Trends of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Western Ethiopia: A retrospective study.

In Ethiopia, cutaneous leishmaniasis is primarily caused by Leishmania aethiopica and less often by Leishmania Tropica and Leishmania major. There is a major prevalence gap in study areas. Hence, this study assessed the trends of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the western part of Ethiopia. A three-year retrospective study (09 October 2018 to 31 January 2022) was conducted by extracting information from the national leishmaniasis register for patients visiting the Nekemte Specialized Hospital (NSH) treatment center, Nekemte, Western Ethiopia. A standard data abstraction checklist was used to review Leishmaniasis records. Data were extracted from the national leishmaniasis cases registration book by principal investigators and summarized using Microsoft Excel. All data were entered and analyzed using the Excel Microsoft office package. A total of 64 patients were treated for cutaneous leishmaniasis in the area during the study period. Most of the cases were among those aged 15-24 years (39.1%) while extreme age groups reported the least. About 35 (54.69%) of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases were from rural areas, and two-thirds (31, 65.96%) of patients were seeking medical treatment after 3-6 months of developing signs and symptoms. One-fourth (17, 26.56%) of CL cases were reported in January followed by August (10, 15.63), and there were no cases reported in June and October.The most affected age groups are those 15-24 years and those from rural communities. January is the month most cases are reported and late coming to treatment and needs awareness creation.