Cryptosporidium infection in patients with gastroenteritis in Sari, Iran

Background: Cryptosporidiosis is a common coccidian parasite infection in patients with diarrhea that has worldwide distribution especially in developed countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of Cryptosporidium infection in patients with gastroenteritis admitted to hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences by parasitological and molecular methods in Sari, Iran. Methods: Stool samples were collected from 348 patients with gastroenteritis admitted to the hospitals of Medical University in the Sari and Ghaemshahr cities in Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran in 2010-2011. Oocysts of Cryptosporidium identified using Formalin-Ether concentration method and stained by Aacidfast staining (AFS) and Auramine phenol fluorescence (APF). Genomic DAN extracted from microscopically positive samples and nested PCR -RFLP by using SSU rRNA that identifies of the species of cryptosporidium. Results: In 348 patients with gastroenteritis, the most clinical symptoms were diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, fever and weight loss. 2.3% (8 cases) of diarrheal samples tested by both microscopy and molecular methods were positive for the presence of cryptosporidium. Nested PCR products yielded unique bands of 846 bp, correspond to cryptosporidium. Species diagnosis carried out by digesting the secondary PCR product with SspI restriction enzyme, which noted 3 clearly bands of 449, 254, and 108 bp correspond to Cryptosporidium spp. Conclusion: The results of present study on Cryptosporidium spp. in this area can make a background data for control programs and further molecular analyses. Thus, further work needs to determine the origin of Cryptosporidium species in this area

Diversity of Merozoite Surface Protein-3α Gene of plasmodium vivax in isolates from Sistan and Bluchestan provinces in Iran

Approximately 90 million people are suffered from vivax malaria annually. This disease imposes a heavy economic cost in endemic areas of Asia and the Americas. This study was design and implemented to reveal the extent of polymorphism of the Plasmodium vivax Merozoite Surface Protein -3αgene. 37 blood samples (20 Iranian and 17 non-Iranian) collected from patients attending to malaria clinics in the Sistan and Baluchistan province. The DNA was amplified by nested PCR and the products were digested with HhaI enzyme through PCR/RFLP technique. Three biotypes of the gene based on the size of PCR products, including A (about 1900bp), B (about 1400bp) and C (about 1100bp) and 10 allelic groups after digesting of PCR products with HhaI enzyme was observed. A significant difference between the two groups of patients was not detected.We observed that P. vivax isolates of Sistan and Bluchestan were extremely diverse, and the results are almost compatible with the results of other studies performed previously. Based on the results of our study RFLP method using HhaI (small fragments from 50- 500bp) is suitable technique for describing diversity of the gene