Detection of Toxocara spp. Eggs in the Soil of Public Places in and Around of Ardabil City, Northwestern Iran

Background: Human toxocariasis is contained in the list of neglected diseases. The infection occurs after ingestion of embryonated eggs in contaminated soil. The present study was carried out to estimate the extent of soil contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs in the public places. Methods: Soil samples were collected randomly from 41 public places in various parts in and around of Ardabil, Iran, between March 2013 and March 2014. Data were examined by microscopy following sodium nitrate flotation. Results: Of the 200 collected soil samples, 35 (17.5%) were positive for soil parasites. The eggs of Toxocara spp. were found in 14 (7%) soil samples. Conclusion: This investigation gives baseline knowledge regarding soil contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs in Ardabil city and provides information for local control of toxocariasis. 

Identification of Single-Base Mismatches in Pneumocystis jirovecii Isolated from Iranian TB positive Patients by CSGE Heteroduplex

Pneumocystis jirovecii is an opportunistic fungus, which causes Pneumocystis pneumonia (PJP) in immunocompromised, COPD and TB positive patients with a high rate of colonization, morbidity and mortality. Dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) gene mutations are well-reported in PJP. Although sulfa prophylaxis generally is associated with DHPS mutant infection, Multiple molecular techniques applied for detect sulfa resistance single-base mutation. Conformation sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE) is a rapid screening method for detection of DNA sequence variation, specifically single-base changes or small insertions and deletions. The current study is investigate on the DHPS sequence single-base dislocation among strains isolated from Iranian TB positive co-infected with PJP in association to increased levels of serum Lactate Dehydrogenase. Through high serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels have been associated with established Pneumocystis pneumonia. We investigated the DHPS mismatches in five P. jirovecii isolated of TB infected patients. For genetic identification of Pneumocystis isolates and detection of intraspecific variation, we developed a method for heteroduplex analysis. Our utilizing fragments was the DHPS gene regions, amplified by PCR method with specific primers. Serum LDH indicator was analysed for lung acute damages. In our results, at least 4 suspected isolates show more slowly migrating bands containing single heteroduplexes, reveal single-base mislocation in studied sequences. LDH level Peak was higher (p<0.05) in patients with PCP (445± 155 U/L) in comparison patients with chronic TB (310±50 U/L). CSGE is a simple manual method, based on heteroduplex analysis, and compares well in terms of sensitivity with other screening technologies. Manual CSGE remains a low-cost, accessible, and effective approach for mutation screening, which can be carried out with ­minimal specialist equipment

Molecular Epidemiology, Species Distribution, and Zoonotic Importance of the Neglected Meat-Borne Pathogen Sarcocystis spp. in Cattle (Bos taurus): A Global Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background Sarcocystis species are diverse apicomplexan parasites, though only two zoonotic species (S. hominis and S. heydorni) circulate between cattle and humans. Due to the importance of cattle in the human food chain and to prevent the consequences of parasitosis in humans, the first global systematic review and meta-analysis on molecular epidemiology, species distribution, and zoonotic significance of Sarcocystis infection in cattle was performed. Methods For this aim, four international English databases (PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science) were systematically searched till 20th September 2021, and random-effect models were drawn to calculate total estimates and their 95 confidence intervals (CIs). Results Finally, 44 papers from 21 countries were qualified for this review which examined 8526 cattle regarding Sarcocystis infection, rendering a total prevalence of 62.7 (95 CI 53-71.5). Globally, 12 Sarcocystis spp. have been reported from cattle, including S. cruzi, S. hominis, S. hirsuta, S. rommeli, S. heydorni, S. bovifelis, S. bovini, S. sinensis, S. gigantea, S. fusiformis, S. hjorti and S. tenella. Among them, S. cruzi (37 studies), S. hominis (22 studies) and S. hirsuta (19 studies) were the 3 most common species, with 76.4 (95 CI 64.8-85), 30.2 (95 CI 19.3-44) and 8.7 (95 CI 3.8-18.6), respectively. However, molecular identification was not performed in 48.4 (95 CI 27.3-70.1) of the positive samples. Conclusion Despite the zoonotic significance of Sarcocystis spp., particularly S. hominis, the epidemiology and distribution of Sarcocystis infection in cattle remains unclear and demands more extensive researches around the world

Current global status, subtype distribution and zoonotic significance of Blastocystis in dogs and cats: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Blastocystis is a common intestinal protozoa found in animal and human fecal samples, with over 1 billion individuals infected worldwide. Since domestication, dogs and cats have had a close bond with humans. However, their close proximity poses a potential health risk since they may harbor several zoonotic agents. A global estimate of Blastocystis infection and subtype (ST) distribution in dogs and cats would therefore be of great health importance to humans. Methods: We performed a comprehensive systematic search of four English-language databases (PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science) for relevant articles up to 8 November 2021. The random-effects model was used to make pooled estimates with confidence intervals (CIs). Results: In total, we identified 49 publications that met our inclusion criteria and subsequently analyzed the 65 datasets in these articles, of which 23 and 42 datasets were on cats and dogs, respectively. Among the 2934 cats included in the 23 datasets, which involved 16 countries, the prevalence rate of Blastocystis infection was 9.3 (95 CI 5.3-15.9). The prevalence of Blastocystis infection was slightly lower 7%, 95% CI 4.7-10.4%) among the 7946 dogs included in the 42 datasets, involving 23 countries. The sensitivity analysis showed that no remarkable variation in the estimates upon the stepwise removal of each dataset. Higher ST diversity was found among the examined dogs (ST1-8, ST10, ST23, ST24) than among cats (ST1-4, ST10, ST14). Among dogs, ST3 was the most frequent ST (41.3%), followed by ST2 (39.3%), ST1 (30.9%), ST4 (13.4%), ST8 (12.7%), ST10 (11%) and ST5 (8.1%). Also among dogs, each of ST6, ST7, ST23 and ST24 was observed in only one study. Of the ST found in the cats examined, ST4 (29.5%), followed by ST10 (22.5%), ST1 (19.8%) and ST3 (17.6%) were the most common. A single study also reported the presence of both ST2 and ST14 in cats. With respect to zoonotic Blastocystis STs (ST1-ST9 and ST12), eight were reported from dogs (ST1-ST8) and four were isolated from cats (ST1-ST4), showing the implication of dog and cats in zoonotic transmission. Conclusions: Taken together, our results show that elucidation of the true epidemiology and ST distribution of Blastocystis in dogs and cats demands more comprehensive studies, particularly in the negelected regions of the world

Sambucus ebulus extract stimulates cellular responses in cutaneous leishmaniasis

This is the first study aiming to determine the therapeutic effects of the Sambucus ebulus aquatic extract as an antileishmanial herbal drug and evaluate the immune responses in Leishmania major major infected BALB/c mice. The antileishmanial activity of S ebulus aquatic extract was evaluated using MTT test as well as parasite rescue and transformation assay. Footpad swelling and parasite load of infected mice were measured by several techniques. The immune responses were evaluated by measuring the levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, nitric oxide and arginase. The results indicated that S. ebulus can significantly decrease L. major promastigotes and amastigotes viability, but it was not toxic to macrophages. The lesion size, parasite burden and the level of ARG decreased in the treated infected mice, while the IFN-γ-to-IL-4 ratio and the level of NO increased significantly. Altogether, the S. ebulus extract is an effective compound for killing Leishmania parasite without excessive toxicity to the host cells and can cure the CL by switching the host immune responses towards Th1 response. Thus, it may be a perfect therapeutic option for CL treatment. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Lt