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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Epidemiol.
Sec. Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Volume 4 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fepid.2024.1462271

The spatio-temporal evolution of leishmaniasis in the province of Essaouira

Provisionally accepted
Said Benkhira Said Benkhira 1*Najma Boudebouch Najma Boudebouch 1,2Bouchra Benazzouz Bouchra Benazzouz 1
  • 1 Laboratoire de biologie et santé, faculté des sciences, université Ibn Tofail ,, Kenitra, Morocco
  • 2 Institute supérieur des professions et techniques de santé, ISPITS Marrakech, annexe Essaouira, Essaouira, Morocco

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Leishmaniasis is a highly prevalent neglected tropical disease. It represents a significant public health concern in northern Africa, particularly in Morocco. To assess the extent of the disease at the provincial level, as well as the temporal evolution of CL cases and their geographic distribution. 834 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) diagnosed positive by the hygiene and health laboratory of the health delegation of the province of Essaouira during the period from January 1 st , 2014 to December 31 st , 2023. Among the 57 communes of the province, three are hyper-endemic and represent the main foci of LC; Elhanchan, Had Draa, Smimou with 66.42% of cases. Other communes with significant increases include Aguerd, with 15.6% of cases, an incidence peak of 279.7 per 100,00.0 in 2022, and Bizdad, 11.8% with an average incidence of 41.1 per 100,000. The transmission of the parasitosis continues to spread to create new outbreaks each year and reach 25 municipalities in the province which have experienced at least one positive case in 2023. Two new outbreaks appeared after 2018 in Sidi Kaouki (5% of cases) and Tidzi (5.6%). The temporal analysis shows a significant rise in cases over time, with an annual average of 83 cases. The trend paused during the COVID-19 lockdown but resumed exponentially, peaking in 2023. The overall incidence in the province increased from 11.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 40.3 per 100,000 in 2023, with a significant rise over the study period (p < 0.001). The average incidence during this time was 18.32 per 100,000, showing considerable variability across different years. The spread of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the province of Essaouira is multifactorial and results from the complex interaction between vectors, parasites, the environment, and human behaviors. A better understanding of these factors is essential to developing effective disease prevention and controlling strategies.

    Keywords: cutaneous leishmaniasis, Spatio-temporal evolution, Parasitic Diseases, Leishmania tropica, Essaouira province

    Received: 09 Jul 2024; Accepted: 15 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Benkhira, Boudebouch and Benazzouz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Said Benkhira, Laboratoire de biologie et santé, faculté des sciences, université Ibn Tofail ,, Kenitra, Morocco

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