We discovered a hybrid Leishmania parasite in Costa Rica that is genetically similar to hybrids from Panama. Genome analyses demonstrated the hybrid is triploid and identified L. braziliensis and L. guyanensis-related strains as parents. Our findings highlight the existence of poorly sampled Leishmania (Viannia) variants infectious to humans.
Keywords: Belgium; Costa Rica; Leishmania; Panama; cutaneous parasites; genetics; genomics; interspecific hybridization; leishmaniasis.