Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the epidemiology of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ahvaz County, capital of Khuzestan Province, and southwest of Iran over a 5-year period. Since Khuzestan Province is endemic for this disease. Methods: This is a retrospective study of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases from 2010 to 2014 referred to health care centers of Ahvaz County. Results: A total of 242 cases were studied. Out of which 59.1% were males and 40.9% were females. About 79.8% of patients resided in urban areas and 20.2% resided in rural areas. Frequencies during the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 were 8.7%, 33.5%, 44.1%, 9.9% and 35.5%, respectively. The maximum number of cutaneous leishmaniasis patients was observed in winter. About 47.1% of lesions were on hands, 18.2% on feet, 11.6% on face, 21.5% on two organs and 1.7% on more than two organs. Conclusions: In this study 59.1% of patients were males and this may due to their job, more contact with Leishmania vectors and wearing fewer cloths. Most of the lesions were placed in hands, feet and face. Therefore the necessity of choosing the appropriate clothing, using mosquito nets seem to be important.

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