Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects of Kala-azar in Hospitalized Children of Kerman Province, during 1991-2006

Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a complex parasitic disease with various epidemiological and clinical features. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) can be extremely fatal in untreated cases. The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiological and clinical aspects of the disease in children with VL in Kerman province during 1991-2006. Method: In a descriptive-analytical survey, medical files of 68 VL cases hospitalized in Hospital No. 1 and Afzalipour Medical Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences during 1991-2006 were studied. Data analysis was done by SPSS software and using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: Of 68 cases of Kala-azar, 45 ones were boys and 23 ones were girls with mean age of 52.3±46.2 months. Most of the cases were in the age group of 1-4 years. The majority of cases (41.2%) belonged to Baft, followed by Jiroft (22.0%), Kahnouj (14.7%) and Sirjan (10.3%). Most patients were referred to hospitals in winter and mainly during February. Mean duration of clinical symptoms before referring was 31.8 days and mean duration of hospitalization was 12 days. Overall, 65 cases cured completely, while 3 cases died. The mean sedimentation rate was 58 mm/hour and the most common clinical symptoms were fever, and hepato-splenomegaly, respectively. Conclusion: Further studies on reservoirs and vector ecology, particularily in Baft district are required for planning control programs, in the affected areas.