Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a complex parasitic disease with various epidemiological and clinical
features. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) can be extremely fatal in untreated cases. The objective of this study
was to assess the epidemiological and clinical aspects of the disease in children with VL in Kerman province
during 1991-2006.
Method: In a descriptive-analytical survey, medical files of 68 VL cases hospitalized in Hospital No. 1 and
Afzalipour Medical Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences during 1991-2006 were studied. Data
analysis was done by SPSS software and using descriptive and analytical statistics.
Results: Of 68 cases of Kala-azar, 45 ones were boys and 23 ones were girls with mean age of 52.3±46.2
months. Most of the cases were in the age group of 1-4 years. The majority of cases (41.2%) belonged to
Baft, followed by Jiroft (22.0%), Kahnouj (14.7%) and Sirjan (10.3%). Most patients were referred to
hospitals in winter and mainly during February. Mean duration of clinical symptoms before referring was
31.8 days and mean duration of hospitalization was 12 days. Overall, 65 cases cured completely, while 3
cases died. The mean sedimentation rate was 58 mm/hour and the most common clinical symptoms were
fever, and hepato-splenomegaly, respectively.
Conclusion: Further studies on reservoirs and vector ecology, particularily in Baft district are required for
planning control programs, in the affected areas.