Ant stings in military forces on three Persian islands of Abu-Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb

Aims: Ants with the ability of biting and injecting venom to human body are called sting ants. This study was conducted to identify and determine the ant species and the prevalence of ant sting and related epidemiological factors in three Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu-Musa islands, Iran. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed during Jan-July 2010 in Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu-Musa islands on 318 military individuals who were selected by random sampling method. The ant collection was done by active hand-catch method. The ant sting prevalence and related epidemiological factors were determined by questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistical methods including Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test and Spearman and Gamma correlation. Results: Sting ants in these islands were identified as Pachycondyla sennaarensis (Mayr, 1862) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The mean prevalence of ant stings was 70.1%. The seasonal incidence of sting in three islands had the same pattern and was more common in spring and summer. 84.4% of ant stings had occurred in limbs. The main symptoms caused by the ant stings include pain, severe itching and local inflammation and blisters in some cases. Conclusion: Although ant stings in these islands is not much dangerous and does not lead to anaphylactic shock and death, ant stings prevalence is very high and the pain, itching and burning would cause discomfort for soldiers and reduce their efficiency. Therefore, preventive measures and control of these ants should be considered

Arthropod Borne Diseases in Imposed War during 1980-88

Background: Personnel of military forces have close contact with natural habitat and usually encounter with bite of arthropods and prone to be infected with arthropod borne diseases. The imposed war against Iran was one of the most important and the longest war in the Middle East and even in the world and military people faced various diseases. The aim of this study was to review prevalence of arthropod borne diseases and to collect relevant information and valuable experiences during the imposed war. Methods: The present survey is a historical research and cross-sectional study, focused on arthropod fauna, situation of different arthropod borne diseases and also the ways which military personnel used to protect themselves against them. The information was adopted from valid military health files and also interviewing people who participated in the war. Results: Scabies, cutaneous leishmaniasis, sandfly fever and pediculosis were more prevalent among other arthropod -borne diseases in Iran-Iraq war. Measures to control arthropods and diseases at wartime mainly included: scheduled spraying of pesticides, leishmanization and treatment of patients. Conclusion: Although measures used during the war to control arthropods were proper, however, due to needs and importance of military forces to new equipment and technologies, it is recommended to use deltamethrin-impreg­nated bed net, permethrin treated military uniforms and various insect repellents in future

Level of Educational Objectives Achievement in Health and Community Medicine Internship Course; Interns Viewpoint

Aims: Nowadays, the community oriented medicine education model has been mainly noticed. The aim of this study was to survey the interns about achievement to the educational goals confirmed by Health Ministry in health internship and community medicine courses.    Instrument & Methods: In the descriptive cross-sectional study, 56 health internship and community medicine students of one of the military universities of medical sciences in Tehran were studied in 2014 and 2015. The subjects were selected via available sampling method. Data was collected by a questionnaire based on the educational goals confirmed by Health Ministry. Data was analyzed by SPSS 19 software using descriptive indices and step-by-step regression test. Findings: 70, 68, and 60% of the students agreed to knowledge earning, achieving an attitude, and new skill earning, respectively. The highest knowledge earning levels were in health care factors (72%) and the method to monitor and assess the state health program (72%) and the lowest was in overall support (56%). The highest level of achieving an attitude was in family physician functioning (76%) and the lowest levels were in overall support (44%) and social factors effective on health (44%). There were significant correlations between knowledge earning (p=0.016) and achieving an attitude (p=0.032) and the scored given to the theoretical issues. In addition, there was a significant correlation between skill earning and the score given to the personal exercises (p=0.015).   Conclusion: The levels of knowledge earning, achieving an attitude, and skill earning in health internship and community medicine courses were unfavorable, especially in some goals.&nbsp