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.
Introduction: Plague and tularemia are zoonoses and their causative bacteria are circulating in certain regions of Iran. This study was conducted to investigate potential disease reservoirs amongst small wildlife species in different regions of Iran.Methods: Rodents, insectivores and hares from 17 different provinces of the country were collected in 2014 and 2015. Samples were taken from the spleens of the animals and Real-time PCR was applied to detect nucleic acid sequences that are specific to Francisella tularensis and Yersinia pestis, respectively.Results: Among 140 collected rodents, 25 distinct species were identified out of which five were the most common: Microtus paradoxus (21% out of 140 rodents), Apodemus witherbyi (12%), Microtus irani (11%), Mus musculus (11%) and Microtus socialis (10%). Seventeen insectivores were collected and identified as Crocidura suaveolens (82%) and C. leucodon (18%). Fifty-one hares were collected and identified as Lepus europaeus (57%), Lepus tolai (14%) and Lepus sp. (29%). Three out of 140 explored rodents (1.91%) were positive for F. tularensis, an A. witherbyi, a Mus musculus domesticus, and a Chionomys nivalis collected from Golestan, Khuzestan and Razavi Khorasan provinces, respectively. Two hares (3.92%) were F. tularensis-positive, a L. europaeus from Khuzestan and a Lepus sp. from the Sistan and Baluchistan province. None of the tested animals were positive for Y. pestis.Conclusion: This is the first report of direct detection of F. tularensis in mammals of Iran and the first-time observation of the agent in a snow vole, C. nivalis worldwide. The results indicate that tularemia is more widespread in Iran than previously reported including the Northeast and Southwestern parts of the country. Future studies should address genetic characterization of F. tularensis positive DNA samples from Iran to achieve molecular subtyping and rule out assay cross-reactivity with near neighbor Francisella species.
Due to their global distribution, invasive history, and unique characteristics, European rabbits are recognizable almost anywhere on our planet. Although they are members of a much larger group of living and extinct mammals [Mammalia, Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, and pikas)], the group is often characterized by several well-known genera (e.g., Oryctolagus, Sylvilagus, Lepus, and Ochotona). This representation does not capture the extraordinary diversity of behavior and form found throughout the order. Model organisms are commonly used as exemplars for biological research, but there are a limited number of model clades or lineages that have been used to study evolutionary morphology in a more explicitly comparative way. We present this review paper to show that lagomorphs are a strong system in which to study macro- and micro-scale patterns of morphological change within a clade that offers underappreciated levels of diversity. To this end, we offer a summary of the status of relevant aspects of lagomorph biology.
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