The first Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) patient in Sri Lanka was recorded from Hambantota district in 1992 and now Hambantota is considered as a CL endemic district with large number of CL patients. By interviewing CL positive patients (n= 185) attended to the Dermatology clinic in Tangalle Hospital, Hambantota district from June 2016 to January 2017, present study was aimed to identify possible life-style factors which exposed them to leishmaniasis infections. Information was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Majority of patients had protective measures namely, sleeping indoor (98.66%), on beds (85.9%) using non impregnated bed nets (75.50%), closing windows (92.1%) and covering windows with protective wire mesh or screens (99.35%) during the night. However during the day time all CL positive patients (100%) had outdoor occupational activities. Among them 27.6% dealt with soil, 21.1% used shrub jungles to collect firewood, 10.8% reared animals and 13.42% had decaying organic matter in the vicinity. Further 80% of CL patients had animals in their domestic (5.96%) and peri-domestic (44.37%) areas and 26.83% houses had rats. Present findings indicate day time activities, presence of animals and organic matters in peri-domestic area could be considered as possible factors for CL infections in Hambantota district.
Impact Factor
2022: 6.012
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