Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Mowaqqar area, Amman Governorate, Jordan

At least 193 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis occurred in eight villages of Mowaqqar area, Jordan, between December 1982 and April 1983. Peak transmission of the disease is thought to have taken place in late summer 1982. Approximately 67% of the cases were below 15 years of age and the lesions seen were of the dry type. The sand jird, Psammomys obesus, and the sandfly, Phlebotomus papatasi, the potential animal reservoir and vector of the disease respectively, were found in the affected area. Furthermore, Leishmania amastigotes were seen in smears from ears of seven out of 11 jirds collected from the area suggesting the zoonotic nature of the disease there.