This cross-sectional study was designed to isolate of Leishmania spp from cutaneous leishmaniasis patients and characterized
them by RAPD-PCR technique. Eighty- seven Leishmania isolates from 112 samples were collected from cutaneous
leishmaniasis (CL) patients who referred to Mashhad Health Centers from August 2002 to May 2004. Desirable samples (87
isolates) were characterized by RAPD-PCR method using four selected oligoprimers. Electrophoresis patterns from each
isolate were compared with reference strains of L. major, L. tropica and L. infantum. The results showed that 94.2% and
5.8% of isolates were similar to L.tropica and L.major reference strain, respectively. Four isolates that were determined by
RAPD-PCR as L.major, could produce ulcer at the base tail of BALB/c mice, 4 - 12 weeks after inoculation but none of L.
tropica isolates produced any lesions at the site of injection in the animals. The results indicate that L. tropica species are
dominant in the studied areas of Mashhad city and RAPD-PCR technique is a suitable tool for Leishmania characterization
in epidemiological studies.
