Occupational risk factors related to Cutaneous Leishmaniasis: A descriptive study

Abstract

Abstract:-Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic disease in Sri Lanka and it is considered as a notifiable disease from year 2008. Anuradhapura has been one of the areas shows highest incidences of Leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this present study was to identify the occupational risk factors associated with Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among patients who were diagnosed with CL and visit to Dermatology clinic at the Base Hospital Thabuththegama. Two hundred participants were recruited to the study by using convenience sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 was used to analyze the data. Majority of the participants were male (n=145, 72.5%) and 46% of participants were over 40 years old. More than half (n=123, 61.5%) of the participants were paddy cultivators. Being a paddy cultivator was a significant occupational risk factor for CL. The results showed that gender was statistically significant variable for CL (P< 0.05). Statistically significant associations were also found at the level of 0.01 between occupation with gender, age and educational level. Furthermore, laborers (7.5%) were also more prone to affect by CL comparable with other occupations. Hence, a special attention should be given to male paddy cultivators by providing health education on the disease, identifying reservoir hosts and vector control will be important initiatives to prevent the spread of this disease.