Molecular detection of equine piroplasms in donkeys [equus asinus] in North Khorasan province, Iran

Equine piroplasmosis is a tickborne disease of equids with worldwide distribution, caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. The aim of this study was molecular detection of T. equi and B. caballi in donkeys in northeastern Iran and investigate the association between positivity of piroplasm infection and host-related factors. In the present study, Blood samples were collected from 106 apparently healthy donkeys [Equus asinus] in North Khorasan province, Iran. Blood smears were prepared and stained by giemsa method. DNA was extracted from blood and then multiplex-PCR was done for detection of any piroplasms infection. According to the results, four donkeys showed T. equi in blood smears but B. caballi was not found. Also, fifty four donkeys [50.94%] showed T. equi infection using multiplex-PCR. No siginificant difference was observed between the frequency of T. equi infection with hostrelated factors in donkeys. This is the first report on the molecular detection of eqiune piroplamosis in donkeys in Iran. Also, no significant association was found between the rate of T. equi infected animals

Human papilloma virus in head and neck squamous cell cancer

Epidemiologic and molecular evidences have established a strong link between high risk types of Human Papilloma Virus and a subgroup of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas [HNSCC]. We evaluated the frequency of HPV positivity in HNSCC and its relationship to demographic and some risk factor variables in an open casecontrol study. Fourteen recently diagnosed patients with squamous cell cancer of oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx aged 18-50 years were examined from 2008-2010 in Tabriz, Iran. HPV DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded blocks of each patient's sample for PCR evaluation. Saliva samples of 94 control cancer-free subjects were collected for DNA analysis. Multivariable logistic regression method was used to calculate odds ratio for case-control comparisons. High risk HPV was detected in 6[42.8%] patients, and 6[5.3%] control subjects which was statistically significant [p<0.0001]. HPV-18 was the most frequent type both in the cases and controls. HPV-16 DNA was detected in two patients of the case group, but it was not detected in any of the controls. The relation between demographic and risk factor variables was not statistically significant. HPV infection has a significant impact on HNSCC. Despite HPV-16 stronger impact, HPV-18 is more likely to cause malignant degeneration in such cancers amongst some communities. It is vital to introduce and conduct immunization schedules in health care systems to protect communities to some extent