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Objective: To predict future trends in the incidence of malaria cases in the southeast of Iran as the most important area of malaria using Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model, and to check the effect of meteorological variables on the disease incidence. Methods: SARIMA method was applied to fit a model on malaria incidence from April 2001 to March 2018 in Sistan and Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran. Climatic variables such as temperature, rainfall, rainy days, humidity, sunny hours and wind speed were also included in the multivariable model as covariates. Then, the best fitted model was adopted to predict the number of malaria cases for the next 12 months. Results: The best-fitted univariate model for the prediction of malaria in the southeast of Iran was SARIMA (1,0,0)(1,1,1)12 [Akaike Information Criterion (AIC)=307.4, validation root mean square error (RMSE)=0.43]. The occurrence of malaria in a given month was mostly related to the number of cases occurring in the previous 1 (p=1) and 12 (P=1) months. The inverse number of rainy days with 8-month lag ( =0.329 2) and temperature with 3-month lag ( =-0.002 6) were the best predictors that could improve the predictive performance of the univariate model. Finally, SARIMA (1,0,0)(1,1,1)12 including mean temperature with a 3-month lag (validation RMSE=0.414) was selected as the final multivariable model. Conclusions: The number of malaria cases in a given month can be predicted by the number of cases in the prior 1 and 12 months. The number of rainy days with an 8-month lag and temperature with a 3-month lag can improve the predictive power of the model.
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Objective: To delineate reliable morphological characteristics for identifying and separating female Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis which exist sympatrically in the main foci of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran. Methods: Sand flies were collected using sticky trap papers from active colonies of rodent burrows installed from 16 catching sites. Morphometric measurements were analyzed of 87 Phlebotomus caucasicus and 156 Phlebotomus mongolensis. Univariate and multivariate analysis were carried out to determine significant morphometric variables for discrimination of the two species. Finally, seven morphological characteristics of 65 female Phlebotomus caucasicus and 124 female Phlebotomus mongolensis were described. Results: Univariate and multivariate analyses of 10 morphometric variables via Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that five morphometric variables had an accuracy of 100% for discriminating female Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis. Moreover, PCA revealed that the five morphometric variables with the highest loadings separated these two species. Morphological studies on antennal flagellum (and its associated structures) and mouth-parts of female specimens demonstrated significant differences in several structures. Conclusions: The results show that morphological and morphometrical features can be used to discriminate two female isomorphic species, Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis accurately.
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Objective: To clarify the epidemiological aspects of visceral leishmaniasis in Kaleybar and Khoda-Afarin districts, north-west of Iran. Methods: A total of 1 420 human (children under 12 years) samples, 101 domestic dogs samples (Canis familiaris), and 577 female sand fly samples were collected. Sera of human and dogs were tested using the direct agglutination test, and sand flies were identified at species level using the microscopic method. Furthermore, a structured questionnaire was applied to evaluate the correlation between the potential risk factors and the related clinical signs/ symptoms with the human and dogs' seropositivity. Results: Totally, 2.18% of human samples were positive at titers≥: 800; among them, 13 cases (41.94%) were above 1:3 200, and clinical symptoms were observed in all of them except for an 11-year old girl. Anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies were found at titers ≥1: 320 in 9.90% of dogs' samples, half of them had at least one sign of canine visceral leishmaniasis. Moreover, 10 Phlebotomus species were identified in the study areas, and Phlebotomus (Larroussius) major group was the predominant species. There are significant correlations between the presence of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies and the fever (P<0.001), anemia (P=0.001) and weight loss (P=0.016) in children. On the other hand, significant correlations were revealed between the Leishmania infection and the shelter (P=0.039), cutaneous lesion (P=0.005), lymphadenopathy (P=0.001) and weight loss (P<0.001) in the infected dogs. Conclusions: Visceral Leishmania infection is prevalent in rural areas of Kaleybar and Khoda- Afar districts located in East-Azerbaijan province, therefore active detection and treatment of visceral leishmaniasis cases should not be neglected.
