Efficiency of wastewater treatment plants in removal of intestinal parasites: A review approach

of the spread and entry of parasitic pathogens into the environment and water resources. Numerous studies have been conducted on the presence of parasitic agents in the entry and effluent of WWTPs in different countries. This study was conducted to review the parasite prevalence in different WWTPs and assess their removal efficiency. Methods: ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases and other sites with the ability to receive a full-text related articles, were reviewed. Various keywords such as parasites, wastewater, effluent, treatment efficiency, protozoan cysts, parasitic eggs, and similar keywords were used to search articles published from 2005 to 2019. After screening the titles and abstracts of articles, 26 articles were reviewed in this study. Results: Giardia spp, Cryptosporidium spp, Entamoeba spp, Blastocystis spp, Toxocara spp, Trichostrongylus spp, A. lumbricoides, and Hymenolepis are the most prevalent parasites. Studies show that parasitic egg hatching rates are up to 5%, in aerated lagoons, up to 99.9%, in activated sludge, and up to 5%, in ponds due to high retention time and downstream artificial reefs. Conclusion: Studies show that due to the current state of treatment plants and adverse operating and maintenance conditions, it is not possible to completely remove parasitic pathogens from these systems, therefore, it should be considered by regulatory authorities and the systems need to be improved for better performance of treatment plants and optimizing them, and training of users should also be improved. This review indicated that the types of natural constructed wetland in Kermanshah (Iran) and activated sludge of wastewater treatment processes in Iran and Brazil are most effective in removal of intestinal parasites. Keywords: Waste water, Treatment, Parasites, Efficienc

Medicinal Plants with Anti-Trichomonas vaginalis Activity in Iran: A Systematic Review

Background: Trichomoniasis, due to Trichomonas vaginalis, is one of the most common sexually transmitted parasitic diseases in the world such as Iran. This systematic review aimed to explore the studies evaluating the medicinal herbs with anti- T. vaginalis activity which used in Iran. Methods: Articles published in 4 Persian and 4 English databases were obtained between 2000 and 2015 including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Magiran, Barakatkns (formerly IranMedex), Elm net, and SID (Scientific Information Database). Studies out of Iran, studies on animal models and articles on other parasite species than T. vaginalis were excluded from this review. Results: Twenty-one articles including in vitro experiments, met our eligibility criteria. Thoroughly, 26 types of plants were examined against T. vaginalis. Medicinal herbs such as Artemisia, Zataria multiflora, and Lavandula angustifolia are remarkably effective on T. vaginalis. As such, use of other parts of these plants in different concentrations and timelines is recommended for future in vivo studies. Conclusion: The present systematic review provides comprehensive and useful information about Iranian medicinal plants with anti-T. vaginalis activity, which would be examined in the future experimental and clinical trials and herbal combination therapy

Human urogenital myiasis : A systematic review of reported cases from 1975 to 2017

The public health importance of myiasis [infestation with dipterous (fly) larvae] remains unknown. This disease is spread worldwide in animals and humans, but baseline data on its prevalence are limited. In particular, knowledge on human urogenital myiasis (UGM) is scattered. As such, a systematic search was undertaken of five English and five Persian databases for publications describing UGM cases in English or Persian published between 1975 and 2017. In total, 45 papers reporting 59 UGM cases from various regions of the world are included in this review. All included papers were from the English databases. The age of patients ranged from 5 to 89 years, and the mean age was 40.6 years. Thirty-six of the patients were female and 19 were male. The highest number of cases (n = 12) was reported from Brazil. The most common genera causing UGM were Psychoda spp. (23.7%) and Cochliomyia spp. (11.8%). The vagina was the most commonly reported anatomical location of UGM for women, and the urogenital tract was the most commonly reported location for men. Thirteen cases were reported from rural areas and eight cases from urban areas; the location of other cases was not specified. The incidence of UGM is likely to be substantially underestimated when evaluated based on published case reports. Epidemiological studies, such as questionnaires to medical doctors, could help to gather the necessary baseline data on the occurrence of UGM. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Molecular Evidence of Emerged Pulmonary Lophomoniasis due to Lophomonas blattarum among Hospitalized Patients in Southwestern Iran: A National Registry-Based Study

Objectives. Lophomonas protozoan is an emerging pathogen transmitted through arthropods such as cockroaches. Lophomoniasis is still a mysterious disease with many unknown epidemiological aspects. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of lophomoniasis among patients who were hospitalized in Hajar Hospital, Shahrekord, southwestern Iran, using a conventional PCR technique. Methods. In this retrospective study, 132 frozen bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) specimens from patients with respiratory disorders hospitalized in Hajar Hospital, Shahrekord district, southwestern Iran, were analyzed during 2020-2021. Samples are referred to the Iranian National Registry Center for Lophomoniasis (INRCL), Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran, for detecting Lophomonas spp. infection by a conventionally small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) PCR test. Results. A total of 132 frozen BALF specimens were examined, 36 (27.3%) tested Lophomonas spp. positive using the conventional PCR technique. Also, based on sequencing data and blast analysis, the presence of L. blattarum species was confirmed. The average age of Lophomonas spp.- positive patients was 67.02 ± 15.14 years. Out of the 36 positive subjects, 63.9% were male and 36.1% female. Male and Lophomonas infection had a significant correlation (p=0.001). Our findings revealed that L. blattarum infected nonsmokers more than smokers (p=0.001). The most common underlying disease was also bronchitis Conclusion. Our results showed, for the first time, that pulmonary lophomoniasis caused by L. blattarum is a common and emerging disease in the study area, southwestern Iran. Furthermore, our findings support the use of the PCR test to detect Lophomonas infection in archived frozen clinical sample

