A clinico-epidemiological study on cutaneous leishmaniasis in Erbil, Iraq (2015-2017)

Abstract

Background: The objective of the study was to determine the incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Makhmur District (Erbil Province). Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study was performed in the outpatient clinic of Makhmur General Health Center. All the patients who presented at the dermatology clinic during the period from January 2015 to January 2017 were included in the study. The provisional diagnosis was dependent mainly on clinical examination in addition to Giemsa stain. Results: A total of 1264 cutaneous leishmaniasis cases were diagnosed during the study period with males representing 54.6% of the cases. The study participants ranged from 10 months to 61 years. Age group <15 years were 53.5%. Clinically, 49.3% of patients had one lesion, 51.5% of patients had wet type. Most lesions were found on both limbs (48.8%). The highest number of cases was recorded during February (29.1%) and November (21.8%), while the lowest rate of cases was recorded in July (0.2%). According to stain results, 70.6% of the cases were positive to giemsa stain. Conclusions: CL is endemic in Makhmur district. Males were infected in higher percent than females and this may be due to cultural, occupational and social factors.