Abstract
BackgroundLeishmaniasis is considered among the main endemic diseases in Morocco. However, further knowledge about epidemiological aspects of this disease is needed in several provinces to plan control and preventive strategies to tackle the disease. The present study aims to determine the epidemiological aspect of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in Taza Province from 2007–2014 and to identify the circulating species in this province.ResultsThe temporal study from 2007 to 2014 showed that the number of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases increased since 2010. During the period of study, most leishmaniasis cases were detected in both urban and rural areas with 34% of cases detected in two urban localities, Bab Zitouna and Bab tété with 297 and 106 cases, respectively. The molecular study of cutaneous leishmaniasis showed the presence of non-sporadic Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica in this province. Regarding visceral leishmaniasis, Leishmania infantum is the species that has been identified.ConclusionsThe epidemio-molecular study of leishmaniasis in Taza Province showed the coexistence of two species of Leishmania in the same foci. They also indicated that CL due to Leishmania infantum is more prevalent than reported in the literature. These results will be helpful for the implementation of control strategies by targeting dogs that constitute a reservoir of Leishmania infantum.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1910-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Leishmaniasis is considered among the main endemic diseases in Morocco
This study aims to determine the epidemiological data of leishmaniasis in Taza Province and to identify the Leishmania parasite responsible for the recent cases of Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) leishmaniasis
Patients with clinical lesions of CL were examined for Leishmania by smear microscopy, at the Provincial Laboratory and slides were sent to the National Reference Laboratory of Leishmaniasis at the National Institute of Hygiene of Morocco (NIH) in Rabat for confirmation
Summary
Leishmaniasis is considered among the main endemic diseases in Morocco. further knowledge about epidemiological aspects of this disease is needed in several provinces to plan control and preventive strategies to tackle the disease. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic protozoan disease caused by species of the genus Leishmania, and one of the neglected tropical diseases that has been among the major causes of morbidity and mortality. The visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum Mon-1, has been endemic in Morocco for Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by three clinically important Leishmania species (Leishmania major, Leishmania tropica and Leishmania infantum) [4]. The zoonotic CL caused by Leishmania major zymodeme MON-25 has been known since 1914 [5] and it manifests as endemic and epidemic in the pre-Saharan areas [6]. Thereafter, this disease is presented as epidemics alternated by lull periods. Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. infantum was reported for the first time in Morocco in 1996 at the Central Rif in Taounate [7], in 2007 in other parts of northern Morocco,
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