title: Seroepidemiological survey of human visceral leishmaniasis in ilam province, west of iran in 2013.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) as one of the most important human parasitic disease is endemic in some parts of Iran. Several cases of VL have been reported recently in the Ilam Province. The current study aimed to assess the present status of human VL in the region.
  
  
  METHODS
  A random cluster sampling method was used to collect 456 serums samples from the children up to 12 years of age and 10% of adults living in urban and rural areas of the province. All the collected serum samples were tested by direct agglutination test (DAT) to detect anti- Leishmania infantum antibodies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the examined 456 serum samples with direct agglutination test (DAT), only 21 (0.43%) sera showed anti- Leishmania antibodies at titers 1:400 and higher. Distribution of anti- Leishmania antibodies titers were: 1:400(n=4), 1:800(n=11), 1:1600(n=3), 1:3200(n=1), and 1:6400(n=1). Individuals with titers ≥1:3200 showed clinical signs and symptoms such as fever and splenomegaly. The highest and lowest seropositivity were observed in the age groups of 5-9 and >15 years old, respectively. There were no significant difference between the rate of seropositivity in males and females.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VL with a low prevalence circulates in some parts of Ilam province, particularly in the southern parts. Complementary studies should be needed to find animal reservoir hosts and vectors. Furthermore, health systems and physicians should pay particular attention to the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Parasitology, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
authors.forename: Jahangir
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abdi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Behnaz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Akhoundi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohebali
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Parasitology, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolhasan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghaderipour
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kakoee
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Faezeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Najafi
keywords: Human; Iran; Seroprevalence; Visceral leishmaniasis