Survey of the prevalence of Toxocara cati in stray cats in Isfahan city, Iran by PCR method.

Toxocariasis is a parasitic zoonosis with worldwide distribution that affects both cats and dogs. This parasite is one of the factors contributing to visceral larva migrans and ocular larva migrans in humans. Therefore, it is crucial to gain a good understanding of how cats are infected by T. cati, so as to prevent citizens from infection. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of T. cati in Isfahan. In 2014-2015, a total of 147 feacal samples were collected from urban stray cats. The felid feaces were analyzed through PCR test and 26 cats (17.7%) were diagnosed with T. cati gene. Sixteen cats (10.88%) were female and 10 cats (6.8%) were male. In terms of age group, 9 cats (6.12%) were adult while 17 cats (11.56%) were immature. Unlike previous studies there was no significant relationship between age/sex and prevalence of the parasite. Since there is a close link between humans and cats with greater risk of transmitting common diseases particularly in children, it is critical to raise public awareness about the disease and advise adults to be more health-conscious outdoors.

Evaluating the effect of oral administration of Echinacea hydroethanolic extract on the immune system in dog.

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of oral administration of Echinacea hydroethanolic extract on the dog's immune system. The study was performed on 14 dogs that were referred to the veterinary clinic. These dogs were randomly allocated to two equal treatment groups. The first group received 1 ml of 5% Echinacea hydroethanolic extract two times a day for 2 months, and the second group received a placebo (water). To do haematology and immunology tests, the dogs were bled on days 0, 30 and 60. Blood tests, including packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), counting neutrophils (Nut), lymphocytes (Lym), monocytes (Mon), eosinophils (Eos), basophils (Baso) and B cell, were performed. Furthermore, safety factor IgM and per cent of phagocytosis and phagocyte were measured from the blood sample. The results showed that in the group which received Echinacea PCV, Hb, RBC count, WBC count, Lym, Nut, the per cent of phagocytosis and IgM significantly increased (P < 0.05). Moreover, positive effects of Echinacea plant on the immune system were observed. There was a significant change in HTC, RBC, Hb over time in the group that received Echinacea and the per cent of phagocytosis and IgM (P < 0.05). The study establishes that these extracts might have appreciable immunostimulatory activity. However, further studies are required to confirm these findings.

Molecular detection of bovine leukemia virus in peripheral blood of Iranian cattle, camel and sheep.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a deltaretrovirus which infects and induces proliferation of B-lymphocytes in the peripheral blood circulation and in lymphoid organs primarily of cattle, leading to leukemia/lymphoma. This study was carried out to investigate the presence of BLV in cattle, sheep and camels from the Chaharmahal va Bakhtiary and Isfahan provinces in Iran. A total of 874 blood samples collected from cattle, sheep and camels were used in this study to detect BLV using a nested-PCR. The results from this study indicated that 17.2% (n=874) of all blood samples collected were positive for BLV. The percentages of blood samples positive for BLV from cattle, sheep and camels were 22.1 (n=657), 5.3 (n=95) and 0 (n=122) respectively. The results from this study showed that BLV infected cattle and sheep. Camels seemed to be resistant to BLV infection. This study contributes to the nationwide effort to obtain baseline information on the prevalence of BLV, which will assist in planning the control strategy for the disease in Iran.