ABSTRACT
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.
ABSTRACT
Leeches are a group of round worm that belonged in Hirudina order. They live in freshwater, soil and wetlands. Some leeches are predators and feeding of worms, insect's larvae and snails, whereas some of the other is bloodthirsty and feeding invertebrates and vertebrates. Although leeches can have important therapeutic but sometimes cause serious problems in humans and animals. In the present report, a 22 year old woman living in Tabriz admitted to infectious diseases ward of Sina hospital, with diarrhea, nausea and gastroenteritis symptoms. After clinical and parasitological experiments, leeches were confirmed in the patient's gastrointestinal secretions