After the detection of arsenic (As) toxicity in sheep from Ebrahim-abad and Babanazar villages in Kurdistan province, the concentration of this element in drinking water, cultivated soil, alfalfa hay, wool, and blood samples was evaluated. Total As concentrations ranged from 119 to 310 μg/L in drinking water, 46.70-819.20 mg/kg in soil 1.90-6.90 mg/kg in vegetation 1.56-10.79 mg/kg in sheep's wool, and 86.30-656 μg/L in blood samples. These very high As contents, in all parts of the biogeochemical cycle, exceed the recommended normal range for this element compared with a control area. Results indicate that As has moved through all compartments of the biogeochemical cycle by way of direct or indirect pathways. The present investigation illustrated decreased packed cell volume and hemoglobin in sheep from the As-contaminated zone. It was concluded that sheep from the contaminated areas suffer from anemia. Chronic As exposure of the liver was determined by liver function tests. For this purpose, blood aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were measured. The results show that serum ALT and AST activities are increased significantly (p < 0.01) in the sheep population exposed to As in the contaminated zone. Moreover, chronic As exposure causes injury to hepatocytes and damages the liver.

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This study assessed the seroprevalence of brucellosis and its risk factors in migratory nomads in the Fars province of Iran. Active brucellosis was defined as the combination of clinical symptoms, including fever, chills, night sweats, headache, low back pain, arthralgia, or myalgia, and positive laboratory testing, including either a serum agglutination test (SAT) ⩾1:80 with a 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) test ⩾1:40, or a SAT <1:80 combined with a positive Coombs Wright test (CWT) at a titre of at least threefold higher than SAT titre results. For the 536 participants, the female (316, 59%) to male (220, 41%) ratio was 1·4 and the participants' mean age was 32·4 ± 18·9 (range 1-96) years. Of all participants, 325 (60·6%) showed clinical symptoms; in symptomatic participants, the Rose Bengal plate test was positive in 33 (6·1%) cases, the SAT was positive in 18 (3·3%) cases, and the 2-ME test was positive in 30 (5·5%) cases. Positive SAT and 2-ME results were seen in 18 (3·3%) cases, but a negative SAT and a positive CWT were found in 36 (6·7%) cases. As a result, active brucellosis was detected in 54 cases, indicating a prevalence of 10% (95% confidence interval 8-12). In conclusion, we determined that brucellosis is a prevalent yet neglected disease in this nomadic population. Brucellosis control is not possible as long as these high-risk populations remain neglected.

Whole blood samples were collected from 117 male clinically healthy Camelus dromedarius aged between 6 months to 18 years from several farms in Yazd Province of Iran. Trypanosoma evansi-affected camels were detected by Giemsa-stained blood smears, and the positive blood samples (4 out of 117) were submitted to PCR examination and phylogenetic analysis. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool data of the obtained complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences revealed that they corresponded to those of T. evansi, Thailand cattle isolate (AY912276) with the homology of 99 %. Both phylogenetic trees generated by ITS1 and complete ITS were unable to clearly show inter- and intraspecific genetic diversity of Trypanosoma spp. isolates. The phylogenetic tree inferred from the ITS2 nucleotide sequences (569 bp) clearly showed the genetic diversity of the parasites. Phylogenetic and molecular analyses of this region showed that two distinct genotypes of T. evansi in Iranian dromedary camels are present. In contrast to the ITS1 and ITS2 regions, multiple alignment of the nucleotide sequence of the 5.8S rRNA showed a high degree of sequence conservation during evolution in various Trypanosoma spp.

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It is believed that serum pepsinogen levels could be useful for diagnosis of abomasal changes in cattle. Diagnosis of abomasal displacement (AD) is made via invasive and non-invasive techniques. None of the extant methods is a reliable indication of mucosal change. The applicability of serum pepsinogen levels for the diagnosis of changes in the mucous membrane of the abomasum in experimentally induced left and right AD in sheep was investigated in fourteen rams. Abomasal fluid samples were taken and the pH was recorded. Twelve sheep underwent induced left and right AD (six for each group). Two sheep underwent exploratory laparatomy alone to assess the effect of surgical stress on the abomasum. Blood samples were taken before surgery, at the 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th, 7^th, 9^th and 11^th days after surgery and at the time of necropsy and serum pepsinogen levels were measured. After two weeks the animals were slaughtered and abomasal fluid pH and types of abomasal ulcers were recorded. Significant changes in pepsinogen levels in the left displaced abomasums (LDA) group were seen on days 11 and 14 after surgery (P &lt; 0.05). Significant changes in pepsinogen levels in the right displaced abomasum (RDA) group were seen on Days 9, 11 and 14 after surgery (P &lt; 0.05). There was no association among the types of ulcers and the serum pepsinogen levels in AD cases. The pH increased significantly (P &lt; 0.05) after induced AD in both groups. There were no significant changes in serum pepsinogen levels on different days after surgery among ulcerated and non ulcerated cases in both LDA and RDA groups (P &lt; 0.05). Serum pepsinogen levels were significantly higher in AD groups. There was no association between the types of ulcers and serum pepsinogen levels in AD cases. It seems that the increase in concentration of serum pepsinogen is a good reflection of the damage to the abomasal mucousa due to AD, as was shown by the earlier increase in levels in the course of displacement in the RDA group.