Objectives:
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) has been known to be endemic in south-east Anatolia (mainly the city of Şanlıurfa) and Çukurova region (mainly the city of Adana). So far, no epidemiological data has been reported concerning the prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the province of Hatay, one of the most important endemic areas in Turkey. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of CL and to evaluate demographic, clinical and epidemiological features in Hatay province from January 1998 to January 2005.
Methods:
The demographic data of 1079 patients that are referred in this study have been collected from the Health Directorate of Hatay province.
Results:
Among 1079 patients with 1661 lesions 498 were males (46.16%) and 581 (53.84 %) were females. The majority of the patients (70.2%) were under 20 years with the highest percentage (23.6%) occurring in 11-15 years’ age group. The yearly highest incidence of CL was 1.62 per 10 000 in 1999. The highest incidence of CL cases in Iskenderun district was 4.61 per 10 000 in 1999. The distribution of CL cases with respect to districts was as follows: Iskenderun 705 (65.34%), Antakya 98 (9.08%), Yayladağı 86 (7.97%), Kırıkhan 85 (7.88%), Dörtyol 31 (2.87%), Altınözü 30 (2.80%), Hassa 18 (1.67%), Samandağ 13 (1.2%), Erzin 10 (0.93%), Reyhanlı 2 (0.19%) and Belen 1 (0.09%).
Conclusion:
In this study, we report that CL has been an important health problem in Hatay province especially in Iskenderun district.
Keywords: Cutaneous leishmaniasis, epidemiology, Hatay