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. 2013 Oct;89(4):742-9.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.12-0640. Epub 2013 Aug 5.

Cross-sectional study to assess risk factors for leishmaniasis in an endemic region in Sri Lanka

Shalindra Ranasinghe  1 , Rajitha Wickremasinghe, Asoka Munasinghe, Sanjeeva Hulangamuwa, Sundaramoorthy Sivanantharajah, Kamal Seneviratne, Samantha Bandara, Indira Athauda, Chaturi Navaratne, Ositha Silva, Hasini Wackwella, Greg Matlashewski, Renu Wickremasinghe
Affiliations

Cross-sectional study to assess risk factors for leishmaniasis in an endemic region in Sri Lanka

Shalindra Ranasinghe et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Sri Lanka reports significantly more cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases than visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases, both of which are caused by Leishmania donovani MON-37. A cross-sectional study conducted in an area with a high prevalence of CL prevalent included 954 participants of an estimated population of 61,674 to estimate the number of CL cases, ascertain whether there is a pool of asymptomatic VL cases, and identify risk factors for transmission. A total of 31 cases of CL were identified, of whom 21 were previously diagnosed and 10 were new cases. Using rK39 rapid diagnostic test to detect antibodies against Leishmania spp., we found that only one person was seropositive but did not have clinical symptoms of CL or VL, which indicated low transmission of VL in this area. χ(2) test, independent sample t-test, and multivariate analysis of sociodemographic and spatial distribution of environmental risk factors showed that living near paddy fields is associated with increased risk for transmission of CL (P ≤ 0.01).

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Land use patterns of the study area in Sri Lanka from the Thalawa Medical Officer of Health (MOH) showing distribution of persons screened. Cutaneous leishmaniasis cases are indicated as pink triangles, rice fields as green areas, and persons with no cutaneous leishmaniasis or visceral leishmaniasis as black dots. The black star indicates the residence of the rK-39-seropositive person.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) case incidence data published by the Epidemiology Unit Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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