Turk Mikrobiyol Cem Derg 2002, 32; 97-101

THE REGIONAL AND SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF PATIENTS PREDIAGNOSED AS SANDFLY FEVER IN KYRENIA, NORTHERN CYPRUS

Çağrı ERGİN¹, Sebahattin YILMAZ²

¹Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesi,Isparta, ²Kıbrıs Türk Barış Kuvvetleri Girne Asker Hastanesi, Girne

Sandfly fever is an arboviral infection that spreads by genus phlebotomus in geographical subtropical region of the World. Although World Health Organisation has a surveillance programme of currently sandfly fever status in Cyprus, there is no epidemiological data for Northern Cyprus location. In this study, regional and seasonal period data were investigated in patients with sandfly fever who admitted and were semptomatically prediagnosed in Kyrenia Military Hospital between 1997 and 1999.

Sandfly fever has been semptomatically prediagnosed out 3383 of 47716 (7.09%) admitted patients between 1997 and 1999. Patients have admitted owing to sandfly fever in May and November period and the peek prevalence of patients was in June (21.4%). It was found that the patients mostly admitted from Beylerbeyi (27.6%), Yeşiltepe (18.3%) and Karaoğlanoğlu (14.9%).

It is discussed that different serotypes of viruses and species of phlebotomus as vector may be found according to graph of three-year distribution period. In focus of sandfly fever poor hygenic background is considered as an important factor.