Psychosocial impact of scars due to cutaneous leishmaniasis on high school students in Errachidia province, Morocco.
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ABSTRACT: Background
In Morocco, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is usually known to be a slowly healing localized skin disease, but in some cases, it can lead to mutilating scars. The outbreak of CL due to Leishmania major in the Errachidia province in southeastern Morocco between 2008 and 2010 left many adolescents with permanent scar tissue on the face or other exposed body parts. We studied the psychosocial impact of CL on these young people.Methods
In 2015 we conducted a cross-sectional survey among high-school students living in boarding schools in two CL-endemic areas of Errachidia: Rissani and Tinejdad. A self-administered questionnaire elicited responses about general knowledge of CL and related scars. An open-ended question focused on the possible psychosocial effects associated with these scars. The quantitative data were analyzed with Epi Info™ and the text data with NVivo software.Results
Almost 20% of 448 respondents reported they had experienced a CL lesion and 87% said it could possibly or definitely lead to psychological consequences. The text analysis showed that girls more often than boys expanded on the negative psychological effects of CL. The students considered CL as "dangerous", "serious", and "deathly", and said it sometimes led to extreme suicidal ideations.Conclusions
The burden of CL in this age group is not negligible. The indelible CL scars lead to self-stigma and social stigma, and the emergence of negative psychological effects in this age group. While some students accepted their CL scars and related suffering as their "destiny", others were eagerly demanding protective measures against CL and treatment for the scars.
SUBMITTER: Bennis I
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5383955 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundLeishmania major is an endemic vector-borne disease in Morocco that causes zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), especially in arid pre-Saharan regions where its unique vector and reservoir are Phlebotomus papatasi and Meriones shawi, respectively, and may cause epidemics. In late 2017, the Zagora province, an endemic focus for ZCL in southern Morocco, had CL outbreak. The main objective of our investigation was to analyze the epidemiological features of this latest ZCL outbreak.Methodology/principal findingsWe analyzed epidemiological features of this latest ZCL outbreak. The Regional Delegation of Health, Zagora, recorded 4,402 CL patients between October 2017 and end of March 2018. Our findings showed that 24 municipalities were affected and majority (55.1%) of infected cases belonged to the Tinzouline rural municipality. Majority of patients were females (57.2%). While all age group patients were affected, those aged <10 years were the most affected (42.1%). During this outbreak over 5 days in December 2017, we conducted a survey in Tinzouline and recruited and sampled 114 CL patients to confirm CL diagnosis by parasitological (direct examination and culture) and molecular (ITS1-PCR) methods and identify the etiological agent of infection using ITS1-PCR-RFLP and sequencing. We completed a detailed questionnaire including clinical and epidemiological data for each patient and found 72.8% of patients presenting multiple lesions (≥2), with an average number of lesions of 5.16 ± 0.5. Lesions were more prevalent in the upper limbs, with the most common type being the ulcerocrusted lesion (60.5%). We detected no associations between lesion type and patients' sex or age.Conclusions/significanceAmong 114 clinically diagnosed CL patients, we confirmed 90.35% and identified L. major as the species responsible for this outbreak. Self-medication using various products caused superinfection and inflammation of lesions and complicated the diagnosis and treatment. Thus, ZCL remains a major public health problem in the Zagora province, and commitment of all stakeholders is urgently required to implement a sustainable regional control program.
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