AID grant no. HRN-5600-G-00-3016-00 to San Francisco State University for `Assessment of PCR predictive test for relapse in American leishmaniasis"

The study will be conducted in two endemic areas of the Peruvian Amazonian jungle: the city of Cusco; and Yurimaguas, Alto Amazonas Province, Loreto Department. At each location, the study will be linked with chemotherapy trials of leishmaniasis patients with active mucocutaneous lesions. The study will have two specific objectives: (1) to establish if the absence of Leishmania DNA in human biopsies, as determined by the PCR, after treatment, is a reliable criterion of cure (or if presence can be correlated with the likelihood of subsequent disease relapse); and (2) to search for genomic markers that can distinguish Leishmania parasites that are predominant in patients who relapse.