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The first workshop towards the control of cestode zoonoses in Asia and Africa was held in Asahikawa Medical University, Japan on 15 and 16 Feb 2011. This meeting was fully supported by the Asian Science and Technology Strategic Cooperation Promotion Programs sponsored by the Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education Japan (MEXT) for 3 years from 2010 to Akira Ito. A total of 24 researchers from 9 countries joined together and discussed the present situation and problems towards the control of cestode zoonoses. As the meeting was simultaneously for the establishment of joint international, either bilateral or multilateral collaboration projects, the main purposes were directed to 1) how to detect taeniasis/cysticercosis infected patients, 2) how to differentiate Taenia solium from two other human Taenia species, T. saginata and T. asiatica, 3) how to evaluate T. asiatica based on the evidence of hybrid and hybrid-derived adult tapeworms from Thailand and China, 4) how to evaluate T. solium and T. hyaenae and other Taenia species from the wild animals in Ethiopia, and 5) how to detect echinococcosis patients and 6) how to differentiate Echinococcus species worldwide. Such important topics are summarized in this meeting report.

Despite malaria control programs in recent years, malaria transmission has not been eliminated in Iran. Molecular techniques including PCR, which has proved more sensitive and specific than microscopic examination methods, help to detect infection in low levels of parasitemia and mixed infections. Main our objectives were setting up nested PCR for detection of malaria and evaluating PCR based on plasmodia DNA from blood smears in Fars province, the comparison of this method with traditional microscopy and also evaluate the data in comparison with its neighboring province, Hormozgan. A total of 149 malaria positive samples including 116, 19, and 14 samples from Shiraz, Jask, and Lengeh ports were utilized in this study, respectively. Blood slides were prepared for microscopic observation. DNA from thin smears was extracted and nested PCR was analyzed using rPLU5 and rPLU6 for genus specification, rFAL1, rFAL2, and rVIV1, rVIV2 for P. falciparum and P. vivax detection, respectively. The results showed that 126 (84.6%), 16 (10.7%), and 7 (4.7%) out of 149 cases were positive for P. vivax, P. falciparum, and mixed infections, respectively, by microscopy. The PCR indicated that 95 (63.7%), 15 (10.1%), and 22 (14.8%) cases were infected with P. vivax, P. falciparum, and mixed mentioned species, respectively, and 17 (11.4%) cases were uninfected. Our results confirmed the considerable sensitivity of nested PCR for detection of the mixed infections. Simultaneous application of PCR even based on microscopy slides can facilitate access to the highest level of confidence in malaria researches.

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Recently, many of studies have illustrated that the new pandemic SARS-CoV-2 can affect Central Nervous System through olfactory bulb. In addition to investigating anosmia or hyposmia induced by this virus, the quantitative analysis was needed to clarify the taste and smell disorder of the new corona virus . The four basic taste quality with five concentrations for sweet, sour, bitter and salty were administered in to 75 subject divided in to three groups: COVID-19 patients with taste disorder, COVID-19 patients without taste disorder and control group. The results indicated the increment of sweet (2.68±0.14), sour (3.34±0.12) and bitter (3.39±0.2) thresholds in COVID-19 patients with taste disorder in comparison with patients without taste disorder that the threshold were: 2±0.16, 2.11±0.2 and 2.55±0.5 for sweet, sour and bitter respectively. On the other-hand the patients inversely showed significant decrease in salty taste threshold (0.51±0.03) compared to COVID-19 positive control groups (1.11±0.11). Additionally, despite taste disorder in almost all of patients with smell deficiency, only 30% of cases with taste disorder reported smell deficiency. It may be concluded that some of taste disorders in patients with COVID-19 disorder could be associated with taste receptors dysfunction or the spread of infection to the cranial nerves responsible for conduction of tastes sensation.

Background: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an important zoonotic parasitic disease worldwide. Application of species-specific antigen for serodiagnosis of human CE has not been utilized, so far. In this regard, AgB originated from Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (G1-G3) and E. canadensis (G6/G7) CE cysts, confirmed by molecular biology and sequencing was used for evaluation of their ability in the diagnosis of confirmed human CE. Methods: The hydatid cyst fluid (HCF) of E. granulosus sensu stricto and E. canadensis species were separately, used for preparation of AgB during 2017-2018 in Shiraz and Tehran, Iran. A total of 45 sera samples from confirmed CE patients, 102 sera from healthy people as negative control and 44 sera from other parasitic diseases, were used for measurement of the diagnostic ability of antigen B originated from E. granulosus sensu stricto and E. canadensis species of CE, alone or in 50%:50% mixture using ELISA method. Results: Overall, 38 (84.4%) out of 45 confirmed human CE were positive by ELISA using AgB originated from E. granulosus sensu stricto. This items for AgB originated from E. canadensis was 39 (86.6) out of 45 serum samples. A total of 39 out of 45 samples (86.6%) showed positivity by a mixture of antigen B originating from both species. The specificity of the above tests was calculated as 93.15%, 96.58%, and 93.84%, respectively. Conclusion:  Due to the diversity of the cyst species in human population, application of AgB from prevalent species alone or in combination with other species is suggested

The seroepidemiological condition of malaria in three main districts of Hormozgan Province, a low transmission area in southeast of Iran, was investigated. Methods. Sera samples (803) were collected from healthy volunteers from the three main districts (Bandar Lengeh in the west, Bandar Abbas in the center, and Bandar Jask in the east) of Hormozgan Province. A questionnaire was used to record the sociodemographic features of the participants during sample collecting. An in-house ELISA test, using crude antigens obtained from cell culture of Plasmodium falciparum, was adapted and used to detect anti-malaria antibodies in the sera. Results. The overall seroprevalence of malaria was 8.7% (70 out of 803 samples). A significant correlation was found between seropositivity and place of residence, where the highest rate of seropositivity was seen in Bandar Lengeh (west of the province). The highest seroprevalence of malaria (13.2%) was seen in the age group of 11–20 years and also in low educated individuals. Correlation between seropositivity and gender, age, and educational levels of the participants was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Findings of this study indicate that the rate of seropositivity to malaria in this area is not high and this might be linked to the success of malaria control programs during the last decades in the region.