Epidemiology of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Severe outbreaks of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Kabul led to complaints from the public. It was felt that a study of the epidemiology of the disease in this city would help not only in organizing better control measures in Kabul, but also in dealing with similar conditions that might arise elsewhere because of urbanization and migration from rural to urban areas. A housing project in north-west Kabul was studied through house-to-house visits of selected households. The prevalence of active sores was 11.6% and that of scars 4.3%, indicating both the recentness and the severity of the outbreak. All ages and both sexes were involved. The finding of infected dogs suggests that these animals may be reservoirs of infection. A survey of sandflies in the Kabul area showed the presence of 7 species of Phlebotomus, 4 of which are potential vectors, and 4 species of Sergentomyia.