[Detection of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases in Hatay and surrounding areas]

Leishmaniasis; is a disease that is transmitted by infected sand flies when they suck the blood of mammals. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), which is given such names as the Antep boil in Turkey, is mostly seen on the skin and sometimes on the mucosa and heals with a recessed scar. Between June 2003 and October 2005, 55 patients with skin lesions presented at the parasitology laboratory of the Mustafa Kemal University Medical Faculty for the detection of CL. Microscopic examination showed Leishmania amastigotes in 40 patients who were given a diagnosis of CL. Thirteen patients were men (32.5%) and 27, women (67.5%). The most frequent age range was 0-20 (57.0%). The lesions were mostly found on the face in 27 (67.5%) patients and on the hands and feet in 13 (32.5%). Fourteen patients (35.0%) had 2 or more lesions. The duration of the lesions was from a minimum of 1 month to a maximum of 3 years. The patients were mostly from Iskenderun/Kirikhan, Iskenderun/Arsus Serinyol, Altinözü, Samandağ Antakya, Harbiye and they were farmers. Cutaneous leishmaniasis was more often detected during the May-June period. Some patients came to our laboratory from regions that had not reported CL before. Therefore, we think that CL has been increasing in Hatay and its surroundings.