THE FALL AND RISE OF ANDEAN CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS - TRANSIENT IMPACT OF THE DDT CAMPAIGN IN PERU

A retrospective analysis was carried out on census data collected from house-to-house surveys during 1991-1992 in 4 areas endemic for Andean cutaneous leishmaniasis (uta) in the Department of Lima, Peru. Major changes in mean annual incidence in susceptible persons have taken pla ce in these sites during the last 60 years. In particular, there is st rong support for the hypothesis that, from the 1950s to the 1970s, the transmission rate was temporarily suppressed, largely as a by-product of the DDT house spraying campaign against malaria. These results are consistent with (i) anecdotal evidence, contemporary with the sprayin g campaign, and (ii) the official Ministry of Health records for the a nnual number of uta cases in the Departments of Lima and Ancash.