Transovarial Transmission of Babesia ovis by Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Hyalomma marginatum

Background: Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Hyalomma marginatum are the most common spe­cies in sheep herds in Northeast of Iran. There is preliminary evidence that these species may be the vectors of Babesia ovis in Iran. We carried out two experiments in Mashhad area, Khorasan Razavi Province to determine whether B. ovis could be transovarially transmitted by R. san­guineus and H. marginatum.Methods: In experiment 1, adults of laboratory reared H. marginatum and R.sanguineus were infected with B. ovis isolated from naturally infected sheep in Mashhad area by feeding the ticks on the sheep inoculated intravenously by infected blood samples. The inoculated sheep showed clinical signs with parasitaemia while the adult ticks were engorging on them. The engorged fe­males were collected and kept at 28°C and 85% relative humidity in incubator. Then, larval, nym­phal and adult stages derived from engorged females were used to infest the clean sheep. In experiment 2, two splenectomized sheep were infested only with the same adult ticks of two spe­cies.Results: Examination of smears and PCR of blood samples to detect of B. ovis in infested sheep in two experiments were negative.Conclusion: It seems that R. sanguineus and H. marginatum can not transovarially transmit B. ovis in sheep

Survey of Dogs’ Parasites in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran

"nBackground: Dog is known to act as definitive host for some parasites that cause important diseases in man and animals. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Neospora caninum and other intestinal parasites in dogs in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. "nMethods: A cross-sectional study was done concerning frequency of N. canium and other in­testinal parasites in dogs in Mashhad area. Totally, 174 fecal samples from 89 farm dogs and 85 household dogs were collected from 2006 to 2007. Fecal samples were examined for de­tecting intestinal parasites by Mini Parasep®SF faecal parasite concentrator in Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran "nResults: The overall prevalence of other intestinal parasites in farm dogs and household dogs were 29.21% and 14.11%, respectively. Seven parasites were found in farm dogs as follows: Toxocara canis 17.9%, Taenia sp. 10.1% , Strongyloides stercoralis 5.6%, Hammondia Neo­spora-like oocysts (HNLO) 4.4% , Isospora sp. 7.8 %, Sarcocystis sp. 7.8 % and   Giardia sp. 1.1%  and four parasite in housed dogs:  Toxocara. 4.4%, Taenia sp. 3.3 % , Isospora sp. 2.3 % and  Sarcocystis sp. 4.7 %.  The fecal samples with HNLO were examined by N. caninum -specific PCR, and two of samples were positive for N. caninum. "nConclusion: The farm and household dogs are the source of some important zoonotic and non-zoonotic diseases in Iran

Trichinella Infection in Wildlife of Northeast of Iran

Background: The objective of this investigation was to detect the presence of Trichinella in some carnivores of Mashhad in northeast of Iran and to identify Trichinella species circulating in this area.Methods: The present study was carried out using muscle tissue collected from 120 stray dogs, 26 wild boars, 25 rodents, two foxes and two hyenas captured in Mashhad City, province of Khorasan Razavi, Iran.Results: Trichinella larvae were detected in three stray dogs by artificial digestion and compression. All larvae were identified as T. britovi using multiplex PCR.Conclusion: This is the first report of identification of T. britovi in stray dog in Iran