Epidemiological Trend of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in an Endemic Focus Disease During 2009-2016, Central Iran

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the common parasitic diseases in tropical and subtropical areas and is one of the important health problems in Iran. In order to investigate epidemiological aspects of CL disease in city of Aran va Bidgol in Isfahan province, this study was carried out in this central region of Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in over a period of eight years between 2009-2016. Direct smears were prepared from all patients and were examined by a light microscopy. The basic demographic and clinical data of patients with CL disease referred to health care centers were collected and then were analyzed by using the SPSS software.

Overall, 926 patients, including 542 (58.5%) males and 384 (41.5%) females with confirmed CL were identified. The CL disease was more common among males (58.5%). The highest and lowest incidence of the CL disease were estimated as 238.5 and 44.2 per 100000 people in 2009 and 2016, respectively. The highest incidence of the CL disease (26.3%) was observed in the age group of 0-9 years. Most of the cases (54%) were seen in autumn. More lesions (44.7%) were seen on the hands. Of the patients, 65.4% were treated by systemic glucantime regimen.

According to the results of this investigation, although there is a trend of decrease in the incidence of the CL disease in this 8-year period, incidence of the CL disease is still high. This is an alarming condition and careful planning for control and prevention of the disease is highly recommended.