The epidemiology of tick-borne relapsing fever in Bijar County, North-Western Iran

Abstract

To explain the demographic and epidemiological aspects of found cases of illness in the Bijar County, north-western Iran, in the year of 2007-2008. Methods: In this descriptive study population included all febrile cases referring to health services centers of Bijar County. A confirmed case was defined as an individual who had both febrile disease and detection of Borrelia in a peripheral blood smear by Wright-Giemsa using dark-field microscop. Each patient was asked to fulfill a questionnaire including clinical and epidemiological features and demographic information of TBRF. Results: During the year of 2007-2008, 11 cases have been reported from Bijar County. There were 5 cases (45.4%) of the patients younger than 10 years, 6 cases (54.5%) were 10–19 years old. Of the patients, 63.6% occurred in summer and 27.3% in spring. All cases developed during the months of May to October. Fever and chills, the most common symptoms, occured in all patients. Most (54.5%) of the cases were students and the remaining were children. Approximately 72.7% of the patients were keeping cattle and sheep near or inside their homes. Conclusions: As showed, TBRF is a remarkable public health challenge, particularly for children and students living in Bijar County.

Keywords

• Epidemiology
• Borrelia persica
• Tick-borne relapsing fever
• Iran