ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: One of the severe complications of toxoplasmosis is the induction of abortion in sheep, goats, and human beings. The rate of abortions related to toxoplasmosis in sheep varies between 10% and 23% in the United States and European countries. In Iran, Toxoplasma infection were diagnosed in aborted ovine fetuses between 13.5% and 69% in the brain samples based on PCR. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of abortions related to T. gondii among the aborted fetuses of sheep in Ardabil area, North-West of Iran. METHODS: The brains of 75 aborted sheep fetuses in Ardebil area were investigated with nested PCR method using fragments of the GRA6 gene during lambing seasons in 2014-2015. Meanwhile, thoracic and abdominal fluids of aborted fetuses and 200 serum samples collected from the herds affected by abortion were examined for the existence of anti-T. gondii IgG. RESULTS: For 48 out of the 75 fetal brain samples (64%), the results of nested PCR test were found to be positive. Furthermore, antibodies against Toxoplasma was observed in 136 (68%) collected samples of sheep and 21 samples (28%) of fetal fluids. CONCLUSION: There is the significant role of T. gondii in the abortions of sheep in Ardabil area. Meanwhile, this condition can also be dangerous for human beings because of their consumption of sheep meat.
ABSTRACT
Primary maternal infection with toxoplasmosis during pregnancy is frequently associated with transplacental transmission of the parasite to the fetus. This study was conducted to test the utility of PCR assay to detect recent infections with Toxoplasma in aborted women at various gestational ages who referred to Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Alavi Hospital in Ardabil during 2014 and 2016. Two hundred women with a history of single or repeated abortion were investigated in this study. Blood samples were tested for specific anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies by ELISA. According to the results, 53.5% of the women under study were positive for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies: 4.0% of them had IgM, 43.0% had IgG, and 6.5% had both IgM and IgG. Subsequently, Nested-PCR analysis was used to detect T. gondii DNA in the placenta of subjects. In 10.5% of the women, the results were positive for 529 bp element of T. gondii. Among them, 5 (23.8%) cases were IgM positive, 1 (4.8%) case was IgG positive, and 11 (52.4%) were both IgM and IgG positive. In 4 (19.0%) patients, none of the antibodies were found to be positive. In total, 16 patients had positive results in both ELISA and PCR methods, and 174 cases had negative results for new infection. The findings of this study revealed that T. gondii might be one of the significant factors leading to abortion, and that the analysis of placenta can be important in order to achieve increased detection sensitivity.
Subject(s)
Abortion, Habitual/etiology , Abortion, Spontaneous/etiology , Antibodies, Protozoan/blood , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/diagnosis , Serologic Tests/methods , Toxoplasma/immunology , Toxoplasmosis/diagnosis , Toxoplasmosis/parasitology , Adolescent , Adult , Biomarkers/blood , DNA, Protozoan/blood , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Immunoglobulin M/blood , Iran/epidemiology , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/epidemiology , Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/parasitology , Toxoplasma/genetics , Toxoplasmosis/complications , Toxoplasmosis/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Workplace bullying is a significant issue confronting the nursing profession both in Iran and internationally. This study examined workplace bullying among a group of Iranian nurses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The prevalence rate of bullying behavior among nurses was determined. Data were collected from 162 nurses who worked in four hospitals located in West Azerbaijan province, Iran. RESULTS: Results showed that only 9% of nurses who participated in this study had frequently been exposed to bullying behavior, 22% had occasionally been bullied, and 69% had never been exposed to these behaviors during the last year. The most common type of workplace bullying experienced by nurses was verbal bullying. Forty percent of the nurses reported exposure to verbal bullying behavior frequently or occasionally. CONCLUSIONS: To be able to intervene with bullying behavior in the workplace, there is a need to pay greater attention to the problem by the entire range of managers, lawyers, industrial-organizational psychologists, counselors, social workers, and local authorities.
