Overview on Epidemiology of Leishmaniasis in Iraq

Leishmaniasis continues to be a significant public health issue and socioeconomic obstacle in Iraq. The various species of leishmania are transmitted by the bite of sandflies belonging to genus phlebtomus, where high temperatures might prolong the breeding season for this fly species. The current review proved that the infection in the southern regions of Iraq is more than in the northern regions. The incidence of leishmaniasis has increased and expanded to most Iraqi governorates, the reason may be due to the population growth, urbanization, pronounced poverty and lack of public health awareness. Furthermore, leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease with a rodent, cats and dog’s reservoir that poses a problem to human health. Leishmaniasis has spread in Iraq from the 1950s until now, additionally, wars forced migration of Iraqi people from their province to other places. All these have encouraged an increase in the infected rate with leishmaniasis in areas previously uninfected.