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This prospective study was aimed to detect acute and chronic ocular toxoplasmosis by comparison of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG antibody levels and IgG avidity test. One hundred and seventeen patients with ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) who referred to the Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran were included in this study. Of the patients, 77 cases were positive for anti-T. gondii IgG, and 8 cases were positive for anti-T. gondii IgM. IgG avidity test revealed 11, 4, and 102 cases were low, intermediate, and high, respectively, and 6.8% and 9.4% of cases were positive for IgM and IgG avidity tests, respectively (P=0.632). Agreement (Kappa value) between paired tests IgG-IgM, IgG-IgG avidity, and IgM-IgG avidity was 0.080, 0.099, and 0.721, respectively (P < 0.05). This study showed that conventional serologic tests (IgM and IgG levels) and IgG avidity correlate well each other and can be used to differentiate recent infections from old OT. It seems that reactivated old infections rather than recently acquired infections are majority of Iranian OT patients.
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Humans , Antibodies , Diagnosis , Immunoglobulin G , Immunoglobulin M , Iran , Prospective Studies , Serologic Tests , Toxoplasma , Toxoplasmosis, OcularABSTRACT
Background: Ticks are able to transmit important diseases to humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever, CrimeanCongo haemorrhagic fever, summer Russian encephalitis, and relapsing fever.
Aims: To determine the repellency effect of 1% flumethrin pour-on formulation against hard ticks.
Methods: The concentration of flumethrin pour-on formulation was 1 mg/10 kg body weight and was administered on the dorsal midline from the head to the base of the tail. The livestock included cows, goats, oxen and sheep in 2 villages in Ardabil Province, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Results: We studied 200 livestock comprising 5 age groups [< 2, 34, 56, 78 and >8 years]. The main hard ticks identified were Hyalomma species [62.5%] and Rhipicephalus bursa [37.5%]. In the treatment village, the maximum number of ticks per animal was 11.6 in oxen, 9.5 in sheep, 8.9 in goats and 8.6 in cattle. The repellency effect of flumethrin remained for 2 months.
Conclusions: Flumethrin provided 2 months protection against hard ticks. Therefore, it could be used in the livestock industry. Control of ticks is important for prevention of disease transmission
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Background: Dirofilaria immitis is a cosmopolitan zoonotic, vector-borne parasite of carnivorous animals causing dirofilariasis in human beings. Common commercial serodiagnostic tests for canine dirofilariasis usually lead to different results in their sensitivity and specificity. The present study reports development of recombinant DgK [rDgK] antigen of D. immitis for accurate immunodiagnosis of D. Immitis-infected dogs using indirect ELISA test
Methods: The rDgK coding sequence was successfully sequenced, codon optimized and cloned in pET-24a[+] expression vector and then expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant DgK was affinity purified using Ni[+2] - charged HiTrap chelating column, followed by testing in Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays [ELISA] with dog sera from a dirofilariasis endemic area. The performance of rDgK ELISA was evaluated using 60 sera collected from suspected dogs, while molecular technique was used as a reference test
Results: Sera from positive control D. immitis infection produced a strong IgG antibody response to rDgK both in ELISA and Western blotting tests. The sensitivity and specificity related to diagnostic potential of rDgK for ELISA were 92.5% and 87.5%, respectively. The results of rDgK ELISA showed a high agreement [0.764] with molecular identification
Conclusions: The findings revealed that the developed new rDgK antigen is sensitive and specific for immunodiagnosis of canine dirofilariasis using ELISA test
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Shahr-e Sukhteh (meaning burnt city in Persian) in Iran is an archeological site dated back to around 3,200-1,800 BC. It is located in Sistan and Baluchistan Province of Iran and known as the junction of Bronze Age trade routes crossing the Iranian plateau. It was appointed as current study area for paleoparasitological investigations. Excavations at this site have revealed various archeological materials since 1967. In the present study, sheep and carnivore coprolites excavated from this site were analyzed by means of rehydration technique using TSP solution for finding helminth eggs. Dicrocoelium dendriticum, Capillaria sp., and Taenia sp. eggs were identified, while some other objects similar to Anoplocephalidae and Toxocara spp. eggs were also retrieved from the samples but their measured parameters did not match those of these species. The present paper illustrates the first paleoparasitological findings of Bronze Age in eastern Iran supporting the economic activities, peopling, and communication as well as the appropriate condition for zoonotic helminthiasis life cycle in Shahr-e Sukhteh archeological site.
