Yavar Rassi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Yavar Rassi
Background: Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcas... more Background: Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcass feeding insects to detecting of drugs or toxins, as well as the cause and manner of death in cases of ante-mortem drugs intoxication. Morphine is one of the deacetylate metabolites of heroin. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and quantity of morphine in insects on the carcass and compare them with decomposing carcass. Methods: Field of this study was in Chalabeh District and toxicological tests were carried out at the Department of Forensic Toxicology, Legal Medicine Center, Kermanshah, Iran in 2017. Morphine was inoculated into live rabbit as experimental model at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50mg/ml, similar to those normally encountered in human overdoses, then quality and quantity of morphine were determined in insects such as Chrysomya albiceps (as the first wave of insect succession on human cadavers) fed on carcass. Results: Quantitative assessment at larvae sho...
Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of infantile visceral leishmaniasis (IVL) in the Medit... more Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of infantile visceral leishmaniasis (IVL) in the Mediterranean Basin and, based on isoenzyme typing of the parasite isolated from dogs; this parasite was considered to predominate in the all foci of IVL in Iran. However, based on PCR detection and sequencing of parasite Cysteine Protease B (CPB), only one out of seven sandfly infections in Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus was found to be L. infantum in the current investigation. The six other infections were haplotypes of Leishmania donovani, the causative agent of anthroponotic visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in West Africa and India. The deduced amino acid of the L. donovani haplotype was found to be novel and the shortest CPB protein reported within the Leishmania spp. Circulation of both L. donovani and L. infantum by P. perfiliewi transcaucasicus, in addition to previous data indicating its ability to circulate L. tropica, suggests that this species, like other vectors of VL, is a p...
Background & objectives: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still a public health threat in many rur... more Background & objectives: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still a public health threat in many rural areas of Iran. It causes considerable morbidity among a huge number of people in the endemic areas. Khuzestan is considered as a CL focus in Iran and recently several cases have been reported from Shush County. The aim of the current study was to determine different aspects of CL epidemiology in this County. Methods: The study was conducted in four villages in the rural district of Shush County. In order to survey the scar and acute rate of the disease, 100 inhabitants were questioned in each village. In addition, to determine the reservoir host and vector of the disease, rodents were captured using Sherman traps, and sandflies were collected from around the rodent burrows using sticky paper traps. Results: The scar and acute lesion rates were reported as 5.26 and 0.57% among inhabitants, respectively. Fifty-four rodents including Tatera indica (55.5%), Nesokia indica (33.3%), Mus mus...
Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) is a serious health problem in some northern and south western... more Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) is a serious health problem in some northern and south western parts of Iran. The incidence of kala-azar caused by Leishmania infantum has recently increased in Nourabad-Mamassani district of Fars Province, in the south of the country. This study was designed to determine the role of asymptomatic dogs as host reservoir of L. infantum in this new formed focus and detection of prevalence of infection near them. A total of 20 asymptomatic stray and sheep dogs were randomly sampled. The Buffy coat layer of their peripheral blood was used for DNA extraction and PCR. A species specific seminested PCR was used for DNA amplification using LINR4, LIN17 and LIN19 primers. These primers amplified variable area of the minicircle kDNA of Leishmania parasites. Of the 20 sampled dogs checked for leishmanial kDNA, six (30%) were found naturally infected. It is concluded that, dogs (Canis familiaris) even if asymptomatic, is considered as the domestic host reservoi...
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: Collecting live sand flies from indoor sites is a major challenge for researchers in ... more Background: Collecting live sand flies from indoor sites is a major challenge for researchers in large cities due to the reluctance of families to survey their homes. This study was conducted to assess the efficacy of two methods for col-lecting sand flies for use in susceptibility tests in the urban area of Kerman, southeastern Iran. Methods: Sandflies were mainly collected using both baited traps and hand catch methods from outdoor and indoor sites. Susceptibility tests were separately done according to the standard World Health Organization testing protocol on Phlebotomus sergenti, including 60-minute exposure to DDT 4.0%, propoxur 0.1%, deltamethrin 0.05%, and malathion 5.0%. Results: During this research, the natural habitats and suitable indoor sites were selected to predict the density of live sand fly with perfect accuracy. The number of live Ph. sergenti caught by hand catch and baited traps methods was 42 and 361 in indoor and outdoor sites, respectively. The mortality rat...
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of two capture methods for pro... more Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of two capture methods for providing live sandflies used for determining the susceptibility level of Phlebotomus papatasi, the main vector of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Lorestan Province, west of Iran. Methods: The sand flies were collected from indoor and outdoor by hand-catch and baited traps during the peak of seasonal activity. The susceptibility level of sand flies was assessed using insecticide-impregnated papers against DDT 4%, bendiocarb 0.1%, permethrin 0.75%, deltamethrin 0.05%, and cyfluthrin 0.15%. Results: A total of 2486 live sandflies were caught from both indoor and outdoor places. Totally 849 sand flies were caught from outdoors with a sex ratio(SR) 0.1 versus 1637 sand flies collected from indoor using the hand-catch method with SR= 0.6. The dominant species of sand flies was Ph. papatasi in the study area. Mortality rates of outdoor-collected sand flies were exposed to DDT 4%, deltamethrin...
