Genetic Identification of Orientobilharzia turkestanicum from Sheep Isolates in Iran

  Background: Adult worms of Orientobilharzia turkestanicum live in the portal veins, or intestinal veins of cattle, sheep, goat and many other mammals caus-ing orientobilharziasis. Orientobilharziasis causes significant economic losses to livestock industry of Iran. However, there is limited information about genotypes of O. turkestanicum in Iran. Methods:In this study, 30 isolates of O. turkestanicum obtained from sheep were characterized by sequencing mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) gene. The mitochondrial cox1 and nad1 DNA were amplified by poly-merase chain reaction (PCR) and then sequenced and compared with O. turke-stanicum and that of other members of the Schistosomatidae available in Gen- BankTM. Results:Phylogenetic relationships between them were re-constructed using the maximum parsimony method. Phylogenetic analyses done in present study placed O. turkestanicum within the Schistosoma genus, and indicates that O. turkestanicum was phylogenetically closer to the African schistosome group than to the Asian schistosome group. Conclusion:Comparison of nad1 and cox1 sequences of O. turkestanicum ob-tained in this study with corresponding sequences available in GenbankTM re-vealed some sequence variations and provided evidence for presence of mi-crovarients in Iran

Morphological and Molecular Identification of Acanthamoeba and Lophomonas Isolated from the Sputum of Suspected Tuberculosis Patients in Babolsar, Mazandaran Province in 2022-2023

Background and purpose: Lophomoniasis is a relatively common emerging parasitic disease caused by a pathogenic protozoan called Lophomonas, which mostly affects the lower respiratory tract (lungs and bronchi) of humans. The parasite lives symbiotically in the digestive system of insects such as cockroaches and mites. Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba that has two forms of trophozoite and cyst in its life cycle. The respiratory system and airways serve as passage and deployment sites for a wide range of non-pathogenic and pathogenic microorganisms, making it a suitable place for the entry and spread of different species of Acanthamoeba amoeba and the Lophomonas pathogen in the respiratory system, which can cause clinical manifestations similar to tuberculosis. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the frequency of these two parasites in sputum clinical samples from suspected tuberculosis patients referred to the tuberculosis laboratory in Babolsar City to rule out the two mentioned infections. Materials and methods: This descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted on 201 sputum samples of people suspected of tuberculosis who were referred to the tuberculosis laboratory of Babolsar Health Center in Mazandaran province in 202-2023, and all the demographic and epidemiological information of the patients was recorded. In the morphological method, Giemsa staining was used for Lophomonas and Ziehl-Neelsen staining for Acanthamoeba. To identify the presence of Acanthamoeba, sputum samples were cultured in a 1.5% non-nutrient agar culture medium for 72 to 96 hours. Approximately 50 microliters of patients' sputum were added to the NNA medium, along with 20 microliters of trypticase-yeast extract and maltose (TYM) culture medium, and 20 microliters of an autoclaved Escherichia coli bacteria mixture to enrich the culture medium. The cultured plates were then placed in an incubator at 26ºC and checked daily under a light microscope for trophozoite growth. To accurately confirm the presence of parasites, DNA extraction was performed on the patient's sputum samples using the phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol method. Subsequently, conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted using specific primers on the extracted DNA samples. Results: In the study of 201 people suspected of tuberculosis, it was found that 80 individuals (39.8%) lived in urban areas and 121 individuals (60.2%) lived in rural areas. The age range of participants varied from 7 to 88 years old. There were 113 females (56.2%) and 88 males (43.8%) in the study, with 12 individuals from Afghanistan living in urban areas. Out of the 201 sputum samples examined, a total of 23 samples (11.4%) tested positive for the Lophomonas parasite using the PCR method. Among these positive cases, 7 individuals (30.4%) resided in urban areas (Babolsar), while 16 individuals (69.5%) lived in rural areas. However, none of the samples tested positive for Acanthamoeba in this study using staining and PCR methods. Conclusion: The present study showed that due to the similarity of the clinical manifestations of tuberculosis and lophomoniasis, there is a possibility of mistaking these two diseases clinically. Therefore, it is recommended to check fresh sputum samples of people suspected of tuberculosis, especially in endemic areas, in terms of pulmonary lophomoniasis

Mild‐to‐severe poisoning due to Conium maculatum as toxic herb: A case series

Abstract Conium maculatum toxicity may occur by mistakenly or intentionally eating this plant. Due to muscarinic or nicotinic symptoms associated with this plant toxicity, supportive care and treatment with atropine are urgently important

Status of human cystic echinococcosis based on hospital records in Mazandaran Province: A first registry-based evidence

Background: Human cystic echinococcosis, as an emerging neglected parasitic disease, is caused by tapeworms of the genus Echinococcus spp. Because of the medical and economic importance, this study aims to review the epidemiology and clinical features of hydatidosis in patients admitted to medical and surgical wards in three referral teaching hospitals over 15 years in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. Methods: Data were collected from hospital records that were accessible via the hospital information system (HIS) between 2005 and 2019 (15 years).The demographic information (age, sex, living area, and occupation), dog contact, number of the cysts, types of organs involved, and history of disease recurrence were assessed. Results: One hundred twenty-one patients with human cystic echinococcosis (CE) were involved in the study, from whom 58 patients (47.93%) were male and 63 (52.07%) were female. The majority of patients were rural residents (64.46%) and also housewife (28.10%). Based on the results, only about 16.53% of the patients had history of close contacts with dogs. The liver was the organ involved in the most cases of CE. There were statistically significant differences between residence, occupation, history of close contacts with dogs, type of organs involved, number of cysts and history of disease recurrence (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our data provides valuable registry-based information about CE in an endemic region. The data highlights that most patients lived in rural areas and were housewives. Additionally, they had a low rate of disease recurrence but a high rate of close contact with dogs. Moreover, further monitoring on registry-based program and strengthening the HIS in the provincial hospitals in the studied area are required