Subject(s)
Animals , Capillaria , Dicrocoelium , Eggs , Feces , Fluid Therapy , Helminthiasis , Helminths , Iran , Life Cycle Stages , Ovum , Sheep , Taenia , ToxocaraABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of some medicinal plants and systemic glucantime in a comparative manner against the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis both in vitro and in BALB/c mice. Methods For in vivo testing, inbred mice were challenged with Leishmania major parasites and the resultant ulcers were treated with extract based-ointments applied topically two times per day for a period of 20 days. A group of 56 mice were randomly divided into 7 subgroups. The control group received the ointment void of extracts, whereas the reference group received glucantime only. The efficacy of treatments was evaluated by measuring ulcer diameter, parasite burden and NO production. Results Our results indicated that plant extract based-ointments were effective in reducing ulcer size and parasite burden in spleens, but their effects did not differ significantly from that of glucantime. The plant extracts tested in this study were able to increase NO production that helped parasite suppression. Conclusions Our findings indicate that the tested plant extracts are effective against Leishmania major both during in vitro and in vivo experiments, but further researches are required to recommend a potential plant extract as an alternative drug.
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Background: Visceral leishmaniasis [VL] or kala-azar is a parasitic disease caused by the species of Leishmania donovani complex. Mediterranean type of the disease is endemic in some parts of Iran and more than 95% of cases were reported in children up to 12 years of age. This study was performed to determine the seroprevalence of VL in the rural areas of the Dashti district from Bushehr province
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a randomized cluster sampling method was used for the collection of blood samples from children up to 12 years old from rural areas of Dashti district. Before sampling; a questionnaire was filled out for each case. All the collected blood samples were examined after the serum separating by Direct Agglutination Test [DAT] for detection of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies. The cutoff titers of >/=1: 3200 with specific clinical features were supposed to be considered as VL
Results: Altogether, 24 out of 1221 [1.96%] blood samples showed titers between 1:800 and 1:1600 which considered as suspicious cases. None of the suspicious cases had a history of kala-azar. None of 1221 collected blood samples showed anti Leishmania infantum [L. infantum] at titer >/=1:3200
Conclusion: This study confirms the circulation of L. infantum in Dashti district and highlights the sporadic pattern of VL in the studied areas which necessitates the surveillance system to be monitored by health authorities
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Background: Visceral leishmaniasis [VL], caused by Leishmania infantum [L. infantum], is a life-threatening vector-borne parasitic disease is distributed in some parts of the world. The disease is endemic in some parts of Iran. This study was aimed to determine the seroprevalence of VL among children and domestic dogs [as a reservoir of the parasite] in Dehloran, west of Iran
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Dehloran County. The blood samples of 872 children up to 12 years old and 52 dogs were collected from 10 villages of Dehloran using randomly-clustered sampling method. Sera were separated from all peripheral blood samples and tested by direct agglutination test [DAT]. Anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies at titers of >/=1:800 and >/=1:80 were considered as Leishmania infantum infection in human and dog, respectively
Results: In general, among 872 human samples, 1.03% of samples had anti-Leishmania antibody with 1:1600 titers and 1.26% had 1:800 titers. In addition, from 52 dog samples, 21.15% of dogs had a titer of >/=1:320 and 25% had 1:80 and 1:160 titers
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the seropositive dogs in the studied areas are considerable and L. infantum may be circulated between human and domestic dog in the studied area. Further study of isolation and molecular identification of Leishmania spp. is recommended
