Some Epidemiological Aspects of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Northern Khorasan Province, Iran

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a widespread tropical infection which has a high incidence rate in Iran. The aim of this study was to determine some epidemiological aspects of disease in Northern Khorasan Province, Iran. METHODS: From 2005 to 2008, data concerning 1453 patients with CL were collected and analyzed from the different districts of health service registry of the province. The statistical analyses were carried out with SPSS version 12.0 for windows. RESULTS: The highest number of patients was in 2005 with 555 cases in this year. 19.3% of patients aged younger than 5-year and 57.5% were older than 15 year. 37.8% had only one lesion, and 40.5% had at least three lesions. The highest incidence of disease was observed in Jajarm district in 2005 (381.1 per 100,000), and the lowest incidence rate was in Farouj district in the same year. The disease was observed in all months of the year with the highest incidence rate from September to November. CONCLUSION: Although Jajrm is a known foci in Iran, based on our knowledge there is no report in the literature on assessing the prevalence of CL in this region in recent years. We also found that the disease is endemic in Northern Khorasan Province.