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: Phlebotomus kandelakii and Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus sand flies are the ... more Background: Phlebotomus kandelakii and Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus sand flies are the vectors of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility of Ph. kandelakii and Ph. perfiliewi transcaucasicus, collected from an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the northwest of Iran, to different selected insecticides. Methods: Sand flies were collected from the villages of Meshkinshahr and Germi Counties using light traps and aspirators from May to October 2019. The sand flies were identified as Ph. kandelakii and Ph. perfiliewi transcaucasicus using standard identification keys. Susceptibility test was carried out against DDT (4%), Malathion (5%), Propoxur (0.1%) and Lambda-cyhalothrin (0.05%) according to the WHO standard method. MedCalc statistical software was employed to calculate LT50 and LT90 and to compare the chances of sand flies surviving the exposure to the studied insecticides. Results: A total of 1,278 fem...
Nusantara Bioscience
The development rate/time of flies is a scientific method to estimate the minimum time elapsed af... more The development rate/time of flies is a scientific method to estimate the minimum time elapsed after death. Several studies have shown that opioids and temperature affect maggot growth rates. However, there are few published data that investigate the effect of ante-mortem methadone use on larval length of Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy). Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of methadone and temperature on the development rate/time of this species. During this study, four rabbits were administered 0.10, 0.50, 1.0, and 10 mg/kg of methadone via gavage over a period of 14 days, and a five rabbit, which did not receive methadone, was used as a control. The rabbits' tissues were separated and exposed to maggots for rearing. Minimum developmental times of C. vicina life stages at six constant temperature regimes were provided. From hours 48 to 96, larvae feeding on tissues containing 10 mg/kg methadone developed more rapidly than those feeding on tissues containing 0.1, 0.50, and 1 mg/kg and also from the control. In the present study, development rate of C. vicina was linearly related to temperature (R2 = 0.96, p =0.02) between 16 and 32°C. The results revealed that the differences observed in the rates of development were sufficient to alter postmortem interval estimates based on larval development by up to 24 h.
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: Leishmaniasis diseases are known to be one of the most important public health proble... more Background: Leishmaniasis diseases are known to be one of the most important public health problems in World and Iran. Visceral leishmaniasis is considered to be the most serious form and transmitted by sand flies species. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic activities of sandflies in northwestern Iran. Methods: This crass-sectional study was conducted from April to December 2018 in Meshkinshahr County, Ardabil Province. Sticky traps have been used to collect sand flies. They are stored in 70% alcohol and finally identified using valid keys. The aspects of the synoptic information were inquired from the Meshkin Shahr weather department and results analyzed for SPSS24. Results: Totally 259 sandflies were collected during study period. From collected samples 78.7% were male and 21.3% female. There were 8 different species. Phlebotomus kandelakii was the most prevalent one (30.8%). The average temperature, relative humidity, and average wind speed was 13.5 °C, 84%, an...
Background: Leishmaniasis diseases are known to be one of the most important public health proble... more Background: Leishmaniasis diseases are known to be one of the most important public health problems in World and Iran. Visceral leishmaniasis is considered to be the most serious form and transmitted by sand flies species. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic activities of sandflies in northwestern Iran. Methods: This crass-sectional study was conducted from April to December 2018 in Meshkinshahr County, Ardabil Province. Sticky traps have been used to collect sand flies. They are stored in 70% alcohol and finally identified using valid keys. The aspects of the synoptic information were inquired from the Meshkin Shahr weather department and results analyzed for SPSS24. Results: Totally 259 sandflies were collected during study period. From collected samples 78.7% were male and 21.3% female. There were 8 different species. Phlebotomus kandelakii was the most prevalent one (30.8%). The average temperature , relative humidity, and average wind speed was 13.5 °C, 84%, an...
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: Phlebotominae sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the vectors of leishmaniasis. T... more Background: Phlebotominae sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the vectors of leishmaniasis. There are different methods for sand fly collection with different performance. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effect of different traps for collection of Phlebotominae sand flies in three endemic leishmaniasis foci in North Khorasan Prov-ince, northeast of Iran. Methods: Sand flies were collected using seven different traps from three villages, three times each twenty days during peak periods of seasonal activity in 2016. Results: A total of 7253 sand flies were collected. The specimens belonged to19 species. Phlebotomus sergenti was the most predominant species in the study area. Light trap baited with Carbon dioxide (CLT) and sticky paper trap (SPT) caught 22.6% and 22.3% of sand flies respectively. Animal baited trap (ABT) and white Shannon trap (WST) caught significantly fewer sand flies than the other traps. The sex ratio was different by phlebotominae sand fly ...
