BURAIDA: Thirty workers of a cleaning company in Albadaye'a governorate of Qassim were found to have cutaneous leishmaniasis. The company said the infected workers worked near farms and swamps. It said the unavailability of medication led to the disease spreading among the workers. Infections can be treated in many ways if the sores do not heal on their own, which happens often, said Abdullah Al-Suqair, Assistant general director of the Primary Healthcare department. He said the disease is transmitted by the two millimeter-sized sand fly from infected animals to humans. He said it “is hard to eradicate but the healthcare efforts to combat the disease are continuing”. “The disease in the Kingdom can be found in the regions of Qassim, Madina and Riyadh. However, it is present particularly in Qassim given the agriculture and grazing activities which can provide an environment for the parasites.” He said infections in Qassim are determined annually by the weather because the sand fly is more active in hot and mild weather; and also because people are more involved in outdoor activities during these periods.
