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Background: Giardia duodenalis is a common parasitic protozoan causing gastrointestinal illness in humans worldwide. The genetic diversity of G. duodenalis is reflected through the identification of different assemblages. In this study, we aimed to determine the assemblages of G. duodenalis in eastern Iran using nested-PCR and high-resolution melting (HRM) real-time PCR methods., Methods: A total of 58 positive G. duodenalis, which were isolated from 1800 subjects, referred to medical center laboratories in South Khorasan province, eastern Iran, from April 2020 to March 2022, were included in this study. DNA was extracted and HRM real-time PCR was performed for assemblage characterization., Results: HRM real-time PCR successfully characterized all samples. Accordingly, out of 58 positive samples, 53 (91.36%) and 5 (8.62%) were identified as assemblage A and B, respectively., Conclusions: Our findings showed that HRM real-time PCR was able to characterize the assemblages of G. duodenalis. In addition, our results suggest high prevalence of assemblage A in eastern region of Iran., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Leishmaniasis has an important impact on global public health, and the common form of the disease is cutaneous form as well in Iran. Different species of Leishmania parasite make variable clinical manifestations, so prompt diagnosis and recognition at the species level are important due to their impact on the treatment and outcome of the disease. We aimed to examine the potential existence of the Leishmania parasite genome in the exudate materials derived from lesions of the cutaneous leishmaniasis suspected patients referred to Varamin Health Center Laboratory, that were reported negative microscopically. Regarding the object of the study, kDNA-Nested-PCR was used. A 570 bp band equal to what expected for Leishmania major was amplified in 18 out of 29 tested samples (62%). Findings indicate the effectivness of kDNA as a high copy number gene to avoid false-negative results., (© Indian Society for Parasitology 2020.)

Background: The aims of the current study were to determined present status of CL in Shiraz City, identify the causative species of Leishmania and conduct phylogenetic evaluations in detected parasites., Methods: This study was conducted on 70 individuals with suspected CL that referred to the major health centers of Shiraz (Valfajr), Fars province, Iran, from Sep 2016 to Jul 2017. DNA was extracted from cultured Leishmania promastigotes and PCR-RFLP were performed using ITS1-rDNA gene., Results: Overall, 39 male (55.70%) and 31 (44.30%) female were found to be positive microscopically. All of direct examined positive samples were confirmed to be positive for Leishmania spp. DNA. Based upon the PCRRFLP patterns and phylogenetic analysis, 46 (65.72%), 17 (24.28%) and 7 (10%) isolates were clearly identified as L. major , L. tropica and C. fasciculata , respectively., Conclusion: The dominat detected species in Shiraz City was L. major and L. tropica , respectively. CL has high prevalence in Shiraz City; therefore, more studies on leishmaniasis in the natural vectors and also reservoirs infection in this region is exceedingly recommended. Skin leisons due to C. fasciculata , was described for the first time in Iran (Shiraz City)., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright© Iranian Public Health Association & Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Most recently, silver nanoparticles due to antibacterial properties have been considered in medical science. So the aim of the study was green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Berberis vulgaris leaf and root aqueous extract and its antibacterial activity. After collection, identification and extraction of Berberis vulgaris was performed production of silver nanoparticles. In the study effect of parameters such as AgNO 3 concentration (0.5, 1, 3, 10 mM), aqueous extract (3, 5, 10, 15, 30 mL) and contact time (1, 2, 6, 12, 24 h) were investigated in the synthesis of nanoparticles and also the antibacterial effect of these nanoparticles was studied on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by Disk diffusion test and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration test (MIC). According to XRD results and analysis of TEM, nanoparticles have spherical shapes and size of 30 to 70 nm. On the other hand antibacterial tests showed these nanoparticles have more antibacterial activity more than other extracts. Result showed the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous extract of Berberis vulgaris is a clean, inexpensive and safe method that has not been used any toxic substance and consequently does not side effects and this nanoparticles has a high antibacterial activity., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: In Iran, both forms of cutaneous (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been reported; so the accurate species identification of the parasite(s) and the analysis of genetic diversity are necessary., Methods: The smears were collected from lesions samples of 654 patients with CL, who attended local health centers in 12 provinces of Iran during 2013-2015. The smears were checked for the presence of amastigotes by light microscopy. DNA of 648 Leishmania isolates, amplified by targeting a partial sequence of ITS (18S rRNA-ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2) gene. Twenty-five of all the amplicons were sequenced and analyzed with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) using the Taq 1 enzyme., Results: All the smears were positive microscopically. The PCR-RFLP analysis revealed that 176 (27%) CL patients were infected with L. tropica and, 478 (73%) with L. major . The dominant species in all over Iran is L. major . The sequencing results of all CL patients and RFLP analysis confirmed each other. Based on our phylogenetic tree, 25 ITS DNA sequences were grouped into two clusters representing L. major and L. tropica species. Phylogenetic tree derived from the ITS sequences supports a clear divergence between L. major from the other species., Conclusion: Discrimination of Iranian Leishmania isolates using ITS gene gives us this opportunity to detect, identify, and construct the phylogenetic relationship of Iranian isolates., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI), leads to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility and chronic pelvic pain in women as well as an increased risk of vertical transmission, conjunctivitis and pneumonitis in infants. It may also be a co-factor along with human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical cancer progression. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CT genotypes in genital specimens of women from South Khorasan, Iran and to test the association between CT and cytology statistics., Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 248 Pap smear samples from women who visited a gynecologist for routine Pap smear testing in South Khorasan province. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to test the residual fluids of Pap smears for CT-DNA after cytological examination. Direct sequencing, alignment and phylogenic analyses were performed on eight samples to identify their genotypes., Results: The mean age of patients was 37.54 ± 5.21 years. Most samples had a normal cytology (214 cases, 86.29%). Overall, 31 samples were positive for CT infection (12.5%) of which 20 (9.34%) were normal and 11 (32.35%) were abnormal, with the frequency difference being significant (P=0.022). The co-infection of CT/HPV in total was identified in 14 cases (5.6%). The results of sequencing eight samples out of the 31 CT positive samples revealed the detection of genotypes D and E, each with four cases., Conclusion: We show that a high prevalence of genital CT infection is present in women with both normal and abnormal cytology; however, the higher prevalence among women in the abnormal group may indicate its involvement in cervical neoplasia., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright© by Royan Institute. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the most important neglected tropical diseases and a major public health challenge in Iran caused by Leishmania spp and transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. The number of CL cases has shown an increasing pattern all over the country, including the district of Varamin, southeast of Tehran, Iran. This study aimed to identify the Leishmania spp isolated from CL patients using molecular methods in Varamin during 2012-2013., Methods: Exudate materials collected from the swollen edge of the skin lesions of 44 parasitological positive CL patients by disposable lancet. They were referred to Varamin Health Center by physician. The samples were subjected to molecular method for Leishmania species identification., Results: The digestion pattern of restriction enzyme revealed that 37 (84.1%) CL patients were infected with L. major and 7 (15.9%) were infected with L. tropica . They were mostly male than female. More than half of the patients (58%) had multiple lesions, and they were mostly observed on extremities, 34.1% on legs and 29.5% on hands. Lesions were mostly of wet ulcerative type., Conclusion: Dominancy of L. major provides more evidence that Varamin District probably could be considered as Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ZCL) areas. More investigation on other epidemiological aspects of disease is needed.