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
Objective: To determine the spatial distribution and infection rate of sand flies as vectors of L... more Objective: To determine the spatial distribution and infection rate of sand flies as vectors of Leishmania parasite in Ardabil province, northwest of Iran. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sand flies were collected from 30 areas in all 10 districts of Ardabil province during 2017. The specimens were caught using the sticky traps. The head and genitalia of sand flies were separated and mounted in Berlese solution for microscopic identification. The Geographical Information System ArcMap10.4.1 software was used to provide the spatial maps. Results: A total of 2 794 sand flies specimens were collected and 22 species of sand flies were identified from the two genera: Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia from Ardabil province. The highest frequency was found in Phlebotomus papatasi (23.7%) followed by Phlebotomus kandelakii (13.0%). The promastigote form of Leishmania infantum parasite has been reported from the three main vectors of visceral leishmaniasis (Phlebotomus kandelakii, Phlebotomus perfiliewi and Phlebotomus tobbi) from Ardabil province, where the spatial distribution map of these visceral leishmaniasis vectors was prepared. Some important species of sand flies such as Phlebotomus kandelakii, Phlebotomus perfiliewi and Phlebotomus tobbi were reported and identified as main and probable vectors of visceral leishmaniasis in Ardabil. Conclusions: According to the Geographic Information System based maps, the frequency of the sand flies as leishmaniasis vectors, the leishmania parasite infection rate and the prevalence of the disease in the central areas of Ardabil province are higher than in other areas in Ardabil province.
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine
Objective: To delineate reliable morphological characteristics for identifying and separating fem... more Objective: To delineate reliable morphological characteristics for identifying and separating female Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis which exist sympatrically in the main foci of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran. Methods: Sand flies were collected using sticky trap papers from active colonies of rodent burrows installed from 16 catching sites. Morphometric measurements were analyzed of 87 Phlebotomus caucasicus and 156 Phlebotomus mongolensis. Univariate and multivariate analysis were carried out to determine significant morphometric variables for discrimination of the two species. Finally, seven morphological characteristics of 65 female Phlebotomus caucasicus and 124 female Phlebotomus mongolensis were described. Results: Univariate and multivariate analyses of 10 morphometric variables via Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that five morphometric variables had an accuracy of 100% for discriminating female Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis. Moreover, PCA revealed that the five morphometric variables with the highest loadings separated these two species. Morphological studies on antennal flagellum (and its associated structures) and mouth-parts of female specimens demonstrated significant differences in several structures. Conclusions: The results show that morphological and morphometrical features can be used to discriminate two female isomorphic species, Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis accurately.
Journal of Vector Borne Diseases
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important parasitic disease which is endemic in different parts... more Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important parasitic disease which is endemic in different parts of Iran; and domestic and wild canines are principal reservoir hosts of the disease. The objective of this study was to review the spatial distribution of canine VL (CVL) caused by Leishmania infantum in domestic and wild canines in different geographical areas of Iran. An extensive literature search was conducted in different international and national databases, including Cochrane, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Iran Medex to find articles with the words “visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” in their titles and “canine visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” or “feline visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” or “accidental reservoir hosts of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” in their subtitles, irrespective of the type and duration of study. Screening of the irrelevant articles from total 36,342, yielded 61 eligible articles. More than 93% of the studies were carried out on domestic dogs (Canis familiaris, n = 57) and the remaining were on other carnivores such as wild canines including foxes (Vulpes vulpes, n = 4), jackals (C. aureus, n = 6) and wolves (C. lupus, n = 6); while studies on domestic cats (Felis catus, n = 3) as well as desert rodents (n = 2) were rare. The average rate of L. infantum infections reported among domestic dogs using direct agglutination test (DAT) in Iran was 12.5%. The highest prevalence rate (14%) was reported from the northwest regions of the country where VL is endemic. The review indicates that CVL is endemic in various parts of Iran and domestic dogs are the main and potential reservoir hosts of the disease. Other carnivores, such as domestic cats and some species of desert rodents (Cricetulus migratorius, Mesocricetus auratus and Meriones persicus) seem to be playing a role in the maintenance of transmission cycle of L. infantum in the endemic areas of the disease.
