% (27/94), while the positivity rate in the subjects
from Kanana tested with the same leishmanin was 54.5% (6/11). Lower
positivity values were obtained when L. major (12.5%; 11/88) or L.
amazonensis (15.8%; 9/57) was tested as antigen in grossly comparable
populations. Moreover, the pooled leishmanin identified most of the
subjects (13/14; 92.9%) with active or healed CL, and the maximum reaction
sizes were found among positive subjects in this group. No healthy controls
(10 total) showed specific DTH response. The LST was useful for assessing
the prevalence of subclinical infection and for measuring CL transmission
over time. We report for the first time the occurrence of CL in Kanana
village of Langtang South local government area of Plateau State.