Ten Years Investigation on Situation Analysis of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in an Endemic Area, Southwestern Iran

Epidemiologically, Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is presently endemic in 98 countries worldwide, including Iran.  Both forms of CL, Anthroponotic CL  and Zoonotic CL  are seen in many  parts of the country. Because of the importance of CL in Khorramshahr county (30°26′23″N 48°09′59″E ) and slightly increasing of disease in recent years, this study was designed to assess the status of CL from 2007 to 2016.  In this analytical-descriptive study, all of the patients suspected to CL were identified by passive case detection. With the help of the health experts, uncovered parts of the body of all cases were examined regarding active lesion (s). Patients with active lesions were examined using parasitological method and according to the physician diagnosis based on the shape of the lesion and  the patient's history. Some information including  the number of lesions, location of lesions in different parts of the body, gender ,  age of the patients , month, season, residential area ( city or village) were recorded in questionnaires. Statistical analysis of the epidemiological data was performed in the SPSS -21 software, to determine any significant difference between  above mentioned  factors and disease incidence. From 2007 to 2016, at least 745 new cases of CL were considered in Khorramshahr  County. The highest frequency of CL was seen in the age groups of 21-30 years old (25.9%). In the past ten  years, most of the patients were males (51.8%). There was not any significant difference between males and females according to their infection with CL. In the last  ten years, most of the patients were citizens of urban areas. There were significant difference between frequency of CL in urban and rural residents. Review on occupation of patients with CL indicates that approximately 36.1% of them were housewives. There was significant difference between seasons and number of patients. The highest frequency of CL was seen in winter (53.9%) and fall (19.5%). Lesions of patients in more than 97.7% of the cases were between 1-3 numbers. Distribution of lesions in the body showed that hands were the most affected location (35.2%). It is necessary to take strong steps to control the CL and prevent its extension. Furthermore, It is critical to provide rapid treatment of cases. The control of CL needs to close cooperation between the universities of medical sciences, the government and health services centers.

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