Journal of arthropod-borne diseases, 2018
Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcass feeding in... more Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcass feeding insects to detecting of drugs or toxins, as well as the cause and manner of death in cases of ante-mortem drugs intoxication. Morphine is one of the deacetylate metabolites of heroin. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and quantity of morphine in insects on the carcass and compare them with decomposing carcass. Field of this study was in Chalabeh District and toxicological tests were carried out at the Department of Forensic Toxicology, Legal Medicine Center, Kermanshah, Iran in 2017. Morphine was inoculated into live rabbit as experimental model at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50mg/ml, similar to those normally encountered in human overdoses, then quality and quantity of morphine were determined in insects such as (as the first wave of insect succession on human cadavers) fed on carcass. Quantitative assessment at larvae showed that morphine was detected in all larvae (fee...
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important parasitic disease which is endemic in different parts... more Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important parasitic disease which is endemic in different parts of Iran; and domestic and wild canines are principal reservoir hosts of the disease. The objective of this study was to review the spatial distribution of canine VL (CVL) caused by Leishmania infantum in domestic and wild canines in different geographical areas of Iran. An extensive literature search was conducted in different international and national databases, including Cochrane, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Iran Medex to find articles with the words “visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” in their titles and “canine visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” or “feline visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” or “accidental reservoir hosts of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” in their subtitles, irrespective of the type and duration of study. Screening of the irrelevant articles from total 36,342, yielded 61 eligible articles. More than 93% of the studies were carried out on domestic dogs (Canis ...
Journal of medical entomology, Jan 5, 2018
Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) due to Leishmania major (Yakimoff and Schokhor, 1914) is k... more Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) due to Leishmania major (Yakimoff and Schokhor, 1914) is known as a neglected tropical disease, transmitted by Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli, 1786) in North Africa and the Middle East. The main reservoirs of ZCL are desert gerbils and the role of humans as a reservoir host of the disease is not clearly defined and is therefore investigated in this study. In order to achieve this objective, Ph. papatasi sand flies were allowed to take blood through indirect blood sources (human, Rhombomys opimus (Lichtenstein, 1823) (great gerbil), and BALB/c mice) using artificial feeding or direct xenodiagnoses from ZCL patients. To detect Leishmania promastigotes inside digestive canal, blood-fed sand flies were dissected and examined under light microscope and then confirmed by nested-PCR. In indirect xenodiagnoses, promastigote forms of Leishmania parasite were observed in 7.1%, 12%, and 13.6% of sand flies which fed on Rh. opimus, BALB/c mice, or human blo...
Journal of arthropod-borne diseases, 2017
The brown-banded cockroach, , is not as common as the German cockroach in Iran. This species seek... more The brown-banded cockroach, , is not as common as the German cockroach in Iran. This species seeks out areas that are very warm most of the time, and prefer warmer area than what German cockroaches prefer. There is relationship between development of instars and diet of cockroaches. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different diets on biology, life cycle on nymphal stages of in laboratory condition prior to investigate the insecticide resistance status of this species in residence area in Iran. The cockroaches were reared in the insectary of School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, condition and the population divided in four equal groups. The effect of four different diets on life cycle of was studied to determine the effect of them on the lifetime of each nymphal stage. The diets significantly affected on growth and development of immature life stages of . Based on introduced diets to the cockroache populations, total immature life cycle w...
Journal of arthropod-borne diseases, 2017
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the most important health problems in many areas of Iran. ... more Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the most important health problems in many areas of Iran. There are two forms of the disease in Iran, anthroponotic and zoonotic CL. This study conducted to assess the epidemiological situation of CL in an endemic area of Qom Province, central Iran from Apr to Nov 2015. The sticky paper traps and aspirating tubes were used for collecting adult sand flies. Sherman traps and small insect nets were used to capture rodents and small mammals. Giemsa staining was used for preparing the expanded smear and followed by PCR for identifying the causative agent in human, vectors, and reservoirs. In this study, relative frequency of CL was also calculated. Fourteen species of Phlebotomine sand flies were collected. (61.74%) was the predominant species through the period of activity. Overall, 62 , 8 , 4 , 16 and 2 were caught. PCR technique showed 6 out of 150 (2%), two out of 62 (3.23%) and all of suspected human's skin tissue samples (100%) were infect...
Journal of arthropod-borne diseases, 2017
Visceral leishmaniasis is one of the most important vector borne diseases in the world, transmitt... more Visceral leishmaniasis is one of the most important vector borne diseases in the world, transmitted by sand flies. Despite efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, cases continue worldwide. In Iran, the disease usually occurs in children under 10 years. In the absence of timely diagnosis and treatment, the mortality rate is 95-100%. The main objective of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of visceral leishmaniasis as well as its correlation with climatic factors for determining high-risk areas in an endemic focus in northwestern Iran. In this cross-sectional study, data on VL cases were collected from local health centers in Ardabil Province, Iran during 2001-2015 to establish a geodatabase using ArcGIS10.3. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS23 and ArcMap Spatial Analyst. MaxEnt model was used to determine ecologically suitable nichesfor the disease. Two hotspots were found in Meshkinshahr and Germi counties with 59% and 23% of total cases, re...
