Understanding Leishmania parasite populations in Brazil. (360G-Wellcome-208965_Z_17_Z)

Leishmaniasis is a globally distributed disease of poverty that infects 700,000 people annually. It is caused by Leishmania parasites, spread by sand flies. The most severe form, visceral leishmaniasis (VL), is generally fatal if untreated. There is no effective vaccine against the disease and chemotherapy is the prime means for reducing the disease burden. Leishmania infantum was introduced to Brazil from the old world, and is becoming more common with urbanization, with 6,000 cases of VL in Brazil each year. There are indications of resistance to miltefosine in Brazil, which is an effective drug in other continents. Key goals of this project are to establish an understanding of the dispersal and evolution of Leishmania infantum in Brazil, which will be critical aspects of disease control. To achieve this, we will sequence the genomes of 200 strains of this parasite that have collected from two locations in Brazil that are 1600 km apart, and includes strains archived 20 years ago. By examining the movement of alleles between sites and over time, we can measure migration rates, recombination rates and screen for adaptive evolution. We will also analyse clinical data to examine whether parasite genes influence disease severity.