Epidemiol Health.  2016;38:e2016033. 10.4178/epih.e2016033.

Plague in Iran: its history and current status

• Hashemi Shahraki A
• Carniel E
• Mostafavi

• KMID: 2380718
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2016033

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Plague remains a public health concern worldwide, particularly in old foci. Multiple epidemics of this disease have been recorded throughout the history of Iran. Despite the long-standing history of human plague in Iran, it remains difficult to obtain an accurate overview of the history and current status of plague in Iran.
METHODS
In this review, available data and reports on cases and outbreaks of human plague in the past and present in Iran and in neighboring countries were collected, and information was compiled regarding when, where, and how many cases occurred.
RESULTS
This paper considers the history of plague in Persia (the predecessor of today's Iran) and has a brief review of plague in countries in the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region, including a range of countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
CONCLUSIONS
Since Iran has experienced outbreaks of plague for several centuries, neighboring countries have reported the disease in recent years, the disease can be silent for decades, and the circulation of Yersinia pestis has been reported among rodents and dogs in western Iran, more attention should be paid to disease monitoring in areas with previously reported human cases and in high-risk regions with previous epizootic and enzootic activity.

Keyword

Middle East; Iran; History of medicine; Yersinia pestis

MeSH Terms

Africa, Northern
Animals
Disease Outbreaks
Dogs
History of Medicine
Humans
Iran*
Mediterranean Region
Middle East
Persia
Plague*
Public Health
Rodentia
World Health Organization
Yersinia pestis