Search

Background: Neosuporosis is caused by a parasitic protozoan called Neospora caninum. This parasite can infect different species of domestic and wild animals. Some studies have reported the possibility of human infection with this parasite. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-Neospora caninum antibody in raw milk of cattle in Kashan city. Materials and Methods: In this study, 187 milk samples were collected from two industrial farms in Kashan. The breed of all cows was Holstein. Before sampling, the livestock information such as age, race, history of abortion and stillbirth, the daily milk yield was recorded in the prepared forms. Fat of the samples was separated by centrifuge and lactoserums were collected. To determine anti-Neospora caninum antibody in milk samples, an indirect ELISA kit was used. Results: Results showed that 18.8% (CI=18.18±5.53) of the samples were infected with Neospora caninum. No significant relationship was found between the infection with this protozoa and milk production and age of the cows (P=0.84). Also, the results showed that there was no significant relationship between abortion and infection with Neospora. Conclusion: Considering the contamination rate of cow's milk in Kashan, the implementation of control programs in livestock has great importance. Also, considering the possibility of human infection with Neospora, the need for attention to these control programs is more and more evident.

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis infection is one of the most prevalent type of vaginitis in women. Considering the side effects of metronidazole and therapeutic properties of Arctium lappa L. and Satureja hortensis L. in traditional medicine, this study aimed to examine the anti-Trichomonas effects of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis alcoholic extracts in vitro. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on T. vaginalis isolated from 1203 persons referred to five health centers in Kashan city. Five T. vaginalis isolates were cultured in a TYI-S-33 medium and were used to study the effect of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis extracts. The effects of different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1000 µg/mL) of plant extracts on the growth of T. vaginalis trophozoeites were studied 12, 24, and 48 h after the culture. Also, the culture media and metronidazole (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 µg/mL) were considered as the negative and positive controls, respectively. The effects of the extracts and drug were examined by counting the number of live and dead parasites using the trypan blue staining method. Results: Results showed that the alcoholic extracts of Satureja hortensis and Arctium lappa had an inhibitory effect on the growth of T. vaginalis. The IC50 values of the alcoholic extracts of Satureja hortensis, Arctium lappa and metronidazole after 24 h were 190.8, 996.7 and 0.0326 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The present study shows the in vitro anti-Trichomonas effect of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis extracts. The anti-Trichomonas effect of Satureja hortensis extract was higher than that of the Arctium lappa extract. Further studies are recommended to investigate the anti-Trichomonas effect of major components of these plants, especially the Satureja hortensis extract.

Background: Hydatidosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases with global distribution. Due to the prevalence of the disease in country, the study aimed to determine the clinical and laboratory findings in patients with hydatidosis admitted to surgical departments of educational hospitals, Imam Khomeini and Golestan, in Ahvaz city during 2004-2014. Materials and Methods: Data of the patients including demographic characteristics, and clinical and laboratory findings were recorded in a prepared form and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests by the SPSS software. Results: From a total of all patients, 49 (55.7%) and 39 patients (44.3%) were females and males respectively; 25 patients were resident in rural areas and 62 in urban areas. The mean age of the patients was 30.6±2 years. Also, the maximum and minimum percentages of the disease were observed in the age group 20-29 and 80-89, respectively. Recurrence was observed in 9 patients. The highest prevalence of the hydatid cyst was in the right lobe of the liver (26.1%). Among the methods of imaging, sonography and MRI had the highest and lowest use in the diagnosis of the disease, respectively. Conclusion: Findings of this study show that the most common organs affected are the liver and the younger age group and suburbs are more prone to hydatidosis. Due to the chronicity of the disease and the late diagnosis during the visit, screening for endemic areas and high-risk persons is recommended.

Background: Hydatidosis is one of the most important zoonotic parasitic disease worldwide caused by Echinococcus granulosus. Given the importance of parasite genotyping in disease control, this study was aimed to evaluate the genetic variation of the camel and dog isolates in Isfahan. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on infected livers and lungs of camels with hydatid cyst (n=51) during 2015-2016, collected from Zarinshahr and Najafabad industrial abattoir and 200 adult E. granulosus worms collected from stray dogs in different geographical regions of Isfahan for the molecular identification of mitochondrial genes (CO1, ND1). The DNA of protoscolices and adult worms were extracted, the PCR and sequencing were done using specific primers. Pairwise sequence alignment was used to identify the genetic similarity between the sequences and the registered ones in Gen bank using Clustalw2 software. Results: The PCR and sequencing of CO1 and ND1 genes on dog and camel samples showed different E. granulosus genotypes, including the common sheep strain (G1), bovid strain(G3) and camel strain (G6) in Isfahan region. The most frequent strains were the common sheep strain (G1). The genetic similarity between both ND1 and CO1 isolates taken from camel, dog and the isolates registered in Gene bank were 30.25-100% and 27.47-100% for camel and dog, respectively. Conclusion: Mitochondrial ND1 and CO1 genes are proper molecular markers for identifying the genetic variation of the camel and dog E. granulosus. The dominant strain of the worm in Isfahan, is the same as the other parts of the country, i.e., the G1 genotype (the most common sheep strain) belonged to the G1- G1 E. granulosus complex.