The seven-year longitudinal study on relapsing fever borreliosis in Western Iran

Objective: To determine the epidemiologic and clinical features of tick borne relapsing fever in\udKurdistan Province during 2000-2006.\udMethods: In this cross-sectional clinic-based study, target group was all population of\udKurdistan Province. In order to screen patients based on national protocol we diagnosed cases\udbased on clinical symptoms together with the presence of Borrelia in blood smears that are\udstained with Wright-Geimsa. Positive cases after identifying were treated. Also we completed a\udquestionnaire for all patients. The data were analysed by SPSS for getting descriptive indicators\ud(relative and absolute frequency tables) .\udResults: The numbers of tick borne relapsing fever cases recorded during 2000 to 2006 were as\udfollows: 14, 8, 17, 36, 22, 10 and 31, respectively. A total of 138 patients (50.8% males, 49.2% females)\udwere studied. The most prevalent clinical manifestations were fever (100%), chills (92.7%) and\udheadache (76.1%). Laboratory tests performed on patients showed the presence of Borrelia persica\udin blood smears. Most of the cases (42%) were in the age group 10-19 years old and 86.2% of them\udwere under 30 years old. Nearly 92% of the patients were resident of the villages. About 37.7%\udand 25.4% of cases were students and housewives, respectively. Approximately 66% of cases were\udobserved in summer. In 70% of cases, the buildings that they lived in were very old. Cattle or\udsheep were found in the homes of 89.1% of patients.\udConclusions: Due to the relatively high infection rate and economic consequences of this disease\udon the person and the community, we should take measures to prevent its prevalence by carrying\udout educational programs