Survey on the quality of outlet biosolids and sludge heavy metals in the wastewater treatment plants of Mazandaran province

Background: Sewage sludge is rich in fecal coliforms, Salmonella, parasite eggs, and heavy metals that can cause disease in humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of outlet biosolids and sludge heavy metals in the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Mazandaran province and to compare them with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. Methods: This study was carried out on the sludge of the treatment plants of Sari, Joybar, Babol, Babolsar, Nowshahr, and Nowshahr-Chalus sludge compost plants. In this study, physical, chemical, and biological properties of sludge samples including retention time, pH, total solids (TS), color, heavy metals (copper, zinc, nickel, cadmium, and chromium) as well as the density of fecal coliform, Salmonella and parasite eggs were determined and reported. Results: Biosolids of Joybar, Babol, Babolsar, and Nowshahr-Chalus WWTP in terms of parasite eggs were in class A. Biosolids of Sari WWTP in summer after drying off naturally were located in Class A, and in summer and spring, were located in Class B based on the US EPA criteria. The average concentration of heavy metals (copper, zinc, nickel, cadmium, and chromium) was lower than the EPA standard. Conclusion: The results showed that mostly the treated sewage sludge in Mazandaran WWTPs were in Class B of the EPA guideline. The concentration of heavy metals in the biosolids of these WWTPs is lower than the EPA regulation and the use of these biosolids in agriculture is not limited for these metals

Anti-Giardial Activity of Chloroformic Extract of Tanacetum parthenium and Artemisia annua in vitro

Background: Giardiasis is a one of the most prevalent intestinal parasitic diseases in human, treatment of this disease through medicinal plants is very important since parasite resistance to chemical drugs exists. Thus, in this study, the in vitro anti-giardial activity of chloroformic extract of Tanacetum parthenium and Artemisia annua on cyst and trophozoite of Giardia lamblia were separately investigated.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study chloroformic extracts of Artemisia annua and Tanacetum parthenium on cyst and trophozoite of G. lamblia in vitro were prepared in 1, 10, 50 and 100 mg∕ml concentrations for 5, 10, 30, 60 and 180 min. Purified cysts were used for encystations and culture in TYI-S-33 medium. Then, 2 ml of each solution was placed in test tubes, to which 10,000 washed cysts and trophozoites were added. The contents of the tubes were gently mixed and incubated. The percentages of dead parasites were determined by counting 500 cysts. Non treated parasites were considered a control group in each experiment and the viability of the parasites checked with Eeosin staining and statistical analysis were done. Results: The results showed that chloroformic extracts of A. annua at 100 mg/ml concentration affected on Gardia cyst 86% and 100% trophozoite after 1 hour. T. parthenium at 50mg/ml concentration killed cysts (83%) and trophozite (100%) after 1 hour, respectively. T. parthenium chloroformic extract had a better effect on cyst and trophozoite of Giardia at 50 mg/ml after 1 hour exposure than A. annua extract. Conclusion: According to this study, A. annua and T. parthenium chlorofomic extracts could be considered as a more effective anti-giardial agent. Chloroformic extract of T. parthenium was also shown the anti-giardial activity compared with A. annua and control groups at all exposure times. Therefore, in the future research using these plants are recommended against Giardia in low concentration in the in vivo, also to find fractions of the pharmacological effects of these plants

A bibliometric analysis of global research on toxoplasmosis in the Web of Science

Aim: This study was designed to evaluate the network productions and research collaborations on toxoplasmosis worldwide. Materials and Methods: A bibliometric research was carried out using the Web of Science (WOS) database. The analysis unit was the original research articles about toxoplasmosis published between 2000 and 2016 (17 years). Results: Totally, 6,550 articles about toxoplasmosis were indexed in the WOS with the following information: (A) 18,410 researchers played a role in drafting the articles; (B) 33 different countries have contributed in the toxoplasmosis studies; (C) the USA was ranked at the first place with 2,162 publications about toxoplasmosis; and (D) "Dubey JP" was compiled and participated in 401 articles from the USA, as the highest number and main core of publications in the toxoplasmosis network. Conclusion: The main focus of the toxoplasmosis research activities in the world was article production in the indexed journals in WOS. Hence, it is necessary to strengthen the collaboration networks to improve the quality of articles. Furthermore, the priority would be the identification of institutions with a higher number of research article productions in WOS, to perform toxoplasmosis collaborative original researches according to the strategic roadmap and scientific plan of each country

A Mini-Review on Iron Chelating Agents as a Promising Therapeutic Target in Treatment of Leishmaniasis

There is a high prevalence of infections caused by Leishmania parasites and increasing rate of drug resistance. Lack of successful treatment with existing drugs calls for new therapeutic approaches. The main strategy in treatment of leishmaniasis is creating apoptosis and eliminating different forms of the parasite. So far, numerous drugs with specific mechanisms including 14-α-demethylase enzyme inhibition, inhibition of tubulin polymerization and cell division, radical formation, inhibiting the glycolytic and hydrolysis of fatty acids, and reducing the parasite's access to energy reserves such as ATP have been introduced. Moreover, different mineral compounds especially iron are needed for metabolism and survival of the parasite. This review article introduces iron-chelating compounds as a new therapeutic approach in treatment of leishmaniasis