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Climate and environmental factors affecting the incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Isfahan, Iran

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Abstract

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a vector-borne human disease caused by Leishmania, a parasite transmitted by sand flies. CL is endemic in the Isfahan Province, Iran. This study was designed to identify the climate and environmental factors associated with CL incidence in Isfahan Province. Data included incident cases of CL, climate, and environmental factors, which were collected across 23 districts of province from 2007 to 2015. Analyses were performed with generalized linear models (GLMs) to fit a function to the relationships between the response and predictors. We used negative binomial regression due to over-dispersed distribution of CL cases. The effects of all seven climate and environmental factors were found to be significant (all p < 0.01), and the model explained 40% of the deviance of CL incidence. There was a positive relation between mean temperature, relative humidity, and slope of area with disease incidence; however, negative association was demonstrated between maximum wind speed, rainfall, altitude, and vegetation cover with CL incidence. Cutaneous leishmaniasis continues to be a widespread challenge, especially in northwestern parts of Iran. Climate and environmental factors should be considered when selecting the most appropriate strategies for preventing and controlling CL.

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  • 11 April 2024

    Editor's Note: Readers are alerted that the concerns have been raised with this article. Editorial action will be taken as appropriate once this matter is resolved and all parties have been given an opportunity to respond in full.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the CDC departments of Isfahan and also CDC of Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Tehran, which provided disease incident data. We also acknowledge Tehran Meteorological Center for providing the climate data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environment, Tehran North Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Roghieh Ramezankhani, Nooshin Sajjadi, Roya Nezakati esmaeilzadeh & Seyed Ali Jozi

  2. Communicable Diseases Management Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

    Roghieh Ramezankhani & Mohammad Reza Shirzadi

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  1. Roghieh Ramezankhani
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  2. Nooshin Sajjadi
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  3. Roya Nezakati esmaeilzadeh
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Correspondence to Roghieh Ramezankhani.

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Ramezankhani, R., Sajjadi, N., Nezakati esmaeilzadeh, R. et al. Climate and environmental factors affecting the incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Isfahan, Iran. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 11516–11526 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1340-8

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