Background: Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcas... more Background: Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcass feeding insects to detecting of drugs or toxins, as well as the cause and manner of death in cases of ante-mortem drugs intoxication. Morphine is one of the deacetylate metabolites of heroin. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and quantity of morphine in insects on the carcass and compare them with decomposing carcass. Methods: Field of this study was in Chalabeh District and toxicological tests were carried out at the Department of Forensic Toxicology, Legal Medicine Center, Kermanshah, Iran in 2017. Morphine was inoculated into live rabbit as experimental model at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50mg/ml, similar to those normally encountered in human overdoses, then quality and quantity of morphine were determined in insects such as Chrysomya albiceps (as the first wave of insect succession on human cadavers) fed on carcass. Results: Quantitative assessment at larvae sho...
Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of infantile visceral leishmaniasis (IVL) in the Medit... more Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of infantile visceral leishmaniasis (IVL) in the Mediterranean Basin and, based on isoenzyme typing of the parasite isolated from dogs; this parasite was considered to predominate in the all foci of IVL in Iran. However, based on PCR detection and sequencing of parasite Cysteine Protease B (CPB), only one out of seven sandfly infections in Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus was found to be L. infantum in the current investigation. The six other infections were haplotypes of Leishmania donovani, the causative agent of anthroponotic visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in West Africa and India. The deduced amino acid of the L. donovani haplotype was found to be novel and the shortest CPB protein reported within the Leishmania spp. Circulation of both L. donovani and L. infantum by P. perfiliewi transcaucasicus, in addition to previous data indicating its ability to circulate L. tropica, suggests that this species, like other vectors of VL, is a p...
Background & objectives: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still a public health threat in many rur... more Background & objectives: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still a public health threat in many rural areas of Iran. It causes considerable morbidity among a huge number of people in the endemic areas. Khuzestan is considered as a CL focus in Iran and recently several cases have been reported from Shush County. The aim of the current study was to determine different aspects of CL epidemiology in this County. Methods: The study was conducted in four villages in the rural district of Shush County. In order to survey the scar and acute rate of the disease, 100 inhabitants were questioned in each village. In addition, to determine the reservoir host and vector of the disease, rodents were captured using Sherman traps, and sandflies were collected from around the rodent burrows using sticky paper traps. Results: The scar and acute lesion rates were reported as 5.26 and 0.57% among inhabitants, respectively. Fifty-four rodents including Tatera indica (55.5%), Nesokia indica (33.3%), Mus mus...
Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) is a serious health problem in some northern and south western... more Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) is a serious health problem in some northern and south western parts of Iran. The incidence of kala-azar caused by Leishmania infantum has recently increased in Nourabad-Mamassani district of Fars Province, in the south of the country. This study was designed to determine the role of asymptomatic dogs as host reservoir of L. infantum in this new formed focus and detection of prevalence of infection near them. A total of 20 asymptomatic stray and sheep dogs were randomly sampled. The Buffy coat layer of their peripheral blood was used for DNA extraction and PCR. A species specific seminested PCR was used for DNA amplification using LINR4, LIN17 and LIN19 primers. These primers amplified variable area of the minicircle kDNA of Leishmania parasites. Of the 20 sampled dogs checked for leishmanial kDNA, six (30%) were found naturally infected. It is concluded that, dogs (Canis familiaris) even if asymptomatic, is considered as the domestic host reservoi...
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: Collecting live sand flies from indoor sites is a major challenge for researchers in ... more Background: Collecting live sand flies from indoor sites is a major challenge for researchers in large cities due to the reluctance of families to survey their homes. This study was conducted to assess the efficacy of two methods for col-lecting sand flies for use in susceptibility tests in the urban area of Kerman, southeastern Iran. Methods: Sandflies were mainly collected using both baited traps and hand catch methods from outdoor and indoor sites. Susceptibility tests were separately done according to the standard World Health Organization testing protocol on Phlebotomus sergenti, including 60-minute exposure to DDT 4.0%, propoxur 0.1%, deltamethrin 0.05%, and malathion 5.0%. Results: During this research, the natural habitats and suitable indoor sites were selected to predict the density of live sand fly with perfect accuracy. The number of live Ph. sergenti caught by hand catch and baited traps methods was 42 and 361 in indoor and outdoor sites, respectively. The mortality rat...
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of two capture methods for pro... more Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of two capture methods for providing live sandflies used for determining the susceptibility level of Phlebotomus papatasi, the main vector of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Lorestan Province, west of Iran. Methods: The sand flies were collected from indoor and outdoor by hand-catch and baited traps during the peak of seasonal activity. The susceptibility level of sand flies was assessed using insecticide-impregnated papers against DDT 4%, bendiocarb 0.1%, permethrin 0.75%, deltamethrin 0.05%, and cyfluthrin 0.15%. Results: A total of 2486 live sandflies were caught from both indoor and outdoor places. Totally 849 sand flies were caught from outdoors with a sex ratio(SR) 0.1 versus 1637 sand flies collected from indoor using the hand-catch method with SR= 0.6. The dominant species of sand flies was Ph. papatasi in the study area. Mortality rates of outdoor-collected sand flies were exposed to DDT 4%, deltamethrin...
