Cutaneous leishmaniasis in a newly established treatment centre in the Lay Gayint district, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease that primarily affects the most vulnerable populations. In Ethiopia, where this study took place, CL is an important health problem, however, the incidence of CL is poorly monitored. Objectives: This study took place in a recently established CL treatment centre, at Nefas Mewcha Hospital, Lay Gayint. This area was considered to be endemic for CL, however, no cases of CL from Lay Gayint had previously been officially reported to the Amhara Regional Health Bureau. Methods: Following a CL awareness campaign, a retrospective data review was performed of patients presenting to this centre between July 2019 and March 2021. Basic demographic and clinical data were collected by a nurse and recorded in the logbook of the CL treatment centre. Results: Two hundred and one patients presented for diagnosis and treatment. The age of the patients ranged from 2 to 75 years and 63.2% were males. Most patients were between 10-and 19-years-old. The majority (79.1%) of the patients presented with localised cutaneous leishmaniasis and 20.9% with mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. 98% of the patients tested positive for Leishmania parasites by microscopy. Conclusions: This work underpinned how CL is a major public health problem in the Lay Gayint district. It also shows that raising awareness about CL in

Demographic characteristics and clinical features of patients presenting with different forms of cutaneous leishmaniasis, in Lay Gayint, Northern Ethiopia

“…As shown previously [15] and in agreement with previous studies in Ethiopia [11, 13, 19], the highest number of CL patients recruited were amongst children and young adults in the 18-29 age range. Due to the nature of recruitment, it is not possible to ascertain that this is representative of the age distribution of CL in this population.…”

“…As previously described there were more adult and child males than females presenting with CL [14, 15, 17, 18]. In our study this did not appear to be due to a difference in risk between males and females associated with different occupations as the majority of adult CL patients were farmers (who are at high risk of being bitten as they spend long periods of time working outside) and the proportion who were farmers among males and females was very similar (72.6% vs 70.9%, p=0.5020, data not shown).…”

“…However, these had never been officially recorded by the Amhara Regional Health Bureau until 2019. We have recently published a study, describing the establishment of a new LTC in Nefas Mewcha in 2019 and reporting the retrospective data of a large number of CL patients presenting to this LTC [15]. This study highlighted that CL is a major health problem in this area.…”

“…Following awareness campaigns [15], health extension workers identified individuals with potential CL lesions in their respective catchment areas and referred them to the LTC, in Nefas Mewcha Hospital. Some individuals with skin lesions also came after they heard about the LTC.…”

“…However, 300km west of Boru Meda, in Lay Gayint where this study took place, no cases had been formally registered by the Amhara Regional Health Bureau until 2019; even though this area had been reported by health professionals to be endemic for CL. Following the establishment of a new Leishmaniasis Treatment Centre (LTC) in Lay Gayint hospital in 2019, and awareness campaigns, we published a preliminary study showing that large numbers of CL patients were identified in this area, with one of two clinical forms: 79.1% with LCL and 20.9% with MCL [15]. Yet, little is known about the demographic characteristics of patients presenting with the different forms of CL in this area.…”