Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6137375 | Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene | 2009 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
Seventy-six cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) were reported from the Hebron district of the West Bank, Palestine between 1993 and 2007. All cases were in children less than 9 years old (median age 2 years). The average number of cases was 5.06/year and the average annual incidence was 3.02/100Â 000 children. Ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) PCR-RFLP was performed using DNA extracted from two cultures and 36 archived Giemsa-stained slides from VL patients. Leishmania infantum was revealed as the causative agent of VL in the focus. Isoenzyme analysis identified two isolates as zymodeme MON-1. A serological survey of 455 children screened for serum anti-Leishmania antibodies revealed 8.4% seropositivity. Seropositivity was highest for children in households of previous VL cases [odds ratio (OR) 7.5; 95% CI 3.17-17.61; PÂ <Â 0.001] and among people who had domestic dogs and/or other animals (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.19-4.68; PÂ =Â 0.017). No difference was seen between males and females (PÂ =Â 0.073). A preliminary survey of sand fly distribution showed the abundance of two putative vector species: Phlebotomus syriacus (45%) and Ph. tobbi (10%). The focus of VL in Hebron district was shown to follow the epidemiological pattern of paediatric disease characteristic of the Mediterranean region.
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Authors
Ahmad Amro, Kifaya Azmi, Gabriele Schönian, Abedelmajeed Nasereddin, Mohamed Barakat Alsharabati, Samer Sawalha, Omar Hamarsheh, Suhair Ereqat, Ziad Abdeen,