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Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most important infectious diseases in eastern Mediterranean countries. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological pattern of cutaneous leishmaniasis across a 10-year period in the Hamadan province. This study was considered necessary due to the lack of new information in recent years on the epidemiology of the disease.Methods: This is a descriptive study. The data of patients who were diagnosed with cutaneous leishmaniasis in Hamadan health centers were collected during 10 years (2007–2016) and were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: Of the 908 registered patients, 94% were male and 6% were female. The mean age was 32.7 ± 11.8. About 87.1% of patients had a history of travel to endemic areas. The highest incidence rate was observed in the year 2015 with a rate of 12.6, and the lowest was in 2008 at 1.5 per 100,000 people.Conclusion: Due to an increasing trend in the number of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Hamadan and the effect of occupation, high-risk groups such as lorry drivers should be informed of preventive measures such as using insect repellents. Also, considering the possibility of shaping a new hotspot in the province, thorough reviews and more comprehensive entomological studies are recommended.

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IntroductionTicks are non-permanent obligate parasites that have considerable medical-veterinary and zoonosis importance. In this regard a study designed to investigate the distribution and fauna of ticks in the Alashtar county in Iran from April and March 2014.MethodsTicks were collected from livestock farms and facilities from selected rural and geographically location in the Alashtar county. Based morphological characteristics and reference identification keys, ticks were identified.ResultsA total of 549 ticks including 411 hard and 138 soft ticks were found. Ten tick species including Haemaphysalis concinna (0.36%), Haemaphysalis sulcata (0.36%), Hyalomma anatolicum (0.18%), Hyalomma dromedarii (0.18%), Hyalomma marginatum (1.45 %), Hyalomma schulzei (0.36%), Rhipicephalus annulatus (0.18%), Rhipicephalus bursa (28.1%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (43.63%) and Argas persicus (25.2%) were identified. Tick seasonal distribution were 47.26%, 22.63%, 14.96% and 15.15% in the spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. The tick distribution was more from plain areas (64.96%) than the mountainous areas (35.04%). The rates of the tick contamination were 97.3% and 2.7% in the traditional and industrial livestock's, respectively. The livestock contamination ranks to the hard ticks were cattle (39.51%), sheep (34.15%) and goats (26.34 %), respectively. Chi-square analysis showed a significant difference among the seasonal distribution of the ticks in the spring, summer and autumn or winter; between the tick distribution in the plain and mountainous areas; and between the traditional and industrial livestock's tick contamination (P < 0.05).ConclusionPresent study proves to change the traditional livestock's to the industrial livestock's. These findings highlight the importance of ticks and shows need to their control and tick pest management.

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