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Leishmania major is the causative agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in which gerbils are the reservoir host. ZCL is of great public health importance in Iran. In the current investigation, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols were used to amplify a region of the ribosomal RNA amplicon of Leishmania (ITS1-5.8S rRNA gene). The PCR assays detected L. major in three rodent species: Rhombomis opimus, Meriones lybicus and, for first time, Meriones persicus. L. major parasite was found in Natanz, Isfahan Province in the center of Iran in a focus of rural zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis. Four L. major infections were detected in R. opimus species, three in M. Lybicus, and two in M. persicus. All nine rodent infections of L. major were found to be the same haplotype based on the PCR detection and sequencing of parasite ITS-ribosomal DNA gene. In addition, also for the first time, the nested PCR assays detected Leishmania tropica only in one M. persicus. Allied to studies in country, the new findings mean that past conclusions about the reservoir of L. major in Iran must be treated with caution. Finding two Leishmania species in different rodent species as reservoir in Iran, therefore, careful molecular eco-epidemiological investigations will be an essential part of modeling the roles of different gerbil species in maintaining and spreading ZCL foci.

BackgroundCancer registries help to decrease the burden of cancers by collecting accurate and complete data. We aimed to measure the completeness of coverage of information recorded between 2000 and 2009 in a cancer registry program in Fars province, southern Iran.MethodsThe cancer registry program run by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences was investigated in two periods: pathology-based data from 2000 to 2007 and population-based data from 2007 to 2009. Completeness of yearly coverage was measured as the number of reported cases of cancer in each year divided by estimated cases based on 107.3 new cases per 100 000 individuals. The percentage of complete data registration (patient’s name, age, gender, address, phone number and father’s name) and correct cancer encoding was calculated for each year and compared to the maximum acceptable error rate for each item.ResultsA total of 29 277 non-duplicate cancer records were studied. Completeness of coverage varied from 22.68% in 2000 to 118.7% in 2008. Deficiencies in patients’ demographic data were highest for name in 2002 (0.09%), age in 2006 (2.36%), gender in 2001 (0.06%) and father’s name in 2001 (52.5%). Incomplete address (99.7%) and missing phone number (100%) were most frequent in 2000, and deficiencies in encoding information were highest in 2008 (6.36%).ConclusionsThe cancer registry program in Fars province (southern Iran) was considered satisfactory in terms of completeness of coverage and information about age. However, it was deficient in recording patients’ phone number and address, and father’s name. The error level for cancer encoding was unacceptably high. Enhancing hardware and software resources, education and motivation in all public and private sectors involved in the cancer registry program, and greater attention to epidemiological research are needed to increase the quality of the cancer registry program, including its completeness.

Introduction: Various methods are used for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), such as microscopic examination, culture and inoculation of laboratory animals; however, serological assays are commonly used for the detection of antibodies in serum samples with a wide range of specifi city and sensitivity. Methods: The purpose of this study was to compare three serological methods, including rA2-ELISA, the recombinant KE16 (rKE16) dipstick test and the direct agglutination test (DAT), for the detection of antibodies against VL antigens. The assays utilized 350 statistically based random serum samples from domestic dogs with clinical symptoms as well as samples from asymptomatic and healthy dogs from rural and urban areas of the Meshkinshahr district, northwestern Iran. Results: Samples were assessed, and the following positive rates were obtained: 11.5% by rKE16, 26.9% by DAT and 49.8% by ELISA. The sensitivity among symptomatic dogs was 32.4% with rKE16, 100% with DAT and 52.9% with ELISA. Conversely, rA2-ELISA was less specifi c for asymptomatic dogs, at 46.5%, compared with DAT, at 88.9%. Conclusions: This study recommends rA2-ELISA as a parallel assay combined with DAT to detect VL infection among dogs. Further evaluations should be performed to develop an inexpensive and reliable serologic test for the detection of Leishmania infantum among infected dogs.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a widespread tropical infection which has a high incidence rate in Iran. Leishmania tropica, the causative agent of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL), and Leishmania major, which causes zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), are endemic in various parts of Iran with a high incidence rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reappraisal of the diagnosis and epidemiology of CL in Iran, by different clinical, parasitological and molecular assays among patients suspected of CL referred to the Department of Parasitology, at the Pasteur Institute of Iran during 2006-2009. Two hundred samples from patients with ulcerative skin lesions were collected, clinical analyses were applied, data questionnaire was completed and samples were examined for CL by using both direct microscopic and culture methods. Moreover, PCR assay was applied for detection of Leishmania species in CL isolates resulting from parasitological assay. Clinical observation revealed that the majority (58%) of lesions was single; double lesions were observed in 22% of patients, and only 20% of CL had multiple lesions. Out of 200 patients, Leishman body was observed in 77 samples (38.5%) by direct smear and 40% by cultivation assay. Most patients (21.3%) had a travel history to the Isfahan province, one of the most important endemic areas of CL located in center of Iran. PCR assay by kDNA indicated 32 and 18 out of 50 isolates respectively had similar patterns with standard L. major and L. tropica. In conclusion, clinical manifestations and an appropriate diagnostic assay with a parallel molecular characterization of CL may lead to a screening evaluation of disease, prognosis, treatment and control strategies.

