Abstract

Introduction: Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and can be transmitted by sand fly bites. It is an important health problem in many parts of Iran as well in Dasht-e-Azadegan County, Khuzestan Province. Aim: To identify the epidemiologic status of CL with emphasis on trend of its incidence rate in Dasht-e-Azadegan County. Materials and Methods: This investigation was a descriptive and analytical study. A total of 1093 cases were considered for the study who were reffered to the health centre during the duration of four years (2014-2017). Giemsa staining was used for preparing the expanded smear. Epidemiologic characteristics and clinical information of CL cases were collected by the means of a checklist and analysed by means of chi-square and t-tests. The p-values <0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: Most cases were in the age group of below 10 years. Highest disease frequency was observed in students (30.1 ). The majority (57.8) had one lesion. The hand was most commonly involved (38.9). About 73.8 of patients used topical injection along with cryotherapy for treatment. In over half of the cases (92.4), the wound size was less than or equal to one centimetre. There was a significant difference between the residential areas, age groups, genders, occupation, month of reporting, lesion sites on the body and number of ulcers with the prevalence of active lesions. Conclusion: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is considered as an important health problem in this county. So it is necessary to take certain measures for controlling the disease and reducing its incidence.