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An Epidemiological Study of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis With Emphasis on Incidence Rate in Kashan, Isfahan Province
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N Ahmadi *   1, M Ghafarzadeh , A Jalali galosang , E Hjolami parizad |
| 1- , Khan-gholim@yahoo.com, mozafarb@sbmu.ac.ir |
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Abstract: (15337 Views) |
| Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease in many tropical and sub-tropical countries, caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and can be transm-itted by sand fly bites. This study was carr-ied out to identify the epidemiologic status of cutaneous leishmaniasis with emphasis on trend of its incidence rate in Kashan.
Materials & Methods: This investigation was a descriptive and retrospective study based on existing data. Sample consists of all persons who were referred to the central laboratory in Kashan during the last five years (20 March 2005 to 19 March 2010) for parasitological diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis, and their diseases were con-firmed. Demographic characteristics and clinical information of cutaneous leishma-niasis (positive cases) were recorded and analyzed.
Findings: The results revealed that the nu-mber of infected cases in Kashan was 1599 people during the study. Of these patients 1315 (82.2%) lived in urban and 284 pati-ents (17.8%) in rural areas. Incidence rate in rural dwellers was significantly higher than urban residents (19.10 vs. 9.46 cases per 10,000 population). During the study, patients showed a significant increaseing and positive cases of cutaneous leishma-niasis had been increased from 192 cases to 405 cases in the last year of the study. The annual incidence rate of the disease has increased significantly. Among the patients with active cutaneous leishmaniasis, 717 (45%) were females and 882 (55%) male. 92% of cases were Iranian and the rem-aining of non-Iranian. The highest incid-ence rate was observed in the age group below 10 years, with 14.87 per 10000 inha-bitants, and the least rate in the age group 40-49 years with 5.93 per 10000 inha-bitants. The prevalence of active CL pati-ents in the age group less than 20 years (43.84%) was significantly higher than the corresponding value in the same age group in the general population (34.02%) in Ka-shan. Most commonly affected organs, hands (45.8 % alone, 7.1 percent, with feet and 2.9% with face), followed by feet. Single lesion in the majority of patients, was followed by two or more ulcers on two or more parts of the body.
Discussion & Conclusion: The findings showed an increasing trend of the prevale-nce and incidence rate of cutaneous leish-maniasis over the period study in the regi-on. Also, cutaneous Leishmaniasis remains a public health threat in the future. There-fore, it is recommended that the regional authorities paying more attention to control the spreading of the disease. |
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| Keywords: parasite, leishmania, cutaneous leishmaniasis, epidemiology, Kashan |
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Full-Text [PDF 236 kb]
(2907 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Environmental health
Received: 2013/06/15 | Accepted: 2013/08/6 | Published: 2013/09/1
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