Visceral Leishmaniasis in Ardabil Province, Northwest of Iran: A Retrospective Epidemiological, Clinical and Paraclinical Study (1985-2018)



Molaei S^{1, 2} ; Zandian H³ ; Molaie A⁴ ; Zahirian T³ ; Mohebali M^{5, 6} ; Zareie Z⁵ ; Nakhostin B² ; Emdadi D² ; Akhoundi B^{5, 6} ; Modaressadrani SN² ; Abdollahzadeh H² ; Rakhshidan Z² ; Ezati E² ; Heidari Z⁷
Source: Iranian Journal of Public Health Published:2022

Abstract

Background: We aimed to investigate the epidemiological, clinical and paraclinical aspects of Visceral Leish-maniasis in Ardabil Province, from 1986 to 2018. Methods: The disease has been diagnosed by a serological validate test as Direct Agglutination Test, parasito-logical methods, and clinical manifestations. The data were collected and then analyzed. Results: Overall, 2824 out of 69007cases (4.1%) had anti-Leishmania antibodies at titers≥1:3200. The majority of VL cases belonged to Meshkin-Shahr, and then Germi County. The percentages of both male and female cases were 52.8 % and 46.6%, respectively. Approximately 78.1% of cases were less than 5 yr old. The high incidence rate of the disease was recorded in the years 1987 and 2003. 48.6%, 3.2%, and 1.9% of the patients had low titer (1:3200), high titer (1:102400), and suspicious titer (1:1600), respectively. Out of 1200 bone mar-row aspiration, 23% were positive, and 77% were negative. Fever, paleness, and hepatosplenomegaly were the main symptoms in patients. Moreover, abdominal swelling, edema, weight loss, lymphadenopathy and jaundice were some other symptoms in the patients. Among biochemistry factors, the levels of aspartate aminotransfer-ase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, triglyceride and cholesterol have been increased. The death rate was estimated to be 2.8%, mainly related to the Ardabil and Germi cases. Conclusion: Kala-Azar is still one of the most important infectious diseases in Ardabil Province, and is re-sponsible for considerable death rate in infants. More attention should be done to parasite control and early diagnosis. © 2022 Molaei et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.