CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS DUE TO LEISHMANIA (VIANNIA) BRAZILIENSIS VIANNA, 1911 IN FRENCH-GUIANA - CLINICAL, THERAPEUTIC AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC DATA OF THE 9TH DIAGNOSED CASE

The authors report the ninth case of cutaneous Leishmaniasis without m ucosal involvement due to Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis (isoenzyma tic profile related to zymodeme MON-44) diagnosed in a legionnaire who recently arrived in French Guiana. The skin lesion as a single ulcera ted nodule of the dorsum of the left ringfinger was cured after two co urses of four intramuscular injections of pentamidine isoethionate (to tal posology of pentamidine-base: 16.6 mg/kg). The transmission occurr ed during nocturnal trekking in forest and swamps just behind the coas tal belt at Degrad Saramaka (7 km South of Kourou). In French Guiana, the good level of medical care and the early treatment of the majority of the cases of Leishmaniasis may explain the rarity of mucosal lesio ns. Since the clinical aspect of the lesion is not sufficient to preju dge the identity of the causative species, it is necessary to perform cultivation of Leishmania for iso-enzymatic identification. The adapta tion of pentamidine doses and long term follow up of patients infected by L. (V.) braziliensis could be defined more precisely.