Genotyping of toxoplasma gondii isolates from soil samples in Tehran, Iran

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii can infect any warm blooded nucleated cells. One of the ways for human infection is ingestion of oocysts directly from soil or via infected fruits or vegetables. To survey the potential role of T. gondii oocyst in soil samples, the present study was conducted in Tehran City, Iran. A total of 150 soil samples were collected around rubbish dumps, children's play ground, parks and public places. Oocysts recovery was performed by sodium nitrate flotation method on soil samples. For molecular detection, PCR reaction targeting B1 gene was performed and then, the positive results were confirmed using repetitive 529 bp DNA fragment in other PCR reaction. Finally, the positive samples were genotyped at the SAG2 locus. Toxoplasma DNA was found in 13 soil samples. After genotyping and RFLP analysis in SAG2 locus, nine positive samples were revealed type III, one positive sample was type I whereas three samples revealed mixed infection [type, I and III]. The predominant genotype in Tehran soil samples is type III

Mini-Exon genotyping of leishmania species in khuzestan province, southwest Iran

Leishmaniasis is a protozoan disease cause by Leishmania genus. Anthroponotic and zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis are endemic in Iran. The aim of this study was to identify the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis by mini-exon gene in five regions of Khuzestan Province, southwest of Iran. From 2007 to 2008 in this cross-sectional study, cutaneous samples were collected from patients referred to Health Centers and Hospitals of the Khuzestan Province for cutaneous leishmaniasis diagnosis and cultured in Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle [NNN] and RPMI 1640. The propagated promastigotes were harvested and Leishmania species of cutaneous leishmaniasis were identified by RFLP and DNA sequencing of the PCR generated fragments. L. major and L. tropica were the causative agents of cutaneous leishmaniasis by predominantly of L. major species. The alignment of the mini-exon sequencing isolates with reported sequencing of L. major and L. tropica revealed 92%-99% identity. Our study showed that mini-exon PCR-RFLP was useful method to identify the causative species of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Frequency of intestinal parasites in Tehran

For a long time, intestinal parasite infections are among the major problems of public health in Iran. Our aim was epidemiological studies on the frequency of intestinal parasites in patients referred to three hospitals in Tehran during 2007-2008. During 2007-2008, by simple random selection, 1000 stool samples were collected from Milad, Hazrat-e-Rasoul and Shahid Fahmideh hospitals in Tehran, Iran. We examined the samples using direct smear, formol-ethyl acetate concentration, Agar-plate culture and Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique. The frequency of intestinal parasites were: Blastocystis hominis 12.8%, Giardia lamblia 2.5%, Entamoeba coli 4.8%, lodamoeba butschlli 0.9%, unknown 4 nuclei cysts 0.4%, Endolimax nana 3.2%, Chilomastix mesnili 0.4%, Strongyloides stercoralis 0.1%, Hymenolepis nana 0.2% and Taenia saginata 0.2%. Coccidian parasites were not found. Results show that infection with intestinal parasites does not statistically significant according to sex and age. The intestinal parasites, especially helminthic infections have been decreased during recent years