Recent trends of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Alert Hospital, Addis Ababa.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic to many parts of the world and has re-emerged in a number of endemic countries in recent years. Environmental changes, immune status of the host and treatment failure are the three most important risk factors associated with the re-emerging and spread of Leishmaniasis. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) ranges from localized, self-healing type to the disfiguring mucocutaneous and diffuse cutaneous type. OBJECTIVE: To access the trend of CL patient flow in ALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: Patients' clinical and laboratory records were collected retrospectively for 1651 leishmaniasis suspected individuals from ALERT Hospital, from January 1, 2007 to December 30, 2010. RESULTS: From the suspected individuals, 234 cases were positive for Leishmania species with Giemsa stain and/or histopathology and confirmed for CL, of whom 30 (12.8%) were diagnosed in 2007, 29 (12.4%) in 2008, 75 (32.1%) in 2009, and 100 (42.7%) were in 2010. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The overall proportion of cases with leishmaniasis among the suspected cases was 234/1651 (14.2%). The distribution of CL reports was higher for patients coming from Addis Ababa surrounding areas and Oromia region, 96/234 (41.03%) and 71/234 (30.34%), respectively. In general, the trend of leishmaniasis in and around Addis Ababa seems to be increasing, which calls for further detailed epidemiological studies, including vector and reservoir host studies, to help in the prevention and control of the disease.

Community diagnosis of common skin diseases in the Zay community of the Zeway Islands, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Skin diseases are common public health problems throughout the world. Studies on skin problems are rare in Ethiopia. Easy and cheap methods of identifying skin conditions in the community are poorly developed in the country. OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess whether the newly developed Dermatological Screening Questionnaire (DSQ) can be used to effectively screen for common skin diseases and (2) to estimate the prevalence of skin diseases in a rural community. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the rural community residing on the islands of Lake Zeway. A locally prepared nine-item questionnaire (the DSQ) was used by lay-interviewers to screen for common skin diseases. Any respondent giving one or more positive responses, and a further 104 people who had replied negatively, underwent confirmatory diagnosis by specialist dermatologists. RESULTS: A total of 4697 people were included in the survey. Of these, 992 (20.0%) respondents screened positive on the DSQ. Out of 62.5% (N = 620) examined by dermatologists, 98.6% (n = 611) were found to have one or more skin conditions. Amongst screen negatives, 10.6% had skin diseases. Sensitivity and specificity of the DSQ was found to be 98% and 91%, respectively. The weighted prevalence of clinically-confirmed skin disease was 22.5%. Scabies was the most common of all skin conditions, followed by fungal infections. CONCLUSION: Our survey revealed that easily preventable and treatable skin diseases are common in this rural community. Nearly all those who gave a positive response to the DSQ had one or more skin disease confirmed on clinical examination. This finding indicates that the DSQ is a useful instrument for identification of common skin diseases in the community.