Confusing a Pollen Grain with a Parasite Egg: Infection or Traditional Medicine?

Camacho & Reinhard stated in the December 2019 issue of the KJP (57: 621-625) that we confused a pollen grain with an Enterobius egg found in the grave of a female adolescent residing in ancient Tehran 7,000 years ago. We want here to clarify and answer to the outlined points in their article.

First Paleoparasitological Report on the Animal Feces of Bronze Age Excavated from Shahr-e Sukhteh, Iran

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.

Heavy metal bioabsorption capacity of intestinal helminths in urban rats

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the capability of helminths to absorb heavy metals in comparison with that of the host tissues. We compared the concentration of cadmium [Cd] and chromium [Cr] in urban rats and in their harboring helminthes -Moniliformis moniliformis, Hymenolepis diminuta and larval stage of Taenia taenaeiformis [Cysticercus fasciolaris]. The heavy metal absorption was evaluated in 1g wet weight of parasites and tissues digested in nitric acid, using Inductivity Coupled Plasma [ICP-OES]. A higher concentration of heavy metals was revealed in the helminths than in the host tissues. Bioconcentration factor [BF= C in parasite/C in tissue] for both Cd and Cr absorption was more than 10-fold higher in M. moniliformis than in the three compared host tissues. The BF of Cd in M. moniliformis compared to the liver, kidney and muscle of the host was 9.16, 14.14 and 17.09, respectively. BF in Cr in the same parasite and the same host tissues ranged from 10.67, 7.06 and 4.6. High level of absorption in H. diminuta was significantly likewise; the individual BF of Cd and Cr in H. diminuta compared to the liver, kidney and muscle of the hosts was 4.95, 5.94 and 4.67 vs. 2.67, 11.56 and 5.59. The mean concentration of Cd and Cr in C. fasciolaris was also significantly higher than that in the rat livers [P<0.007 and P<0.004, respectively]. This study claims that parasites of terrestrial animals exposed to heavy metals can be more accurate indicators than the host tissues as new environmental monitoring agents

Plagiorchis muris [Tanabe, 1922] in Rattus norvegicus in Iran

Rats are capable to harbor various pathogens, among which certain species of zoonotic parasites are included. A long-term detection of parasite fauna of rats has sporadically been carried out in Iran. Abundance of these vertebrate pests is of great importance as regards public health issue. The present paper is focused on a digenean trematode Plagiorchis muris, obtained during a comprehensive study on rats over the decades in the country. Herein we describe this occurrence in a Rattus norvegicus in northern Tehran, with specific note on its morphological description. P. muris can infect human through consumption of infected marine food items, and has never been observed in Iran

Morphometric differentiation between camel and sheep strains of Echinococcus granulosus using computer image analysis system (CIAS)

OBJECTIVE@#To find importance of morphometric criterion of larval rostellar hook of Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) and the easy and reliable method for distinguish sheep and camel strains in epidemiologic studies.@*METHODS@#Larval rostellar hooks (n=1860) of 31 camel and sheep isolates in Iran, which already had been characterized by PCR, were carefully processed by computerized imagime analysis system (CIAS) and acquired data about rostellar hooks were analyzed using software SPSS.@*RESULTS@#Measurement analysis of rostellar hooks [mean length (24.23±3.12) μ m] indicated that length of the large hook was a remarkable parameter for strain differentiation. Data analysis demonstrated that CIAS could be used as a reliable tool to distinguish camel from sheep strains with high sensitivity (95.2%) and specificity (91.5%).@*CONCLUSIONS@#CIAS as a specific, sensitive, economic, fast, and reliable means might be used for differentiation of E. granulosus strains. Although perimeter and area were measured by digital technology, they were not shown as discriminative criterion as total hook length did.

A Survey of Dung Beetles Infected with Larval Nematodes with Particular Note on Copris lunaris Beetles as a Vector for Gongylonema sp. in Iran

Dung beetles (family Scarabaeidae) are one of the largest families of beetles worldwide. Due to biological behavior of these arthropods, they are considered to play an important role in the life cycle of some helminths. In the present study, dung beetles collected from cattle pastures in rural areas of Ardabil province, north-west of Iran were examined for infection with larval stages of helminths. According to the results, nematodes of 2 genera were identified including Rhabditis and Gongylonema. The more common species was Rhabditis sp. which was found in 9 species of beetles. Out of 15 different species of dung beetles, Copris lunaris was the only scarabaeid to be found naturally infected with the larval stages of Gongylonema sp. Our new findings introduce C. lunaris as a potential biological vector for transmission of Gongylonema sp. to vertebrates in the surveyed region.

[Parasitological study on Lymnaea palustris and its ecological survey by GIS in Mazandaran province]

Lymnaea palustris was previously found in Mazandaran province but there was not any report about its parasitologic aspects. This study was conducted to finding ecological and Parasitological aspects of snail in Mazandaran province, North of Iran. In this descriptive study, more than 181 locations, were checked, in 36 locations, colonies of the snail were found and 490 snails were collected. After diagnosis of snails as Lymanea palustris, in laboratory, they were crushed and their probable cercaria was checked out by a dissecting microscope. Data were analyzed and processed by ArcGIS 9.2 and Microsoft Office 2003 for descriptive analysis. from 490 snails, 6 cases [1.22%] were infected with trematode larval stage. These cercariae were classified as echinostomaercaria. Optimum temperature for the snails was 15-19 degrees of celsius and optimum dissolved salt [TDS] was 200-400 ppm. Population of colonies were raised in autumn and winter but infected snails were seen in summer. This study could show the ecological pattern, distribution, and population dynamic of the snail. Also the existence of echinostomaercaria which is cercaria, generally belong to the Echinostoma sp, indicates veterinary and parasitological importance of local snails. It is probable these parasite, infect man also. More studies on definitive host and exact species of parasite are proposed