The high level of RNI was dependent on the type of infection, the plasmodia strain, the clinical symptoms, the age groups and the endemic provinces. Although, this study did not clarify the pathogenic and/or protective role of NO in malaria, our findings provide a novel immunoepidemiological aspect of basal NO production in patients with malaria in endemic areas in Iran.

In addition to numerous immune factors, C-reactive protein (CRP) and nitric oxide (NO) are believed to be molecules of malaria immunopathology. The objective of this study was to detect CRP and NO inductions by agglutination latex test and Griess microassay respectively in both control and malaria groups from endemic areas of Iran, including Southeastern (SE) (Sistan & Balouchestan, Hormozgan, Kerman) and Northwestern (NW) Key words: C-reactive protein -Iran -nitric oxide -malaria -Plasmodium Malaria is a world wide problem and it still remains as a concern in the Eastern Mediterranean region and in Iran (Sadrizadeh 1999, WHO 2003. Iran was divided into two malaria zones, North and South of the Zagros Range of Mountains (Manouchehri et al. 1992), including Southeastern (SE) and Northwestern (NW) provinces (Zakeri et al. 2004, Nahrevanian et al. 2006. The prevalent species is Plasmodium vivax followed by Plasmodium falciparum (Zaim 1987, Edrissian 2002 and mixed-infections (Assmar et al. 2003). Out of 23,562 malaria cases have been reported in the country in 2003, more than 70% occurred in the SE part (Zakeri et al. 2002, WHO 2003. Recently, a new threat of imported malaria emerged from the NW part of the country, Parsabad area, which was affected by a serious epidemic of P. vivax (Sadrizadeh 1999). To date, the malaria situation in SE corner is serious (Zakeri et al. 2002). However, in other endemic areas, malaria is hypoendemic with uncomplicated cases (Edrissian et al. 1993). A malaria eradication programme began in Iran in 1949 and changed to malaria control in 1985 as a result of constraints and challenges. In the SE provinces, the major peak of malaria transmission occurs between September and November, with 21% of malaria cases in this region caused by P. falciparum (WHO 2004). Chloroquine (CQ) is still being recommended as the first-line treatment for uncomplicated cases of P. falciparum malaria, with a combination of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and quinine recommended for the CQ treatment failures. Increased drug and insecticide resistance has made vaccine preparation urgent for malaria with a focus on new immune targets. Potential mechanisms of immunity against malaria include antibodies, cytotoxic T-cells, cytokines and a variety of other soluble mediators. Macrophages are key components of the antimicrobial immune responses, generating large amounts of toxic molecules, reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates (RNI), H 2 O 2 and nitric oxide (NO) (Bogdan et al. 2000). In addition to NO, C-reactive protein (CRP) is a major acute phase protein present in normal serum, which increases significantly after most forms of tissue injuries and infections as a non-specific innate defense mechanism of the host. CRP as a protein is mainly regulated at the transcriptional level induced by cytokines (Kremsner et al. 1996, Ablij & Meinders 2002. It is a marker of inflammatory reactions and cytokine activation (Jakobsen et al. 1998), which is produced very early after infection (McCarty et al. 2004). Besides CRP ...