A new focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica in northern Jordan

An endemic focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica was identified in the district of Bani Kinana, northern Jordan. Fifty-five autochthonous cases were detected from February to September 1994 in a population of about 50 000. Most cases (74.5%) were from the villages of Malka and Um-Quais. The lesions were typically small, dry and mostly located on the face and extremities. Multiple lesions were common. Incidence was higher in females than in males and familial clustering of cases was observed in houses on the outskirts of villages. A leishmanin survey showed a 23.3% positivity rate in the populations of Malka and Um-Quais. The rate of positivity was low in the younger age groups and increased with age. There was some evidence that the disease is a zoonosis in this focus.