Prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis along the Nile River north of Khartoum (Sudan) in the aftermath of an epidemic in 1985.

Based on a pilot clinical study of the prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) among school children in villages on both banks of the Nile River north of Khartoum, Sudan in the aftermath of a 1985 epidemic, we studied a random sample (303 individuals) from one of these villages to determine the prevalence of infection and exposure to CL. Four percent of the population had active CL lesions, 47% had healed lesions, and another 43% reacted positively to sensitization with leishmanin in the absence of past or active CL lesions. Ninety-one percent of the total population reacted positively to leishmanin. The present status of CL in the area and possible reasons for the emergence of the epidemic are discussed, and gaps in our knowledge about the epidemic are identified.