31 Epidemiology of cutaneous.pmd

1Islah Medical Laboratory, Islah Charitable Social Society, Jericho, Palestine. 2Health Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, East Jerusalem, Palestine. 3Hadassah Medical School, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. 4Institute of Microbiology and Hygiene, Humboldt University, Charité, Berlin, Germany. ABSTRACT This study of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Jericho city and the adjacent Aqbat-Jaber refugee camp investigated the seroprevalance of Leishmania major and the risk factors associated with acquiring the disease. Clinical and parasitology identification of cases showed children and young men were more affected, with the head most affected in children. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test sera from 190 individuals. The overall seroprevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis was 26.3%. A case– control study of 247 individual in 37 households showed that a higher level of education of the head of the household and having children sleep under bed nets were significantly related to a lower incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis.