Human and Canine Leishmaniasis: Diagnosis and Risk Factors

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a zoonosis disease caused by a parasite of the genus Leishmania transmitted by the sandflies. It is ranked among the 20 major neglected tropical diseases. Algeria is classified as one of the most affected countries by cutaneous leishmaniasis worldwide. This study was conducted in the Medea region, north-central Algeria, to investigate human and canine leishmaniasis. Diagnosis of human leishmaniasis was conducted on patients with symptoms suggestive of leishmaniasis. The presence of wet or dry lesions, number, location, duration, and travel history were recorded for each patient. Confirmation of the disease was performed by histopathological test. Canine leishmaniasis was diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination in 175 male Sloughi dogs. Symptoms included skin ulcerations, lymphadenopathy, dermatitis with alopecia, weight loss, and ocular or nasal lesions. A total of 1070 cases of human leishmaniasis were investigated, including 1067 (99.72%) cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and 3 (0.28%) cases of visceral leishmaniasis. Of the 1067 human cutaneous leishmaniasis cases, 59.51% and 40.49% were male and female, respectively. For visceral leishmaniasis, all cases were male. Persons aged less than 10 years were more infected than those over 10 years of age. Chahbounia region was found to be the most infected area, compared to other regions. The highest number of human leishmaniasis cases was recorded during November (462 cases). Human cutaneous leishmaniasis was the most frequent (81.38%) among the other human pathologies in the study area; followed by pulmonary tuberculosis (14.8%). All Sloughi dogs were diagnosed with leishmaniasis of which the most common symptoms included lymph node hypertrophy, emaciation, skin lesions, fever, epistaxis, alopecia, ocular lesions, anemia, onychogryphosis, chemosis, and the less common symptoms are: fever, diarrhea, and splenomegaly. The Psammomys obesus and Meriones shawi were present especially in the periphery of the lands next to the valley of Chahbounia city. Leishmaniasis remains present in the region, constituting a public health menace. The union of veterinary and public services is necessary to eradicate the disease by controlling the vector and the reservoirs of the parasite.