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SEROEPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY OF LEISHMANIA INFANTUM INFECTION IN CASTILLA-LEON, SPAIN

Leishmaniasis has increased in importance in recent years because infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has emerged as a risk factor for this disease. However, the actual prevalence of leishmaniasis in the general population of Spain is unknown. We present a study of the seroprevalence of infection with Leishmania infantum in the general population of Castilla-Leon, Spain. A random sample of individuals presenting to health care clinics (4,825 sera) and of HIV-infected patients in the autonomous community of Castilla-Leon was collected in 1996. The sero-prevalence of antibodies to L. infantum was determined by an indirect enzyme immunoassay and found to be 4.9% in the general population. There was a significant increase in seroprevalence with age (P = 0.001), from 3.96% in those 14–20 years old to 7.2% in those > 70 years old. There were no significant differences between women and men (5.0% versus 4.9%; P = 0.9534). Seroprevalence was significantly higher in people from rural areas than in those from cities (6.0% versus 3.4%; P = 0.001). Patients infected with HIV had a seroprevalence for L. infantum of 64.0%. No differences were observed between women and men, and prevalence did not increase with age.

Received July 8, 2003. Accepted for publication October 1, 2003.

Acknowledgments: We thank the doctors at the Primary Health Centers in Castilla-Leon and the epidemiologists at the Epidemiology Service of the Junta de Castilla y Leon for their help. Special thanks are given to M. Fe Muñoz for the statistical analysis of the results. We acknowledge the following contributors to this study from the Servicio de Epidemiología de la Junta de Castilla y Leon: M. J. Rodríguez-Recio, H. Marcos, J. M. Sendra, J. L. Yánez, I. Carramiñana, J. Ramos, A. C. Berjon, C. Andrés, L. C. González, T. Muñiz, J. A. Gomez de Caso, E. Dodero, M. Morquecho, Clara Berbel, and M. S. Martínez.

Financial support: This project was supported by the Consejería de Sanidad y Bienestar Social of the Junta de Castilla y Leon.

Authors’ addresses: José I. Garrote, M. Purificacion Gutiérrez, Raúl López Izquierdo, M. Ana I. Dueñas, Miguel A. Bratos, and Antonio Rodríguez-Torres, Área de Microbiología. Facultad de Medicina, Valladolid, Spain. Pilar Zarzosa and Ana Almaraz, Unidad de Inves-tigación, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain. Carmen Cañavate and M. El Bali, Servicio de Parasitología, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain. Clara Berbel, Servicio de Epidemiología y Servicio de Protección de la Salud. Consejería de Sanidad y Bienestar Social. Junta de Castilla y León, Valladolid, Spain, Antonio Orduña Domingo, Área de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina, Avenida Ramon y Cajal no. 7, 47005 Valladolid, Spain, and Unidad de Investigación, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain, Telephone: 34-983-423-063, Fax: 34-983-423-066, E-mail: orduna{at}med.uva.es.

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