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Background: Cutaneous and visceral leishmaniases are present in Fars Province in the south of Iran. The current study aimed to evaluate the inter- and intragenic diversities of Leishmania species isolated from patients with leishmaniasis in Fars Province, using PCR-based analyses and DNA sequencing of the N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase [nagf] gene
Methods: Clinical samples were taken from the skin lesions of 120 individuals with clinical suspicion of cutaneous leishmaniasis [CL] referred to the major health centers of Shiraz. Along with microscopic examination, a part of each sample was used for in vitro cultivation. DNA was extracted from the cultured parasites and the nagt gene was PCR-amplified. For RFLP analysis, the PCR product of the nagt gene was digested with the Accl restriction enzyme. Moreover, the PCR products of 23 isolates were sequenced and analyzed, using MEGA5
Results: From the 120 patients with clinical suspicion of CL, 110[91.7%] cases were found to be positive by direct microscopy while 77[64.1%] of the cultures were positive. Digestion of the PCR product with the Accl restriction enzyme detected L. major in 57 out of the 77 [74.1%] and Z. tropica, in 20 out of the 77 [25.9%] cases with CL. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the Leishmania isolates into 3 main clades, representing L. major, L. infantum, and L. rop/ca,encompassing 2, 2, and 2 haplotypes, respectively. Within the clades, the L. tropica intraspecies divergence was more pronounced in L. major
Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that the causative agent of CL in Fars Province was mainly L. major and that there was considerable heterogeneity between the Leishmania species and also within the L. major isolates
Subject(s)
Humans , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous , Genetic Variation , Leishmania , Leishmaniasis, VisceralABSTRACT
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar mainly affects children in endemic areas. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of VL using direct agglutination test (DAT) in children living in rural districts of Alborz Province located 30 km from Tehran capital city of Iran. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was applied. Blood samples were randomly collected from 1,007 children under 10 years of age in the clusters. A total of 37 (3.7%) of the studied population showed anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies with titers of > or =1:800. There was a significant association between positive sera and various parts of the rural areas of Alborz Province (P or =1:3,200 indicated kala-azar clinical features and treated with anti-leishmaniasis drugs in pediatric hospital. The findings of this study indicated that Leishmania infection is prevalent in rural areas of Alborz Province. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the awareness and alertness among physicians and public health managers, particularly in high-risk rural areas of the province in Iran.
Subject(s)
Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Antibodies, Protozoan/blood , Health Policy , Iran/epidemiology , Leishmania infantum/immunology , Leishmaniasis, Visceral/blood , Rural Health , Seroepidemiologic StudiesABSTRACT
Objective: To study Leishmania infection in cats and its potential role in transmission of the disease to human by parasitological, serological and molecular methods in Ahar District, East Azerbaijan Province. Methods: In this study, 65 cats from different parts of Ahar Province were trapped. The cats were anesthetized with chloroform and blood samples were taken from jugular vein and tested by direct agglutination test. Spleen and liver smear samples were prepared in order to microscopically examine these organs, and also cultured in Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle and Roswell Park Memorial Institute 1 640 media. Finally, spleen tissue DNA was extracted to perform polymerase chain reaction analysis. Results: In direct agglutination test, 4 (6%) cats had a positive titer, while 14 (22%) cats had a titer of 1:80 which was suspected for an infection and 47 (72%) cats were negative. Culture results were negative and in polymerase chain reaction no amplification was observed. Conclusions: We found no case of feline visceral leishmaniasis. It needs more extensive studies by using a larger number of cats to firmly establish leishmaniasis in this area.
