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Cryptosporidium is one of the major causes of diarrhea in HIV-positive patients. The aim of this study is to systematically review and meta-analyze the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in these patients. PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Cochrane and Ovid databases were searched for relevant studies dating from the period of 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2017. Data extraction for the included studies was performed independently by two authors. The overall pooled prevalence was calculated and subgroup analysis was performed on diagnostic methods, geographical distribution and study population. Meta-regression was performed on the year of publication, proportion of patients with diarrhea, and proportion of patients with CD4

Background: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and intensity of nematode infections in sheep located in northeastern Iran from Apr 2018 to Mar 2019. Methods: Gastrointestinal nematodes of 300 sheep were inspected. The season of slaughter, anatomic location where the parasite was located, the animal’s sex, infection prevalence and intensity were recorded. Seasonal differences in arrested larvae numbers also were assessed using Cochran's Q test. Results: Overall, 4,331 adult nematode specimens were collected. Among the examined sheep, 53% (159/300) were infected with one or more nematode species. Among infected sheep, 42.8% were infected with a single species of nematode, 26.4% were infected with two species of nematodes, and 30.8% were infected with three or more species of nematodes. Marshallagia marshalli (13.3%) was the most common nematode recovered from the abomasums of infected sheep, while Trichostrongylus vitrinus (4.6%) was commonly recovered from the small intestines, and Trichuris ovis (25.6%) was commonly recovered from the large intestines. In total, 463 arrested larvae were found in the abomasums of 7.5% of infected sheep and 104 arrested larvae were found in the small intestines of 8.8% of infected sheep. A significantly higher numbers of arrested larvae were found in summer compared to autumn (P<0.001). Conclusion: Intestinal parasites continue to be a problem for sheep in northeastern Iran and additional control measures need to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two known types of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) including zoonotic CL due to Leishmania major and anthroponotic CL due to Leishmania tropica are prevalent in 14 of 22 countries located in the Eastern Mediterranean region including Iran. According to existing data, CL is endemic in Sabzevar City (northeast of Iran) and, because of the climatic conditions in this semi-desert region, is suitable for living vector/reservoir hosts of infection. The aim of our study was to identify the recent status of CL causative species in rural areas of Sabzevar County. Suspected patients of CL who were referred to health centers in suburban areas of Sabzevar and confirmed via microscopic observation of amastigotes were included in the study. Molecular identification of Leishmania species was done via nested PCR assay, based on amplification of kinetoplast minicircle fragments of L. major and L. tropica. In total, 153 patients including 89 males and 64 females were enrolled in this study. A high infection rate was reported in the autumn season (with a peak in October). Our findings revealed that L. major is responsible for 100% of infections. In addition, there was no association between CL and risk factors after statistical analysis. It seems that the infection pattern of CL is changing predominantly to L. major in most regions of Iran, which may be due to environmental changes, or ecological amendment and their effects on (vector/reservoir) host distribution in rural parts. Finally, controlling programs as well as promotion in public health systems should be considered in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present investigation aims to evaluate the prevalence of IgM and IgG anti-7, gondii antibodies and the associated risk factors among healthy blood donors in Mashhad city, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. Methods: We screened a total of 500 serum samples by census method from apparently healthy blood donors of the Mashhad Blood Transfusion Organization (MBTO) for IgG and IgM anti-T gondii antibodies by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: We found that 29.6%, 25%, 1.4%, and 3.2% of tested donors were positive for anti-T gondii antibodies, only IgG antibody, both IgM and IgG, and IgM antibody alone, respectively. Several risk factors which were significantly related to T gondii seropositivity in the univariate analysis at P < 0.05 included female gender (OR = 3.222, P < 0.001), age more than 40 years (P = 0.026), and sausage/hot dog consumption (OR = 4.472, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The results of this study can be a warning for blood transfusion organizations to pay special attention to toxoplasmosis among blood donors and also design screening programs for prevention of transfusion-transmitted toxoplasmosis. sis [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this study, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) method was applied to determine and compare the protein spots expressed in the two field isolates of Leishmania major and recovered from the patients who were clinically sensitive and resistant to Glucantime® treatment. Methods: Leishmania parasites were isolated from the cutaneous lesions of two CL infected patients in Shiraz, south of Iran. The species of the two isolates were identified as L. major using Nested-PCR. Sensitivity (Sh-214S) and resistance (Sh-120R) of the two isolates to meglumine antimonite were checked by the standard in vitro assays. Both sensitive and resistant L. major isolates were harvested in RPMI 1640 medium. Protein extractions were performed using TCA/Acetone method and the protein spots were determined by a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). The gels were stained with silver nitrate and analyzed by Image Master 2D Melanie-6 software. Results: About 2967 protein spots were detected. Overall, 89 protein spots represented considerable changes of expression in the resistant isolate of L. major compared to the sensitive isolate. Of these, 60 and 29 protein spots were up-and down regulated, respectively. In addition, 11 protein spots present in the resistant isolate were noticed to be absent in the sensitive isolate. Conclusion: A number of proteins showed significant changes of expression in the drug-resistant L. major; moreover, the roles of these proteins probably enhanced the parasite resistance to the drug and increased parasite survival in the cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leishmania infantum is the most frequent cause of visceral leishmaniasis and L. tropica has been rarely linked to the disease in Iran. In this study, bone marrow aspirates were collected from 10 child patients, suspected with visceral leishmaniasis referred to the Pediatric Wards of Kerman Medical Hospitals, Kerman, Iran during 2002-2011. Leishmania species were identified by using nested PCR in all slides. The PCR samples from nine patients indicated L. infantum as principal causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis and one L. tropica as a minor species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), so-called Kala-azar is a life threating parasitic infectious disease caused by Leishmania spp. L. infantum is the main causative agent for Mediterranean form of Kala-azar which is endemic in northeastern Iran. This study attempted to investigate existence of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in Khorasan Razavi., Methods: Between 2014 and 2016, tissue samples collected from spleen and liver of 192 stray dogs were examined to investigate existence of L. infantum . Kinetoplast DNA (k-DNA) PCR was performed to identify the species of parasites. The positive PCR products were sequenced in both directions to confirm the kDNA PCR results., Results: Among samples obtained from 192 dogs, kinetoplast DNA of L. infantum was detected in two female dogs. L. infantum was confirmed by sequence analysis of PCR products., Conclusion: Our data confirm stray dogs play as potential reservoirs for VL in this province. Further investigation will be necessary to clear role of stray dogs in the transmission of L. infantum to human and domestic dogs., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.