An outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis among a displaced population in North Sudan: Review of cases

BACKGROUND: Human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic disease in many parts of Sudan. OBJECTIVE: To document an outbreak of CL among internally displaced people (IDP) in north Sudan. METHODS: A household survey was conducted in the rural region of New Manasir, at El Damer Locality in north Sudan during the year 2013. All villagers were screened for recent and old skin lesions in addition to other urgent medical problems. Written consent was obtained from each participant before data collection. A pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of participants. The diagnosis of CL was based on clinical findings and/or identification of the amastigotes on skin smears. RESULTS: Out of the 1,236 individuals enrolled in this survey, 688 were diagnosed as cases of CL, giving an infection rate of 55.7%. Children constituted 244 (35.5%) of infected cases. Majority of skin lesions were found in the Extremities 524 (76.2%). The average duration of skin lesions was 3.6 months (±1.6). CONCLUSION: This outbreak among IDPs affected a large proportion of inhabitants of the newly established villages in north Sudan. Preventive measures might have help control such outbreaks.