Seroprevalence of visceral leishmaniasis in children living in rural areas of Ahar and Osku Counties in East Azarbaijan Province, North-west of Iran in 2018

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or Kala-azar is an endemic disease in some areas of Iran, including East Azarbaijan, Ardabil, Fars and Bushehr provinces. The disease is sporadic in other parts of the country. According to the reports of numerous cases of the disease from Ahar and Osku counties (cities), East Azarbaijan province and the lack of new study on the prevalence of the disease, this study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of VL in the children of Ahar and Osku counties, in East Azarbaijan Province.

Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, blood samples were collected in the test tube without anticoagulants, from children under 8 years from rural areas of Ahar and Osko, in 2018. The samples were evaluated using Direct Agglutination Test (DAT) to measure anti Leishmania infantum antibodies for titer up to 1:3200.

Results: Out of 209 children <8 years in selected centers in Ahar and Osku, two cases (0.95%) revealed anti-Leishmania antibodies titer 1:3200. Initially, one of the two positive individuals in the study had a suspicious antibody titer of 1:1600, whose antibody titer increased to 1:3200 after 4 weeks.

Conclusion: The Kala-azar, in spite of low endemicity, is one of the health problems in Ahar and Osku in East Azarbaijan Province. This study suggests the necessity of supplementary studies based on molecular approaches in the region and other parts of the province.