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: Phlebotomus kandelakii and Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus sand flies are the ... more Background: Phlebotomus kandelakii and Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus sand flies are the vectors of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility of Ph. kandelakii and Ph. perfiliewi transcaucasicus, collected from an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the northwest of Iran, to different selected insecticides. Methods: Sand flies were collected from the villages of Meshkinshahr and Germi Counties using light traps and aspirators from May to October 2019. The sand flies were identified as Ph. kandelakii and Ph. perfiliewi transcaucasicus using standard identification keys. Susceptibility test was carried out against DDT (4%), Malathion (5%), Propoxur (0.1%) and Lambda-cyhalothrin (0.05%) according to the WHO standard method. MedCalc statistical software was employed to calculate LT50 and LT90 and to compare the chances of sand flies surviving the exposure to the studied insecticides. Results: A total of 1,278 fem...
Nusantara Bioscience
The development rate/time of flies is a scientific method to estimate the minimum time elapsed af... more The development rate/time of flies is a scientific method to estimate the minimum time elapsed after death. Several studies have shown that opioids and temperature affect maggot growth rates. However, there are few published data that investigate the effect of ante-mortem methadone use on larval length of Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy). Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of methadone and temperature on the development rate/time of this species. During this study, four rabbits were administered 0.10, 0.50, 1.0, and 10 mg/kg of methadone via gavage over a period of 14 days, and a five rabbit, which did not receive methadone, was used as a control. The rabbits' tissues were separated and exposed to maggots for rearing. Minimum developmental times of C. vicina life stages at six constant temperature regimes were provided. From hours 48 to 96, larvae feeding on tissues containing 10 mg/kg methadone developed more rapidly than those feeding on tissues containing 0.1, 0.50, and 1 mg/kg and also from the control. In the present study, development rate of C. vicina was linearly related to temperature (R2 = 0.96, p =0.02) between 16 and 32°C. The results revealed that the differences observed in the rates of development were sufficient to alter postmortem interval estimates based on larval development by up to 24 h.
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: Leishmaniasis diseases are known to be one of the most important public health proble... more Background: Leishmaniasis diseases are known to be one of the most important public health problems in World and Iran. Visceral leishmaniasis is considered to be the most serious form and transmitted by sand flies species. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic activities of sandflies in northwestern Iran. Methods: This crass-sectional study was conducted from April to December 2018 in Meshkinshahr County, Ardabil Province. Sticky traps have been used to collect sand flies. They are stored in 70% alcohol and finally identified using valid keys. The aspects of the synoptic information were inquired from the Meshkin Shahr weather department and results analyzed for SPSS24. Results: Totally 259 sandflies were collected during study period. From collected samples 78.7% were male and 21.3% female. There were 8 different species. Phlebotomus kandelakii was the most prevalent one (30.8%). The average temperature, relative humidity, and average wind speed was 13.5 °C, 84%, an...
Background: Leishmaniasis diseases are known to be one of the most important public health proble... more Background: Leishmaniasis diseases are known to be one of the most important public health problems in World and Iran. Visceral leishmaniasis is considered to be the most serious form and transmitted by sand flies species. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic activities of sandflies in northwestern Iran. Methods: This crass-sectional study was conducted from April to December 2018 in Meshkinshahr County, Ardabil Province. Sticky traps have been used to collect sand flies. They are stored in 70% alcohol and finally identified using valid keys. The aspects of the synoptic information were inquired from the Meshkin Shahr weather department and results analyzed for SPSS24. Results: Totally 259 sandflies were collected during study period. From collected samples 78.7% were male and 21.3% female. There were 8 different species. Phlebotomus kandelakii was the most prevalent one (30.8%). The average temperature , relative humidity, and average wind speed was 13.5 °C, 84%, an...
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Background: Phlebotominae sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the vectors of leishmaniasis. T... more Background: Phlebotominae sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the vectors of leishmaniasis. There are different methods for sand fly collection with different performance. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effect of different traps for collection of Phlebotominae sand flies in three endemic leishmaniasis foci in North Khorasan Prov-ince, northeast of Iran. Methods: Sand flies were collected using seven different traps from three villages, three times each twenty days during peak periods of seasonal activity in 2016. Results: A total of 7253 sand flies were collected. The specimens belonged to19 species. Phlebotomus sergenti was the most predominant species in the study area. Light trap baited with Carbon dioxide (CLT) and sticky paper trap (SPT) caught 22.6% and 22.3% of sand flies respectively. Animal baited trap (ABT) and white Shannon trap (WST) caught significantly fewer sand flies than the other traps. The sex ratio was different by phlebotominae sand fly ...
