Epidemiologic profile of shigellosis among Iranian military personnel: a retrospective study in the Army

authors:

avatar Arasb Dabbagh-Moghaddam 1 , avatar Elnaz Tabibian 2 , avatar Mahtab Noorifard 3 , avatar Seyed Javad Hosseini-Shokouh 3 , avatar Shahram Rahimi Dehgolan 2 , * , avatar Mohsen Tootoonchian 4

Department of Health and Social Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Andorra
School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Andorra
Infectious Diseases Research Center, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Andorra
Deputy of Health, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Andorra

how to cite: Dabbagh-Moghaddam A , Tabibian E , Noorifard M , Hosseini-Shokouh S J , Rahimi Dehgolan S, et al. Epidemiologic profile of shigellosis among Iranian military personnel: a retrospective study in the Army. Ann Mil Health Sci Res. 2014;12(2):e63454. 

Abstract

Materials and Methods: The data was gathered from archived reports of Iran’s Army at AJA University of Medical Sciences. All military personnel with confirmed diagnosis of shigellosis reported by the Army physicians were included in the study. Data analysis was done by appropriate statistical functions using STATA   software.

Results: In a 7-year period (2005-2011) the total number of cases was 1710 from 25 provinces  of Iran. A large difference was found out in the incidence rates of different provinces. 69% of    all cases were from the five provinces of Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Sistan-Baluchistan, Bushehr and Guilan. Although the majority (55%) of the cases had occurred in spring, the association between season and incidence rate was not significant (P = .08). Among the three studied forces 45% of reported patients were from   Navy.

Conclusion: The overall occurrence of shigellosis has decreased among Iranian army personnel from 2005 to 2011, but the incidence is still high enough to be considered as a major problem. Army healthcare commanders are expected to improve necessary facilities, especially in the Navy and in endemic provinces, to decrease the transmission of this infection.

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