Seroprevalence of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Children up to 12 Years old Among Nomadic Tribes from Rural Areas of Pars Abad, Northwestern Iran: an Observational Study in 2015

BACKGROUND Since Pars Abad district had been known as a focus of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Ardabil Province but the prevalence of the disease in nomadic tribes has not been determined, thus, this study was conducted. METHODS This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on children up to 12yr old of nomadic tribes from Pars Abad County, Ardabil Province, Iran in 2015. For each individual, a questionnaire including age, sex, clinical manifestations, history of disease, and contact with reservoir hosts of VL were completed, separately. To determine VL seroprevalence, blood samples were collected from the children and after centrifugation, the plasma samples were tested using Direct Agglutination Test (DAT) for detection of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS16. RESULTS From 776 children up to 12yr old, 2 (0.25%) showed anti-L. infantum antibodies at titers 1:1600 and only one case (0.13%) showed anti-Leishmania antibodies at titers 1:3200. The child with anti-L. infantum antibodies titers of 1:3200 showed mild fever for more than 2 months period, paleness, weakness and mild splenomegaly. After physical examination and confirmation of VL (kala-azar), the patient was treated with antileishmanial drugs. CONCLUSION The findings indicated that L. infantum infection is being circulated with low prevalence in nomadic tribes of Pars Abad but it is necessary that the surveillance system is regularly monitored among physicians and public health managers in the studied areas.