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
Objective: To determine the spatial distribution and infection rate of sand flies as vectors of L... more Objective: To determine the spatial distribution and infection rate of sand flies as vectors of Leishmania parasite in Ardabil province, northwest of Iran. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sand flies were collected from 30 areas in all 10 districts of Ardabil province during 2017. The specimens were caught using the sticky traps. The head and genitalia of sand flies were separated and mounted in Berlese solution for microscopic identification. The Geographical Information System ArcMap10.4.1 software was used to provide the spatial maps. Results: A total of 2 794 sand flies specimens were collected and 22 species of sand flies were identified from the two genera: Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia from Ardabil province. The highest frequency was found in Phlebotomus papatasi (23.7%) followed by Phlebotomus kandelakii (13.0%). The promastigote form of Leishmania infantum parasite has been reported from the three main vectors of visceral leishmaniasis (Phlebotomus kandelakii, Phlebotomus perfiliewi and Phlebotomus tobbi) from Ardabil province, where the spatial distribution map of these visceral leishmaniasis vectors was prepared. Some important species of sand flies such as Phlebotomus kandelakii, Phlebotomus perfiliewi and Phlebotomus tobbi were reported and identified as main and probable vectors of visceral leishmaniasis in Ardabil. Conclusions: According to the Geographic Information System based maps, the frequency of the sand flies as leishmaniasis vectors, the leishmania parasite infection rate and the prevalence of the disease in the central areas of Ardabil province are higher than in other areas in Ardabil province.
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine
Objective: To delineate reliable morphological characteristics for identifying and separating fem... more Objective: To delineate reliable morphological characteristics for identifying and separating female Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis which exist sympatrically in the main foci of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran. Methods: Sand flies were collected using sticky trap papers from active colonies of rodent burrows installed from 16 catching sites. Morphometric measurements were analyzed of 87 Phlebotomus caucasicus and 156 Phlebotomus mongolensis. Univariate and multivariate analysis were carried out to determine significant morphometric variables for discrimination of the two species. Finally, seven morphological characteristics of 65 female Phlebotomus caucasicus and 124 female Phlebotomus mongolensis were described. Results: Univariate and multivariate analyses of 10 morphometric variables via Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that five morphometric variables had an accuracy of 100% for discriminating female Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis. Moreover, PCA revealed that the five morphometric variables with the highest loadings separated these two species. Morphological studies on antennal flagellum (and its associated structures) and mouth-parts of female specimens demonstrated significant differences in several structures. Conclusions: The results show that morphological and morphometrical features can be used to discriminate two female isomorphic species, Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis accurately.
Journal of Vector Borne Diseases
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important parasitic disease which is endemic in different parts... more Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important parasitic disease which is endemic in different parts of Iran; and domestic and wild canines are principal reservoir hosts of the disease. The objective of this study was to review the spatial distribution of canine VL (CVL) caused by Leishmania infantum in domestic and wild canines in different geographical areas of Iran. An extensive literature search was conducted in different international and national databases, including Cochrane, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Iran Medex to find articles with the words “visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” in their titles and “canine visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” or “feline visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” or “accidental reservoir hosts of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” in their subtitles, irrespective of the type and duration of study. Screening of the irrelevant articles from total 36,342, yielded 61 eligible articles. More than 93% of the studies were carried out on domestic dogs (Canis familiaris, n = 57) and the remaining were on other carnivores such as wild canines including foxes (Vulpes vulpes, n = 4), jackals (C. aureus, n = 6) and wolves (C. lupus, n = 6); while studies on domestic cats (Felis catus, n = 3) as well as desert rodents (n = 2) were rare. The average rate of L. infantum infections reported among domestic dogs using direct agglutination test (DAT) in Iran was 12.5%. The highest prevalence rate (14%) was reported from the northwest regions of the country where VL is endemic. The review indicates that CVL is endemic in various parts of Iran and domestic dogs are the main and potential reservoir hosts of the disease. Other carnivores, such as domestic cats and some species of desert rodents (Cricetulus migratorius, Mesocricetus auratus and Meriones persicus) seem to be playing a role in the maintenance of transmission cycle of L. infantum in the endemic areas of the disease.
