Background:Rodents are an important source of zoonotic diseases for human. The aim of this study was to determine the infectivity of rodents with intestinal helminths in North Khorasan Province, Iran.Methods:One hundred and thirteen rodents were collected using different collection methods such as kill and live traps, digging of their burrow, filling of their hiding places with water and hand net during 2011–2013. Their alimentary canals were removed in the laboratory and helminths were determined in the department of parasitology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences.Results:Thirteen species of helminths parasites were found in 13 species of rodents, including Aspiculuris tetraptera, Hymenolepis diminuta, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Protospirura Seurat, Rictolaria ratti, Skrjabinitaenia lobata, Streptopharagus kuntzi, Syphacia obvelata, Taenia taeniaeformis, Trichuris muris, Cysticercus fasciolaris, Acanthocephal. spp and Trichuris spp. Some of them were reported for the first time in new host in Iran. S. obvelata and A. tetraptera were the most frequent parasites and P. Seurat, R. ratti and C. fasciolaris were found only in one rodent.Conclusion:This is the first study to investigate the intestinal parasites in rodents in this area. Among different species identified, some of helminths were reported in new host.

Background: The impact of environmental factors and host on Hyalomma spp. community structure and abundance in the main Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) foci of Iran is largely unknown. Methods: Biotic and abiotic factors, including host, temperature, humidity, altitude, Köppen-Geiger climate types, sea­son, and precipitation on Hyalomma spp. community structure and abundances in 11 provinces of Iran were investigat­ed. Additionally, the possible infection of ticks with CCHF virus was evaluated using reverse transcription PCR tech­nique. Results: Species analyses demonstrated the presence of Hyalomma anatolicum, H. marginatum, H. dromedarii, H. asi­aticum, H. detritum and H. schulzei in the study area. Hyalomma anatolicum was the dominant species in the southern and northern parts, whereas H. dromedarii was distributed mostly in central parts of the country. The highest tick infestation was recognized in hot season. Spatial variation in tick relative density was observed between habitat types where more ticks were collected in deserts, semi-deserts, and Mediterranean habitats. Except for H. dromedarii, which was more preva­lent on camel (P= 0.044), there were no significant variations in the frequencies of other Hyalomma species on different hosts. Hyalomma anatolicum, H. dromedarii frequencies had significant positive and negative asso­ciation with tempera­ture and precipitation respectively. Also humidity has positive impact on H. asiaticum frequency. Conclusion: Data presented here will help improve ecological models to forecast the distribution of Hyalomma spp. ticks, to evaluate the risk of CCHF and other tick-borne diseases, and to design proper vector control measures to sup­press Hyalomma populations in Iran.

Background: We aimed to determine the species composition, richness and diversity indices of the Phlebotomine sand flies at different topographic condition in visceral (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) foci in the northeast of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2016 in North Khorasan Province. The sampling was focused on rural regions, where human cases of VL and/or CL were diagnosed and reported during last 5 years. Sand flies were collected three times each twenty days during peak periods of seasonal activity. Seven collection methods were used. Some Alpha and Beta diversity indices were calculated. Results: Overall, 7253 sand flies were collected and identified. They were from 19 species of Phlebotominae sand­flies. Phlebotomus sergenti and Ph. papatasi were the most prevalent (84.9%) species in the study area. Species rich­ness (S) was very different in three areas and were18, 8, and 4 respectively but Evenness (E) were 0.357, 0.345, and 0.380, so evenness was almost equal in the study areas. Shannon Index (H ) and Margalef Richness Index were cal­culated 1.033, 0.718, 0.527 and 2.117, 0.8998, 0.4006 respectively. Conclusion: The sand fly fauna in North Khorasan Province was very rich and often included some of the most im­portant proven or suspected vectors of leishmaniasis. Species diversity indices (Shannon index, and Simpson’s in­dex) were not high due to decreasing in evenness. The Margalef richness index could accurately reflect the biodiver­sity of sand flies between three subtidal locations.

Shirvan district in north-eastern Islamic Republic of Iran is a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis. This study aimed to identify the vector(s), the parasite and the species composition of sand flies in the district during JulySeptember 2009 using polymerase chain reaction techniques. In all, 2088 sand flies were collected from 3 villages. Nine sand fly species were identified: Phlebotomus kandelakii (Shchurenkova), P. major (Annandale), P. halepensis (Theodor), P. papatasi (Scopoli), P. sergenti (Parrot), P. longidactus (Parrot), P. caucasicus (Marzinovsky), Sergentomyia sintoni (Pringle) and S. sumbarica (Perfil'ev). P. sergenti and P. kandelakii were the most prevalent Phlebotomus species at 31.3% and 10.0% respectively. Of 59 female P. kandelakii, 2 (3.4%) were naturally infected with L. infantum. This is the first finding of natural infection of P. kandelakii by L. infantum in this region suggesting P. kandelakii may be the vector of L. infantum in the area although it is the second most prevalent phlebotomine species. Perfil'ev). P. sergenti et P. kandelakii étaient les espèces de phlébotomes les plus répandues (31,3 % et 10 % de l'échantillon respectivement). Sur 59 P. kandelakii femelles, deux (3,4 %) étaient naturellement infectées par L. infantum. Il s'agit de la première détection d'une infection naturelle de P. kandelakii par L. infantum dans la région, suggérant que P. kandelakii pourrait être le vecteur de L. infantum dans la zone, même si elle n'est que la deuxième espèce la plus répandue de phlébotomes.

Visceral leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, is the third most common opportunistic disease in immunosuppressed patients, such as those affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Although the reports have been characterized as /HIV coinfections, the occurrence of a mixed infection by two species in HIV-positive patients is rare. Here, we present an atypical case of disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) in a 26-year-old HIV-positive man. The diagnosis of DCL was established using skin biopsy and histopathology examinations and confirmed by molecular techniques. This is the first case of a /HIV coinfection due to a mixed infection of/ in Iran.