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Background: Leishmaniasis is a protozoan disease caused by more than twenty Leishmania species which are transmitted by infected phlebotomine sandflies to humans. Leishmaniasis include multiple clinical syndromes such as visceral , mucosal and cutaneous forms. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common and endemic form in southeastern Turkey. Purpose: CL can be caused by L. major, L. tropica, L. mexicana and L. amazonensis. Microscopy remains to be the standard diagnostic method because of its cheapness, ease of application and high specificity . Microscopic examination of smears, parasite culture and serological tests are performed for diagnosis. Recently several molecular methods, especially those based on the Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been developed for identification of Leishmania species. Method: In this study, 150 smear samples taken from patients with clinical findings of CL were studied by PCR- RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) Results: Leishmania tropica was detected in 128 smear sample. L. tropica was found to be the most common species causing CL in southeastern Turkey. Conclusion: Identification of Leishmania species is important because different types may require different treatments. Determining the common species in the region may lead to develop treatment protocols.

Background: Cystic Echinococcosis is a significant health problem seen in our country and region, as well. Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the anti-Echinococcus IgG seropositivity rates of the patients retrospectively who admitted to Dicle University, Department of Medical Microbiology Laboratory between January 2005 and June 2012 with the diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis. Method: The serum samples of 1612 patients 901 of whom were females and 711 males, sent to variety of clinics and polyclinics with the suspicion of cystic echinococcosis were studied. Indirect fluorescent antibody method was used in determining Echinococcus IgG antibodies (IFA). Results: The anti-Echinococcus IgG seropositivity was found to be 41.0% (662) in 1612 cases. 23.8% of seropositive patients were children and 76.1% of them were adults. Furthermore, seropositivity was detected in 43.3% of 901 females and 38.1% 711 of the males. Conclusion: The serological test can be implemented to support the radiological diagnosis of KE, to determine asymptomatic cyst carriers, the prevalence of disease in the community and, if there is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control program. On the other hand, echinococcosis continues to be a common public health problem in our province.

To determine the presence of Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar and E. moshkovskii in stool samples, tRNA-based short tandem repeat gene polymorphism in E. histolytica isolates, and the relationship between amoeba load and clinical outcome in studies. Materials and methods: This study involved 840 stools samples of individuals having diarrhea/dysentery and individuals who were asymptomatic by using microscopy, culture, E. histolytica antigen ELISA, and conventional/real-time PCR methods. Results: Of the 840 samples analyzed, 4.3% (36/840), 2.6% (22/840), and 7.4% (62/840) of the stool samples were determined to be positive by E. histolytica antigen ELISA, and real-time PCR for E. histolytica and E. dispar, respectively. Thirty-five of the 62 (56.4%) samples positive for E. dispar and 20 of the 22 (91.0%) samples positive for E. histolytica were from dysenteric individuals as revealed by real-time PCR. Although there was no statistically significant difference in patients with diarrhea, a correlation might be seen between amoeba load and clinical outcome in those infected with E. histolytica, since amoeba load was usually determined 103 copies/mL or higher in patients with diarrhea. In this study, 3 different genotypes were defined in 16 isolates by using 6 loci (A-L, N-K2, D-A, R-R, S-D, and STGA-Q). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that real-time PCR is a useful, reliable, and sensitive method for the determination of E. histolytica in stools and for differentiation from E. dispar. It is suggested that parasite load might affect clinical outcome.