Abstract
BackgroundCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), being among the neglected tropical diseases, catches little attention despite its considerable influence. This study aimed at estimating the prevalence and associated factors of CL in Boru Meda Hospital, Dessie town, north-central Ethiopia.MethodsMedical records of patients who attended the Dermatology Department of the Hospital in 2012–May 2018 were assessed. In addition, dermatological patients who were visiting the hospital during the data collection period (November 2017–May 2018) were interviewed to capture socio-demographic, environmental variables, and related factors. The source population was individuals who visited the hospital for skin problems in the stated years and CL positives were the targets. The association between CL and its determinants was tested by logistic regression.ResultsCL prevalence was 1.5% showing increasing trend with the year of examination. Localized, diffused, and mucosal CL was evident across the years. Dessie town had the highest prevalence, 291 (32.8%) patients out of 888 cases. The number of examined (29,701) and positives (543, 1.8%) for males was comparable with females, 28,459 and 345 (1.2%), respectively, increasing with age but without significant difference. Dessie town residence (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 12.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2–18.6, p = 0.01), no bed net (AOR 9.9, 95% CI 2.7–16.7, p < 0.01), nearby irrigation (AOR 8.1, 95% CI 1.9–12.4, p < 0.01), and travel to CL endemic areas (AOR 13.9, 95% CI 4.4–14.3, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with CL.ConclusionCL is a growing health problem in Dessie and its surroundings. Known risk factors prevail. Comprehensive parasitological, entomological, and social studies are warranted to better manage the disease.
Highlights
Leishmaniasis is a collective name of diseases caused by different species of the intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania [1] and transmitted by the bite of female phlebotomine sandflies of the genera Phlebotomus or Lutzomyia [2]
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases by age and gender In the past six and half year (January 2012–May 2018), totally 58,163 people were examined in the Dermatology Department of Boru Meda Hospital (BMH)
The results show the widespread endemicity of CL in Dessie town and its surroundings calling for future field-based epidemiological surveys
Summary
Leishmaniasis is a collective name of diseases caused by different species of the intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania [1] and transmitted by the bite of female phlebotomine sandflies of the genera Phlebotomus or Lutzomyia [2]. CL is by far the most common form of leishmaniasis mainly caused by L. major, L. tropica, and L. aethiopica in Europe (the Mediterranean basin), Asia (the Middle East and Central Asia) and Africa, and L. mexicana in the Americas. In Asia, CL is predominantly found in Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; in Africa, in Algeria, and in South America Brazil, Colombia and Peru take the biggest share. CL is currently endemic in 88 countries globally (20 countries in South and Central America and 68 in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent). An estimated 700,000 to 1,000,000 new cases and some 26,000 to 65, 000 deaths occur annually, but only 19–37% is reported to health authorities there are an estimated 12 million cases worldwide [7]. This study aimed at estimating the prevalence and associated factors of CL in Boru Meda Hospital, Dessie town, north-central Ethiopia
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