Epidemiological aspects of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran

Background: The prevalence of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) has been reported as 1.8 to 37.9 in different provinces of Iran. However, enough knowledge about epidemiological aspects of CL disease is needed to launch a proper program to plan control and preventive strategies about the disease. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the epidemiological aspect of CL in Iran during the first 6 months of 2014. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all cases of CL reported to centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) by state health departments from March 2014 to September 2014 were included. Descriptive statistics including frequency tables, measures of central value, and measures of dispersion to describe the study variables were used to analyze data. Area maps were created using ArcView GIS v. 3.3. Results: Most of the CL cases were observed in eastern, central, and southern provinces. Two thousand thirty-one cases (55.13) were male and 2,306 (62.6) were living in urban areas. The mean age of the patients was 27 ± 18 years old. More than 31 of them were under 14 years of age. Also, 3570 individuals (96.91) were new cases. more wounds were seen so that 62.75 of the wounds were on the hands, 24.8 in the head and neck, and 2.7 in the body. Conclusions: According to the epidemiological features of CL in Iran, Providing a uniform mechanism for control and prevention of this disease is not possible. Thus, initial actions such as staff training, screening in endemic areas, and treatment of patients with urban leishmaniasis as a reservoir for the disease can be useful, according to the geographical position and carrier. © 2015, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center