Dr. Murai Éva - Gubányi András szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 31. (Budapest, 1998)

Occurrence of cutaneous leishmaniosis in the province of Balkh (northern Afghanistan) between 1990-1994 Nasir Ahmadl, JAULI,

1 Dobroslav CERVEN,

2 Mohammad Shafee JALILI,

3 Mohammad Latif AMIRI,

4 ^Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Sasinkova 4a. 81108 Bratislava, Slovakia Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Comenius University, Mfynska dolina Bl, 84215 Bratislava, Slovakia Public Health Hospital Mazar-e~Sharif Afghanistan * Institute for Malaria and Parasitic Diseases, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan (Received 18 January, 1998) Abstract: Between 1990 and 1994, 8410 positive cases of cutaneous leishmaniosis were recorded in the town of Mazar-e-Sharif and its surroundings in Afghanistan. Leishmania major (rural form) was found in 6833 (81.25 %) cases,L. tropica (urban form) in 1566 (18.62 %) and 11 (0.13 %) lupoid cases caused byL. tropica were recorded. The high prevalence of positive cases (rural form) during the autumn months could be explained by the incubation period of leishmaniosis and the higher activity of vectors in the summer months. Key words: Leishmania major, Leishmania tropica, Flagellata, cutaneous leishmaniosis, Afghanistan INTRODUCTION Parasitic flagellates of the genus of Leishmania are responsible for several clinically distinct diseases characterised by chronic inflammatory infiltration, focal necrosis and fibrosis. In some of these diseases the lesions are localised at the point of inoculation, but in others the parasites become widely disseminated. World-wide, some 12 million people are estimated to be infected and over 2 million new cases occur each year (WHO 1995). Although leishmaniosis is a common disease in Afghanistan, it has not been thoroughly studied. The disease has been known since the Middle Ages.In ancient writings leishmaniosis was called "Balkh ulcer" and "Kandahar ulcer" (Sery 1974). The disease was mentioned by Abu Ali Ibn Sina (Avicena) in his writings as early as the 11th century.