Korean J Parasitol.
2015 Aug;53(4):379-383. 10.3347/kjp.2015.53.4.379.
Visceral Leishmaniasis in Rural Areas of Alborz Province of Iran and Implication to Health Policy
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
- 2SDH Reseach Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
- 3Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mohebali@tums.ac.ir
- 4Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
- 5Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
- 6Center of Against Infectious Diseases, Health Depatment, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
- KMID: 2381754
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2015.53.4.379
Abstract
- Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar mainly affects children in endemic areas. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of VL using direct agglutination test (DAT) in children living in rural districts of Alborz Province located 30 km from Tehran capital city of Iran. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was applied. Blood samples were randomly collected from 1,007 children under 10 years of age in the clusters. A total of 37 (3.7%) of the studied population showed anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies with titers of > or =1:800. There was a significant association between positive sera and various parts of the rural areas of Alborz Province (P<0.002). Two children with anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies titers of > or =1:3,200 indicated kala-azar clinical features and treated with anti-leishmaniasis drugs in pediatric hospital. The findings of this study indicated that Leishmania infection is prevalent in rural areas of Alborz Province. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the awareness and alertness among physicians and public health managers, particularly in high-risk rural areas of the province in Iran.
Keyword
- Full Text Links
-
- Actions
-
Cited
- CITED
-
- Close
- Share
-
- Similar articles
-
- Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Situation and Predicting the Distribution of Phlebotomus papatasi and P. sergenti as Vectors of Leishmaniasis in Ardabil Province, Iran
- Visceral Leishmaniasis without Fever in an 11-Month-Old Infant: a Rare Clinical Feature of Kala-azar
- Epidemiological Aspects of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Larestan and Ghiro-Karzin Counties, Southwest of Iran
- A Report of Health Related Anthropometric Indices in 2–5 Years Old Children of Golestan Province of Iran in 2015
- Viscerotropic growth pattern of Leishmania tropica in BALB/c mice is suggestive of a murine model for human viscerotropic leishmaniasis
