ABSTRACT
Background and Aims: There are still many unknowns about prevention and control of Anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis [ACL]. Bam district is one of the old foci of CL. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of knowledge of prevention and improving housing, conditions in control of ACL based on a natural experience of earth quack, in Bam city
Methods: This comparative - analytical study was carried out in two time periods of before and after the 2003 bam Earthquake. Sampling was performed through random cluster method from the CL high risk areas within the city of Bam. The selected houses were actively visited in a similar manner and data about houses, hygienic conditions and the history of CL infection in the last three years were recorded. Data were analyzed through SPSS software and using t, Chi-Square and regression tests
Results: Both knowledge of CL prevention and housing, conditions were significantly better [p<0.0001] after the 2003 earthquake than before the earthquake. While the knowledge of CL prevention alone had no direct effect on the incidence rate of disease during both two time periods, improvement of housing, conditions was effective in decreasing the incidence rate significantly [p<0.0001]. The household heads of houses with better living conditions indicated a high knowledge of prevention [r= 0.7, p<0.001]
Conclusion: As it was seen, the earthquake has caused basic changes in hygienic conditions of houses and promotion of knowledge of CL prevention. Therefore, consequenthy improvement of housing, conditions directly and improvement of prevention knowledge indirectly decreased the incidence rate of CL. Therefore, for control and elimination of ACL, in addition to the early treatment, improvement of housing conditions is highly important
ABSTRACT
Visceral leishmaniosis [VL] is a sporadic disease in many provinces of Iran, while it is considered endemic in other parts. This study was designed to assess the seroprevalence of canine VL in the Kerman city. Samples were randomly selected from the referred household dogs to the veterinary hospital of Shahid Bahonar university, Kerman, Iran and stray dogs, euthanized by Kerman municipality. Blood samples were taken after complete clinical examination. All collected sera were tested by a commercial indirect ELISA kit for the presence of anti Leishmania infantum antibodies. In addition, complete blood count tests were performed in all dogs to detect hematological alterations. Collected data were analyzed through SPSS software and using chi[2] and fishers' exact tests. The overall seroprevalence was 7.03%, which was calculated 11.1% in stray dogs. Seroprevalence of disease was significantly higher in dogs over 5 years old in comparison to younger dogs [P<0.01]. Seroprevalence had no significant relationship with sex and hematological alterations. Although the seroprevalence of canine VL in Kerman city was less than that in endemic parts, stray dogs could be a potential risk factor for public health in this area. Further complementary ecological studies on vectors and reservoirs in different areas of Kerman province seem to be necessary