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Background and Objectives: Two clinical forms of leishmaniasis exist in Iran: cutaneous and visceral. According to the sporadic reports of new cases of Visceral Leishmaniasis [VL] in Lorestan province, real status of VL is not clear, so this study aimed to describe the seroprevalence of VL in Delphan city
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive analytic study, blood samples were collected from children /= 1/3200 accompanied with clinical symptoms was considered as VL diseas
Results: 800 collected serum samples, 21[2.62%] showed anti-Leishmania antibodies at titers of 1/800 and 1/1600, whereas 5[0.62%] showed anti-Leishmania antibodies at titers of ?1/3200. But just one of them showed clinical symptoms [anemia and large abdominal] which is under treatment with miltefosine
Conclusion: A new focus of VL with low endemicity is going to be formed in our region, which showed that further studies on vector and reservoirs is necessary in the region and other parts of Lorestan province
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Visceral leishmaniasis or kala-azar is an endemic parasitic disease in some parts of the world which is characterized by fever, splenomegaly, and pancytopenia in most of the cases. Herein we report an 11 month-old male infant with diagnosis of kala-azar who presented with pallor, hepatosplenomegaly, failure to gain weight, and no history of fever. Surprisingly, fever started after beginning of meglumine antimoniate treatment in this patient. As far as we are aware of, this is a rare presentation of visceral leishmaniasis. Therefore, clinicians especially in endemic areas are highly recommended to include kala-azar among differential diagnosis of unexplained anemia without fever to prevent misdiagnosis of this potentially fatal, but treatable condition.
Subject(s)
Humans , Infant , Male , Amphotericin B/therapeutic use , Anemia/diagnosis , Antiprotozoal Agents/therapeutic use , Deoxycholic Acid/therapeutic use , Diagnosis, Differential , Drug Combinations , Endemic Diseases , Fever , Iran , Leishmania infantum/pathogenicity , Leishmaniasis, Visceral/diagnosis , Meglumine/therapeutic use , Organometallic Compounds/therapeutic use , Splenomegaly/parasitologyABSTRACT
Toxicity and drug resistance against pentavalent antimonials, medications of choice in treatment of leishmaniasis for more than 5 decades, have become important subjects globally. This study was a randomized, open labeled trial that was designed to determine efficacy and safety of IMOD as a novel herbal immunomodulator drug for treatment of canine visceral leishmaniasis [CVL]. Twenty healthy mongrel dogs were infected with Iranian strain of L. Infantum amastigotes and randomly divided to 5 groups with four animals for each included on: I: negative control [non-infected] II: Glucantime[registered sign] III: Glucantime[registered sign] plus IMOD [immune-chemotherapy] IV: IMOD and V: positive control [non-treated]. Physical examination, hematological, biochemical, serological, parasitological, pathological and imaging evaluations were performed pre-/post- interventions every month for 3 months. Comparing with control groups [IandV], immune-chemotherapy group [Glucantime[registered sign] plus IMOD] showed significantly higher efficacy in resolving the clinical signs and hematobiochemistry factors. Based on our results, using IMOD in combination with meglumine antimoniate [Glucantime[registered sign]] has significantly improved CVL than the latter drug alone. So, it seems this new herbal medicine is useful as adjuvant therapy for canine visceral leishmaniasis
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Cytokines play a fundamental role in the regulation of immune responses in remission and/or relapsing of leishmaniasis. Therefore, immunotherapy for the treatment of canine visceral leishmaniasis [CVL] has represented a principle approach in control of the infection. The present research aimed to evaluating the immunotherapeutic potential of a novel herbal immunomodulator drug [IMOD] on CVL. Twelve mongrel dogs were intravenously infected with Iranian strain of L. infantum and randomly divided into three groups; 1: negative control [non-infected], 2: immunotherapy with IMOD and 3: positive control [non-treated]. Cell proliferation and Th1-/Th2-type cytokines were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cell [PBMC] by cell proliferation kit I [MTT] and enzyme-linked immunospot [ELISpot] assays, respectively. At the 60 days follow-up assessment, no adverse effects were observed in treated interventional group. Cellular proliferation assay indicated that PBMCs of IMOD group had higher stimulation index [SI] than positive control group [p <0.05]. Enhancement of CD4+ T cells such as IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 were detected in negative control group due to in vitro IMOD stimulation 30 days post-treatment. In accordance to decreasing trends of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in positive control group, the mean number of IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 spot forming cells [SFCs] down regulated for IMOD group during the study. These data indicate that IMOD had immunomodulatory potential but is not sufficient for total parasitic cure due to balance of Th1/Th2 cytokines. This is a preliminary study and we propose to undertake a series of experiments to evaluate the CVL due to in vitro modulatory effects of IMOD
