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Aim: Cattle is one of the main sources of food supply chain for humans in most countries. The present study aimed to identify the infection rates for Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Sarcocystis spp. by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method in native slaughtered cattle in Kashan, central Iran. Materials and Methods: Totally, 159 diaphragm, esophagus, and muscle samples (53 samples of each) were collected from native beef cattle from Kashan slaughterhouse, central Iran. The genomic DNA was extracted, and PCR method was used separately for detection of N. caninum, Sarcocystis, and T. gondii species using specific primers. Finding: Sarcocystis was found in 84.9% of muscles, 83% of esophagus, and 84.9% of diaphragm samples. Mixed infection (Sarcocystis cruzi–Sarcocystis hominis) was the most common infection, followed by S. cruzi and S. hominis. Sarcocystis hirsuta was not detected in any samples. T. gondii was detected only in three (5.7%) out of the 53 muscle tissues samples of cattle. N. caninum was found in 18.9% of muscles, 24.5% of esophagus, and 28.3% of diaphragm samples. One of the cattle had coinfection to Neospora, Toxoplasma, and Sarcocystis in muscles simultaneously. There was no statistically significant difference between infection rates and age as well as sex in each organ. Conclusion: This study revealed a low prevalence rate of T. gondii, but a high prevalence of infection to N. caninum and S. cruzi or mixed infection of S. cruzi with S. hominis among slaughtered cattle. Prevention measures such as keeping away dogs from cattle grazing are recommended.

Aims: Blastocystis species are one of the most common enteric protist infections in humans and some animals worldwide. Molecular studies have shown that there is a high level of genetic variation among Blastocystis isolates. The aim of this study was to identify the subtypes and frequency of Blastocystis isolates in patients who referred to the medical diagnostic laboratories in Kashan, Central Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1118 patients, from December 2017 to June 2018. Fecal specimens were evaluated by the microscopic examination. Positive samples were cultivated in Robinson media. After massive growth and DNA extraction, a 550 bp from the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for subtype identification. The PCR products have been sequenced, identified, and compared at the NCBI site. The results were analyzed using the SPSS software version 16. Results: The frequency of Blastocystis sp. was 8.58%, (confidence interval = 6.94%–10.22%) from which 76% were men and 24% were women. Of the 51 PCR positive samples, ST3 (41.2%), ST1 (39.2%), ST2 (11.8%), and 7.8% isolates were identified as mixed. ST3 and ST1 have been more common. The highest levels of infection were observed in the food-handlers, the age group of 31–40, and people with high school education. Conclusion: The results showed that the frequency of Blastocystis was lower than other studies and the most common Blastocystis subtype was subtype 3, followed by subtype 1, and subtype 2.

Aim: Fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis are important parasitic diseases worldwide, causing significant financial losses due to decrease in production and viscera condemnation in animals. We performed the current research to assess the epidemiology of these infections and determine their significance from an economic perspective in Arak, Iran. Materials and Methods: In total, we evaluated 118,463 sheep, 207,652 goats, and 43,675 cattle through necropsic analysis at the slaughterhouses. The average weight of sheep, goat, and cattle liver was 1000, 900, and 5000 g, respectively. The average price of liver in the market was 8 USD/kg. Moreover, the elimination of fundamental nutrients and vitamins was evaluated in infected livers. The prevalence of fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis was determined. Analysis of variance test was applied for the statistical analysis, and the significance level was

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: 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 Taq1 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.

Background: One of the most important zoonotic helminths in the world is known as Echinococcus granulosus. Different strains of the E. granulosus have been described based on morphological and molecular characterizations, however, there is limited information regarding the characteristics of the phenotypes and genotypes of E. granulosus in Iran. Methods: The present study was prepared to evaluate the phenotypic and genotypic diversity of E. granulosus isolates collected from human, goat, sheep, and cattle based on 19 standard morphometric parameters and mitochondrial and nuclear genes (CO1, ND1, and ITS1) in Kashan, Markazi Province, Iran during 2013-2014. Results: The biometric analysis for the 19 characters revealed that the 19 morphometric values of cattle isolates were exceptionally higher than human, goat, and sheep isolates (P

Background: Based on genotyping study of human isolates of Giardia lamblia; humans are mainly infected by two assemblages A and B. The present study was carried out to determine the sub-assemblages of G. lamblia isolated from food handlers referred to Kashan health centers, central Iran, 2015. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 3653 stool samples collected from food-handlers that annually refer to health center for getting a health certification and examined microscopically for G. lamblia cyst. Totally, 44 isolates were selected from 47 Giardia positive samples. Cysts were partially purified by the sucrose density gradient method. After freeze-thaw cycles, genomic DNA was extracted using QIAamp Stool Mini kit. A single step PCR-RFLP method was used to amplify a 458bp fragment at the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) locus, restriction enzymes BspLI and RsaI were used for distinguish between genotypes A and B and their subgroups. Results: Of 44 isolates, 24(54.5%) were sub-assemblage AII, 9(20.5%) group B including 7(15.9%) BIII and 2(4.6%) BIV sub-assemblage and 11(25%) isolates showed a mixed pattern of AII and B. Sub-assemblage AI was not detected in this study. Conclusion: The higher rate of sub-assemblage AII demonstrated an anthroponotic origin of the infection so infected food-handlers could directly transmit this protozoan to consumers via contaminated food and water. For finding of pattern of transmission and distribution of Giardia assemblages and sub-assemblage, more studies in human and animal population in different regions are necessary.

Little is known about latent infection and molecular characterisation of Neospora caninum in sheep (Ovis aries). In this study, 330 sheep samples (180 hearts and 150 brains) were analysed for N. caninum DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the Nc-5 gene. Neospora caninum DNA was detected in 3.9% (13/330) of sheep samples. The parasite’s DNA was detected in 6.7% of heart samples (12/180) and 0.7% (1/150) of brain samples. No clinical signs were recorded from infected or uninfected animals. Sequencing of the genomic DNA revealed 96% – 99% similarity with each other and 95.15% – 100% similarity with N. caninum sequences deposited in GenBank. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of PCR to identify latent neosporosis in sheep in Iran. The results of this study have the potential to contribute to our understanding of the role of N. caninum-infected sheep in the epidemiology of neosporosis.