**1. Introduction**

Swabs and Comparison with Other Diagnostic Techniques. Veterinary Parasitology

[59] Di Muccio T, Veronesi F, Antognoni MT, Onofri A, Fioretti DP, Gramiccia M. Diag‐ nostic Value of Conjunctival Swab Associated with Nested PCR for Different Catego‐ ries of Dogs Naturally Exposes to *Leishmania infantum* Infection. Journal of Clinical

[60] Ferreira SA, Almeida GG, Silva SO, Vogas GP, Fujiwara RT, Andrade ASR, Melo MN. Nasal, oral and ear swabs for canine visceral leishmaniasis diagnosis: new prac‐ tical approaches for detection of *Leishmania infantum* DNA. Plos Neglected Tropical

2012;184(1) 10-17.

Microbiology 2012;50(8) 2651-2659.

216 Leishmaniasis - Trends in Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Treatment

Disease 2013;7(4) e2150.

Three forms of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are known to occur in Tunisia: the sporadic CL (SCL), the chronic CL (CCL) and the zoonotic CL (ZCL) caused by *Leishmania infantum*, *L. killicki* and *L. major* respectively [1, 2]. The ZCL is by far the most frequent and the most widely distributed form. It is endemo-epidemic in extended areas of central and southern Tunisia where it constitutes a major public health problem. Rodents of Genus *Psammomys* and *Meriones* are the well-established reservoirs of the disease [1, 2]. One of the characteristics of ZCL is its seasonal occurrence as most cases are diagnosed between October and January [1]. All ages are affected with a median of 20-28 years. Clinically, ZCL usually presents as single or most often multiple ulcerated lesions that involve the face and limbs, and scar in a few months (4 to 8) [3]. However, some patients with ZCL develop sporotrichoid nodules (SN) in the vicinity of the primary lesions [4, 5, 6]. The sporotrichoid condition is characterized by the development of nodules that progress, starting from the primary lesion, along the dermal and subcutaneous lymphatics.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of SN in patients from Central Tunisia and to assess the epidemiological and clinical features and the outcome of the disease in the affected patients.

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