Tehran University of Medical Sciences Acta Medica Iranica 0044-6025 64 8 2026 07 12 477 481 Narjes Yektaeian Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Ali Abbas Saheli Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Majid Dousti Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran Vahid Ķhatamifar Vice Chancellor for Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Manouchehr Shirani 1 Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Gholamreza Hatam Basic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. 2024 11 06 2025 12 07 Iran ranks among the top ten countries for leishmaniasis and COVID-19 outbreaks. This study compared cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases in Shiraz one year before and one year after the COVID-19 outbreak. In this study, the recorded information of 988 suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) patients referred to Valfajr Health Center was meticulously collected, prepared, and analyzed using the SPSS-24 Software and the Chi-square test. Comparing the pre-outbreak period (February 2019-March 2020) to the post-outbreak period (March 2021), 57.9% of 526 suspected CL cases were positive before the outbreak versus 76.4% of 462 cases after the outbreak. Pre-outbreak, women constituted 53.8% of CL cases, whereas post-outbreak, men constituted 55.8% of cases. The presence of underlying conditions, notably diabetes and hypertension, increased 3.5 times after the COVID-19 outbreak. Employment status also shifted, with increases in employed (from 5.3% to 10.5%) and self-employed (from 44.4% to 47.7%) individuals and a decrease in housewives (from 48.3% to 37.6%). COVID-19 has significantly impacted CL parameters, particularly gender distribution, employment status, and the acute-chronic nature of the disease, due to increased economic activity and community presence. https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/view/11347 https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/download/11347/6082