Visceral Leishmaniasis in Rural Areas of Alborz Province of Iran and Implication to Health Policy Publisher Pubmed



Heidari A^{1, 2} ; Mohebali M^{3, 4} ; Kabir K^{2, 5} ; Barati H⁶ ; Soultani Y¹ ; Keshavarz H^{3, 4} ; Akhoundi B⁴ ; Hajjaran H⁴ ; Reisi H⁴ Show Affiliations
Source: Korean Journal of Parasitology Published:2015

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 ≥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 ≥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. © 2015, Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine.