Association between climatic changes and leishmaniasis incidence in Biskra district, Algeria

Leishmaniasis has been classified primarily as a vector-borne disease that poses a major problem to public health. The Biskra region, which has long been known as a focal point for cutaneous leishmaniasis, has a low extent of visceral leishmaniasis. The aim of the study is to highlight the spatial and temporal evolution of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in Biskra over the last decade, taking into account the different factors influencing their distribution. The present study is a ten-year retrospective survey (20072016), carried out in Biskradistrict. During the study period, 24,232 confirmed cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and 61 cases of visceral leishmaniasis were recorded. The registered cases were distributed in all the municipalities of Biskra, the disease affects, regardless of sex, all age groups but with heterogeneous proportions. The survey also showed that cutaneous leishmaniasis mainly infects (43.36%) the class of children with a male predominance of 57%. The Biskra city was the most vulnerable to sandfly bites, accounting for 33% of the total number of cases, while Tolga municipality was the most affected by visceral leishmaniasis with a percentage of 25%. Children under 5 years of age (85.24%) were the most exposed to visceral leishmaniasis following with predominance of male with 54%. The distribution of leishmaniasis was affected by the environmental and climate changes.