Journal of arthropod-borne diseases, 2018
Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcass feeding in... more Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcass feeding insects to detecting of drugs or toxins, as well as the cause and manner of death in cases of ante-mortem drugs intoxication. Morphine is one of the deacetylate metabolites of heroin. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and quantity of morphine in insects on the carcass and compare them with decomposing carcass. Field of this study was in Chalabeh District and toxicological tests were carried out at the Department of Forensic Toxicology, Legal Medicine Center, Kermanshah, Iran in 2017. Morphine was inoculated into live rabbit as experimental model at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50mg/ml, similar to those normally encountered in human overdoses, then quality and quantity of morphine were determined in insects such as (as the first wave of insect succession on human cadavers) fed on carcass. Quantitative assessment at larvae showed that morphine was detected in all larvae (fee...
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important parasitic disease which is endemic in different parts... more Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important parasitic disease which is endemic in different parts of Iran; and domestic and wild canines are principal reservoir hosts of the disease. The objective of this study was to review the spatial distribution of canine VL (CVL) caused by Leishmania infantum in domestic and wild canines in different geographical areas of Iran. An extensive literature search was conducted in different international and national databases, including Cochrane, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Iran Medex to find articles with the words “visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” in their titles and “canine visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” or “feline visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” or “accidental reservoir hosts of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran” in their subtitles, irrespective of the type and duration of study. Screening of the irrelevant articles from total 36,342, yielded 61 eligible articles. More than 93% of the studies were carried out on domestic dogs (Canis ...
Journal of medical entomology, Jan 5, 2018
Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) due to Leishmania major (Yakimoff and Schokhor, 1914) is k... more Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) due to Leishmania major (Yakimoff and Schokhor, 1914) is known as a neglected tropical disease, transmitted by Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli, 1786) in North Africa and the Middle East. The main reservoirs of ZCL are desert gerbils and the role of humans as a reservoir host of the disease is not clearly defined and is therefore investigated in this study. In order to achieve this objective, Ph. papatasi sand flies were allowed to take blood through indirect blood sources (human, Rhombomys opimus (Lichtenstein, 1823) (great gerbil), and BALB/c mice) using artificial feeding or direct xenodiagnoses from ZCL patients. To detect Leishmania promastigotes inside digestive canal, blood-fed sand flies were dissected and examined under light microscope and then confirmed by nested-PCR. In indirect xenodiagnoses, promastigote forms of Leishmania parasite were observed in 7.1%, 12%, and 13.6% of sand flies which fed on Rh. opimus, BALB/c mice, or human blo...
Journal of arthropod-borne diseases, 2017
The brown-banded cockroach, , is not as common as the German cockroach in Iran. This species seek... more The brown-banded cockroach, , is not as common as the German cockroach in Iran. This species seeks out areas that are very warm most of the time, and prefer warmer area than what German cockroaches prefer. There is relationship between development of instars and diet of cockroaches. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different diets on biology, life cycle on nymphal stages of in laboratory condition prior to investigate the insecticide resistance status of this species in residence area in Iran. The cockroaches were reared in the insectary of School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, condition and the population divided in four equal groups. The effect of four different diets on life cycle of was studied to determine the effect of them on the lifetime of each nymphal stage. The diets significantly affected on growth and development of immature life stages of . Based on introduced diets to the cockroache populations, total immature life cycle w...
Journal of arthropod-borne diseases, 2017
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the most important health problems in many areas of Iran. ... more Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the most important health problems in many areas of Iran. There are two forms of the disease in Iran, anthroponotic and zoonotic CL. This study conducted to assess the epidemiological situation of CL in an endemic area of Qom Province, central Iran from Apr to Nov 2015. The sticky paper traps and aspirating tubes were used for collecting adult sand flies. Sherman traps and small insect nets were used to capture rodents and small mammals. Giemsa staining was used for preparing the expanded smear and followed by PCR for identifying the causative agent in human, vectors, and reservoirs. In this study, relative frequency of CL was also calculated. Fourteen species of Phlebotomine sand flies were collected. (61.74%) was the predominant species through the period of activity. Overall, 62 , 8 , 4 , 16 and 2 were caught. PCR technique showed 6 out of 150 (2%), two out of 62 (3.23%) and all of suspected human's skin tissue samples (100%) were infect...
Journal of arthropod-borne diseases, 2017
Visceral leishmaniasis is one of the most important vector borne diseases in the world, transmitt... more Visceral leishmaniasis is one of the most important vector borne diseases in the world, transmitted by sand flies. Despite efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, cases continue worldwide. In Iran, the disease usually occurs in children under 10 years. In the absence of timely diagnosis and treatment, the mortality rate is 95-100%. The main objective of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of visceral leishmaniasis as well as its correlation with climatic factors for determining high-risk areas in an endemic focus in northwestern Iran. In this cross-sectional study, data on VL cases were collected from local health centers in Ardabil Province, Iran during 2001-2015 to establish a geodatabase using ArcGIS10.3. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS23 and ArcMap Spatial Analyst. MaxEnt model was used to determine ecologically suitable nichesfor the disease. Two hotspots were found in Meshkinshahr and Germi counties with 59% and 23% of total cases, re...