02215nas a2200205   4500000000100000008004100001260002300042653002400065653005700089653002100146653001700167653001700184100001300201700002500214700001500239245010000254300000900354520162100363022002501984       2022                            d  bInforma UK Limited10aInfectious Diseases10aPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health10aGeneral Medicine10aMicrobiology10aParasitology1 aKarami M1 aGorgani-Firouzjaee T1 aChehrazi M00aPrevalence of cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Middle East: a systematic review and meta-analysis  a1-103 a<p>Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite from the genus Leishmania, imposing a significant burden on underdeveloped countries especially those located in the Middle East. Four electronic databases were searched to evaluate the prevalence of CL in the Middle East. The random effects model (95% confidence intervals (CI)) were applied to determine the overall and subgroup pooled prevalence. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran’s Q test and I2 statistics. Among 2424 peer-reviewed papers, 37 datasets from 34 studies were included in the current meta-analysis. 285560 individuals were assessed across 9 Middle Eastern countries. The pooled prevalence of CL was estimated at 12% (95% CI 9-15 %; 10718/285560). The highest prevalence rate was observed in Syria (39%, 37-42%), and the lowest one was found in Iraq and Lebanon (0%, 0-1%). The prevalence of CL in studies that applied LST assays had the highest rate (48%, 17-80%). The infection rate in males was similar to females (7%, 4-10%). The prevalence of infection in individuals living in urban areas was higher than in rural areas (14%, 10-19%). The prevalence of CL in the age group 0-15 years was higher than in individuals 16-40 and &gt;40 years (9%, 6-13%). Most of the lesions were found on the face, and single lesions were more prevalent than two and three ones. In conclusion, the occurrence of CL was considerable in Middle Eastern countries. Therefore, more efforts should be made to precisely report the CL in this region for developing appropriate preventive and controlling strategies.  </p>
  a2047-7724, 2047-7732