Aflatoxin M1 in pasteurized milk in Babol city, Mazandaran province, Iran

Aflatoxin M1 [AFM1] is the metabolite of aflatoxin B1 [AFB1] and is found in milk when lactating animals are fed with contaminated feedstuff. The presence of AFM1 in milk, pose a major risk for humans especially kids as it can have immunosuppressive, mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic effects. The present study is aimed to investigate the occurrence of AFM1 in subsidized pasteurized milk in Babol, Mazandaran Province, Iran. Some 72 pasteurized milk packages were collected from supermarkets in various districts of city during January to March 2006. Milk samples were centrifuged and amounts of 100 micro l of skimmed milk were tested for AFM1 contamination by competitive ELISA. All the samples [100%] exhibited contamination with AFM1. The contamination levels means in January, February, and March were 227.85, 229.64, and 233.1ng/l, respectively. The amount of AFM1 in all the samples were above 50ng/l, the threshold set by the European community regulations. Monitoring of AFM1 level should be part of quality control procedures in dairy factories, particularly the ones providing infant's milk. Production of safer and healthier milk and other dairy products with minimum AFM1 level can be achieved by adopting prophylactic measures including control of humidity and water content of feedstuff, which favors mould production

First report of intestinal myiasis due to eristalis tenax in Iran

Eristalis tenax, belonging to order Diptera, family Syrphidae seldomly causes intestinal myiasis. Intestinal myiasis caused by E. tenax larvae is a rare manifestation found in both humans and other vertebrate animals. We report a 22-year-old woman presented with this myiasis. The larva in her stool sample was identified as E. tenax related to its typical morphology and authentic clues. Lack of specific control measures in the domestic water supply system was the most probable cause of this infestation

Efficacy of Terbinafine 1% cream versus clotrimazole 1% cream in the treatment of pityriasis versicolor

Terbinafine a member of allylamines group is a new class of antimycotic agents that blocks sterol biosynthesis in the fungi through inhibition of sequalene epoxidase and with consequent sequalene accumulation due to a primarily fungicidal process. Terbinafine is very effective on various fungi as an oral and topical antifungal agent. The aim of this study was to compare the antifungal efficacy of terbinafine 1% cream with clotrimazole 1% in patients with pityriasis versicolor. This clinical trial study was performed on 50 patients [30 males and 20 females] with mean age of 20 years [aged between 15-55 years] who randomly treated with terbinafine and clotrimazole for 4 weeks. The efficacy of drug and improving process evaluated mycologically and clinically before starting the study and at the end of each week. A patient was considered mycologically cured when direct microscopy was negative and clinically cured when all clinical parameters were considered negative. Negativizations of all clinical parameters were observed within 2 weeks in 60% of terbinafine and 35% clotrimazole recipients. At the end of four weeks, disappearance of lesions were seen in 90% and 80%, respectively [p<0.05]. The percentage of negativization of direct microscopy in terbinafine group was 1.4 fold higher than that clotrimazole group after 2 weeks of treatment. At the end of therapy, 95% of terbinafine and 90% of clotrimazole treated subjects were clinically cured [p>0.05]. Both drug eruptions and intolerance in two treated groups were similar. Although the efficacy of the both drugs is similar, but considering the expense of therapy, clotrimazole is preferred regimen for therapy of tinea versicolor