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Canine visceral leishmaniasis [CVL] is a systemic disease with a high mortality rate, caused by a diphasic protozoan parasite, Leishmania infantum/chagasi in the world. The objective of the present study was to determine the presence of CVL in the city and suburbs of Kerman, using a range of serological, histopathological and molecular methods. Blood samples were taken from 80 clinically symptomatic stray dogs All the collected blood samples were tested by direct agglutination test [DAT] to detect the anti-Leishmania antibodies in dogs, using a cut-off value of >/= 1:320. Pathological specimens including spleen, liver and lymph nodes were prepared for paraffin blocks, sectioning, staining and final microscopic examination in the pathology laboratory. PCR amplification of kDNA from 9 samples of DAT positive stray dogs was studied. The anti-Leishmania antibody was detected in 9 dogs [11.25%] of the total 80 studied dogs. No significant difference was found between VL infection and gender. In contrast, there was a significant difference between seropositivity and age [P<0.05]. Pathological samples showed changes including hyperplasia of infected macrophages and inflammatory cells that occupied sinusoids and splenic cords. Among the samples which was characterized by PCR, only one specimen revealed to be mixed infection between L. infantum and L. tropica. The results revealed a high prevalence of L. infantum infection in stray dogs in Kerman. This kind of information is needed for implementation of future control programs
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This study aimed to evaluate freeze-dried sera as an alternative to non-freeze dried for detection of anti- Leishmania infantum antibodies over the course of 11 months using the direct agglutination test [DAT]. Altogether, 60 serum samples [30 from humans and 30 from dogs] were collected from various geographical locations in Iran. All the collected sera were pooled and each pooled serum sample contained 10 different sera. In the beginning, the human and dog pooled sera were categorized as positive [weak and strong] and negative based on anti-L. infantum antibodies using the DAT. All the freeze-dried and non-freeze-dried sera were stored at -70[degree sign] C, -20[degree sign] C, 4[degree sign] C, 22-28[degree sign] C and 56[degree sign] C for 11 months. The positive and negative human and dog pooled sera were separately tested using the DAT each month and the results were compared to non-freeze-dried sera kept under the same conditions. We found strong agreement [100%] between the results obtained from freeze-dried human and dog in strong DAT positive sera kept at -70[degree sign] C, -20[degree sign] C, 4[degree sign] C and 22-28[degree sign] C during this study. The human and dog pooled sera stored at 56[degree sign] C were corrupted after 2 weeks. The DAT results were highly reproducible using freeze-dried human pooled sera in the beginning and month 11 of this study [CV = 0.036]. Freeze-dried human and dog strong DAT positive sera are highly stable under different temperature conditions, are easy to transport and are safe for use as positive and negative serum controls in laboratories
Subject(s)
Humans , Animals , Antibodies, Protozoan , Freeze Drying , Temperature , Agglutination TestsABSTRACT
This study aimed to compare three staining methods including: Calcofluor white, Chromotrope and Quick Hot Gram chromotrope used in diagnosis of intestinal microsporidial spores. One hundred and seventy five stool specimens were collected from patients referred to Laboratory of Intestinal Protozoology at the School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences during 2012-2013. All of specimens were evaluated by nested PCR. The formalin-fixed stool samples were prepared from each specimen and dried at room temperature for 10 min, followed by 10 min methanol fixation. All the collected stool samples were evaluated blindly by calcofluor white, Chromotrope and Quick Hot Gram chromotrope staining methods separately. Microsporidial spores were recognized using Chromotrope, Quick Hot Gram chromotrope and Calcofluor white, in16 of 18 [88.8%], 17 of 18 [94.4%] and 18 of 18[100%] samples that were positive by nested PCR respectively. Regarding 14 stool samples that were negative by nested PCR, 14 cases were negative by chromotrope and Quick hot Gram chromotrope and 13 samples were negative by Calcofluor white. One discordant sample interpreted as false positive. Calcofluor white staining had the best performance for the detection of intestinal Microsprora spores and can be used as initial screen test for the detection of intestinal Microspora spp