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Background: Treatment of vivax malaria with primaquine prevents the risk of relapse. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of 8 weeks of primaquine treatment in prevention of relapse in patients with vivax malaria in south and south-east Iran by SSCP-PCR and sequencing., Methods: A total of 163 symptomatic vivax malaria cases were followed up in Hormozgan and Sistan, Baluchestan provinces in south and south-east Iran between December 2008 and December 2011. DNA was extracted from primary and secondary positive samples. A variation region of PvMSP-1 gene was selected and amplified by PCR. The obtained fragments were processed in polyacrylamide gel for single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) and then sequenced., Results: Among 145 patients treated with chloroquine plus primaquine who completed the study period, two patients (1.4%) experienced a secondary infection after the initial episode of Plasmodium vivax. The comparison between primary and secondary isolates by SSCP indicated different banding patterns and electrophoretic mobility. Alignment of nucleotide sequences between pair primary and secondary isolates revealed dissimilar homology. Secondary isolates of both patients were considered as reinfection. Five of the 18 cases (28%) treated with chloroquine only revealed secondary infection. Analysis of nucleotide sequences and SSCP patterns indicated the relapse in all of them., Conclusion: This survey indicates that intake of primaquine, 0.75 mg/kg, weekly for 8 consecutive weeks, is effective for the prevention of relapse in vivax cases in Iran.

Infection with Trichomonas vaginalis, the causative agent of human urogenital infection, is the most prevalent nonviral sexually transmitted disease worldwide. In spite of the high prevalence and medical importance of trichomoniasis, there is little knowledge about genetic epidemiology and genetic characterisation of this parasite. For this purpose, a Single Stranded Conformation Polymorphism-PCR (SSCP-PCR) typing method was conducted for Iranian T. vaginalis isolates using 5.8s ribosomal gene (rRNA gene) and the flanking internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. Nine hundred and fifty vaginal swab samples were examined in which 50 (5.3%) samples were parasitologically positive and used for molecular identification based on SSCP-PCR and nucleotide sequence analyses. Results of the SSCP analysis showed two distinct reproducible banding patterns (I, II) which were confirmed by nucleotide sequence analysis in the ITS1 regions. Frequencies of the SSCP banding patterns I and II were 84% (42/50) and 16% (8/50), respectively. In conclusion, SSCP-PCR analysis provided a reliable and sensitive method for strain genotyping of T. vaginalis based on the ITS1/5.8s/ITS2 region. This finding may help us gain more information about correlation between genetic properties and biological features of this parasite.

Aim: The current study investigated the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. among children under 6 and adults over 60 years of age with diarrhea in the southwest of Iran. Background: Cryptosporidiosis is an opportunistic parasitic infection caused by the species Cryptosporidium that causes gastrointestinal complications and diarrhea. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Khuzestan province between January 2020 to December 2020. Out of 350 patients referring to medical centers with clinical signs of diarrhea, 57.4% were under six years of age and 42.6% were more than 60 years old. Fecal samples were examined using Modified Ziehl-Neelsen (MZN) staining and nested-PCR techniques. Results: The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. infection in the study population was 0.9% as determined by microscopic and molecular methods (3/47). Conclusion: The study results confirm the prevalence of parasitic infections as reported in previous studies in other regions of Iran. Preventive health measures are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The main goal of present study was to detect polymorphism in MSP-1 gene which is a major blood stage candidate for vaccine in Plasmodium vivax by Single Strand Conformational Polymorphism- Polymerase Chain Reaction (SSCP-PCR). Methods: During 2008 to 2010 fifty samples were collected from Iranian patients with P. vivax in Hormozgan Province, southern Iran. All of the samples were detected by microscopical examination. Amplification of MSP-1 gene was done by PCR after DNA extraction. Single strand DNAs due to using in SSCP, was electrophoresed on polyacrylamid- Bisacrylamid gel then banding patterns were revealed by silver-staining method. Sequencing as a typing method was performed for some isolates. Results: All of the 50 isolates were positive microscopically. Totally 12 (24%) isolates showed 440 bp and 38 (76%) showed 500 bp in PCR assay. SSCP analysis revealed four banding patterns. Pattern I (10/50), Pattern II (12/50), Pattern III (27/50), and Pattern IV (1/50). The results sequencing analysis of the MSP-1 gene in 19 isolates revealed diversity in nucleotides and amino acid in Iranian P. vivax isolates. Conclusion: Our study confirms that the SSCP-PCR is a rapid method for detecting polymorphism in MSP-1 gene in P. vivax. The presence of different haplotypes in MSP-1 gene shows that several P. vivax strains exist in malaria endemic areas of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]