Epidemiological study of reservoir hosts in an endemic area of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran

The study was carried out in the central part of the Islamic Republic of Iran over a 12-month period in 1991-92 in Borkhar, a rural district lying north of Isfahan city. The objective was to determine the ecology of natural reservoir hosts of leishmaniasis for possible future field trials of leishmania vaccine. The main reservoir host in this area is Rhombomys opimus, the great gerbil, followed by Meriones libycus, the Libyan jird, and Hemiechinus auritis, the long-eared hedgehog. Of the 179 small mammals examined in the Borkhar area, the great majority were R. opimus (82.1%), then M. libycus (15.7%), and last H. auritis (2.2%). The highest rate of infection of R. opimus was in September (90.5%), the rate varying between 22.2% and 80.4% in different villages. The average infection rate of M. libycus was 17.9%. These rodents probably play an important role as reservoir hosts in the epidemiology of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in this area. Sixteen domestic and stray dogs appeared to be uninfected because examination showed no active lesion or scar.