Open AccessA Retrospective Study of Cutaneous and Visceral Leishmaniasis in Istanbul, Turkey
Author(s) -
Serhat Sirekbasan,
Erdal Polat
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of infection in developing countries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2036-6590
pISSN - 1972-2680
DOI - 10.3855/jidc.12376
Subject(s) - medicine , leishmaniasis , visceral leishmaniasis , giemsa stain , epidemiology , leishmania , incidence (geometry) , cutaneous leishmaniasis , population , disease , veterinary medicine , dermatology , immunology , pathology , environmental health , parasite hosting , physics , world wide web , computer science , optics
Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by flagellated protozoans of the genus Leishmania. This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological status of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) among patients admitted to a university hospital in Istanbul, located in western Turkey.
Methodology: This study included 160 and 77 patients with a pre-diagnosis of VL and CL, respectively, between January 2001 and December 2017. Detailed demographic data, including age, gender, nationality and the number and location of lesions were collected and recorded from the patient registries.
Results: Among 160 bone marrow specimens that suspected as VL, 22 (13.7%) of the specimens that were evaluated with both culture and Giemsa staining detected as positive. Furthermore, 29 (37.7%) of the 77 patients suspected for CL showed evidence of Leishmania.
Conclusions: The increase in human immigration from neighbouring countries (with a high incidence of leishmaniasis) to Turkey might increase the risk of spreading the disease. This situation could result in a higher prevalence in metropolitan cities like Istanbul, where the country’s population is concentrated.