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Ticks are parasitic and bloodthirsty arthropods. Different species of ticks are important carriers of animal and human pathogens. Accurate identification and diagnosis as well as their continuous monitoring can be effective in reducing animal diseases, especially in the transmission of some protozoa. As an efficient tool in morphological studies and accurate identification of ticks electron microscopy is very useful. In the present study, using this tool, accurate identification of ticks collected from Khuzestan and Mazandaran regions in 4 consecutive seasons has been done. From a total of 6954 ticks collected from the body surface of cattle, sheep and goats in the two mentioned provinces, 13 species were detected. They include: Rhipicephalus turanicus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus (boophilus) annulatus, Rhipicephalus bursa. Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum, Hyalomma asiaticum asiaticum Hyalomma excavatum, Hyalomma marginatum, Dermacentor marginatus, Haemaphysalis parva, Haemaphysalis punctate, Haemaphysalis inermis and ixodes ricinus. Based on the results, Factors such as temperature and sampling season are directly related to the isolated ticks. The results of the present study showed that the frequency ratio of Rhipicephalus ticks in different seasons in Khuzestan and Mazandaran provinces has followed a relatively similar pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is not any report of the outbreak of Babesia bigemina in south, southeast and central regions of Iran, some clinical evidences of Texas Cattle Fever were observed in some native cattle in Sistan region, southeast of Iran. We conducted the present study to morpho-molecular identification of Babesia bigemina, to find the tickvector and evaluation of clinical symptoms in the affected cattle. In spring 2018, the presence of Babesia bigemina piroplasm was evaluated in the blood specimens of 17 cattle that have been diagnosed with high fever, hemoglobinuria and severe anemia with Giemsa staining method. The collected ticks from affected cattle have been identified morphologically. The clinical symptoms were analyzed and treatment was performed with imidocarb dipropionate. The PCR procedure amplified the Babesia bigemina specific fragment of ITS1-5.8S-ribosomal DNA in blood specimens and tick salivary glands. The morpho-molecular investigations showed Babesia bigemina piroplasm in the blood of 8 numbers of investigated cattle. Also, the ITS1-5.8S-ribosomal DNA of Babesia bigemina was detected in the salivary glands of Rhipicephalus annulatus collected ticks. The clinical disorders of the disease have been treated after administration of Imidocarb dipropionate. The findings of the present study illustrate a new focus of Texas Cattle Fever and its vector in Sistan region, southeast of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bartonella species are lesser-known pathogenic bacteria that infect a wide range of domestic and wild animals as well as humans. Currently, out of 40 Bartonella species/subspecies, at least 17 are associated with clinical signs in humans and animals. However, despite the zoonotic importance of bartonellosis, there is limited information about prevalence and species infecting dogs and cats in Iran. The aim of this study was molecular identification of Bartonella species in dogs and arthropods infesting them in Hamedan and Kermanshah cities in the west of Iran. Blood genomic DNA (gDNA) was extracted from 100 dogs (45 from Hamedan and 55 from Kermanshah) and, of 25 Ctenocphalides canis fleas, six Pulex irritans fleas and 12 Rhipecephalus sanguineus ticks collected from nine infested dogs were examined for the presence of Bartonella species. Conventional PCR targeting fragments of ITS and rpoB genes was performed, and PCR-positive samples were sequenced bidirectionally and analyzed phylogenetically. Out of 100 dogs, 14 dogs (14%, ten from Hamedan and four from Kermanshah) were found infected with Bartonella species. Nucleotide sequencing confirmed the presence of four Bartonella species in the examined population i.e. Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and Candidatus B. merieuxii in dogs. None of the examined fleas scored positive but one Rh. sanguineus tick from a blood-negative dog was infected with Bartonella DNA. Results of the present study showed the presence of different zoonotic Bartonella species in dogs of Hamedan and Kermanshah cities highlighting the importance of this vector-borne infection. Effective ectoparasite control strategies, regular examination of pet and urban dogs and cats and successful chemoprophylaxis are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determie the variety of Babesia species among cattle of shahreza city in the south part of Isfahan Province. A total of 253 blood samples were collected via the jugular vein from healthy cattle, randomly. The extracted DNA from blood cells was amplified by Babesia-all primers, which amplify an approximately 400bp DNA fragment from the region of the 18S rRNA gene from various members of the genus Babesia. All cattle positive samples were further analysed for the presence of B. bigemina and B. bovis by specific semi-nested PCR. B. bigemina and B. bovis were identified by specific semi-nested PCR in 0% and 65.2% of cattle blood samples, respectively. Chi-square tests were used to compare molecular prevalence values relative to Season, Farm, Type, Hygiene, Vectors, Use a disposable needle, Age, and Milk Yield. Among these factors, seasons and vectors were found to have significantly different in the prevalence. The significant major risk factors of B. bovis in cattle were identified as season, hygiene, and vectors by the univariate analysis. Moreover, multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed a statistically significant association of the prevalence of B. bovis with the season. The examination of 50 microscopic fields showed 59.39% sensitivity and 100% specificity compared to molecular examination. The Kappa coefficient between molecular and microscopy (50 fields) techniques indicated a moderate level of agreement (Kappa= 0.504). This study is the first molecular detection of Babesia species from cattle in the south of Isfahan Province, Iran. Further researches are needed to determine the vectors, vectorhost interactions and genotypic variants that may affect the presence and distribution of Babesia species in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]