Visceral Leishmaniasis in Southeastern Iran: A Narrative Review

BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has strong links with poverty, substantial medical and veterinary impacts. This review aimed to focus in studies published during 1994-2016 on VL in southeastern Iran. METHODS The present review is based on expert knowledge and historical studies published during the past 23 yr (1994-2016) on VL in southeastern Iran. In addition, related literature found in PubMed by using the keywords such as visceral leishmaniasis, kala-azar, and Leishmania infantum are included. RESULTS Overall, 118 children aged 4.2 yr were detected as infected with human VL (HVL). The majority of the cases were from Orzoieh district (37.1%) in southwest of Kerman Province, followed by Sirjan (15.7%), Jiroft (14.8%), Kahnuj (9.3%) and to lesser extent from other areas. The male to female ratio was 1.7. The three most frequent clinical features were represented by fever (100.0%), anemia (95.0%) and splenomegaly (91.5%). Altogether, 42.0% of the VL cases developed secondary bacterial infections, the overall case-fatality rate was 3.4%, and majorities (88.0%) of the VL patients were undernourished. Overall, 733 dogs and wild canines were examined by different techniques with various seroprevalence ranges. CONCLUSION In southeastern Iran, VL is endemic in Orzoieh district in Kerman Province. While the dogs are implicated as the main domestic reservoir of VL, wide range of wild canines can serve as a secondary potential reservoir host.