Journal of Zoonotic Diseases
Volume:6 Issue: 2, Spring 2022

Summary Tunga penetrans (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) is an ectoparasite, which causes Tungiasis in humans and animals. Tungiasis is peculiar to America, Caribbean islands, and sub–Saharan Africa. Residents in poor dwells are at a higher risk of getting Tungiasis. Social behaviors, economic status, and environmental factors are the major determinants for tungiasis. Companion animals, such as pigs, dogs, and cats are reservoirs for T.penetrans. The complete life cycle of Tunga flea takes one month to a year. Tunga flea has restricted jumping capacity and infestation is possible mostly at the lower extremities. Inflammation, self-amputation of digits, distortion and loss of nails, fissures, ulcers, gangrene and abnormal gait are some of clinical symptoms. Secondary infection also poses possible risks. Presumptive diagnosis is done by identifying lodged fleas or infected body parts and known travel history. Dermoscopy is a confirmatory method. Histological finding of the skin examination infected by Tungiasis is also possible. In sterile setup, the best treatment is surgical removal. Topical ointments like Dimethicone, Zanzarin, Ivermectin, Metrifonate, and Thiabendazole are also effective and safe. Infestations are often prevented by wearing protective clothing, spraying insecticides, sweeping floors, and personal hygiene. There is a little number of studies and the status of Tungiasis is not well known in Ethiopia, therefore further studies should be initiated and funded.

SummaryParasitic infections in rodents have zoonotic significance. This study aimed to determine the frequency of gastrointestinal parasites in rodents in Lorestan Province, west of Iran. We captured 118 rodents from eight species, including Meriones persicus, Mus macedonicus, Meriones tristrami, Microtus qazvinensis, Arvicola terrestris, Apodemus sp., Cricetulus migratorius, and Meriones libycus, in the fall of 2017. Trapped rodents were humanly sacrificed, and the gastrointestinal tracts were removed and examined to identify parasites. The rate of infection with gastrointestinal parasites was 50.8%. The highest diversity of parasites was found in Meriones persicus. The most common helminths were Hymenolepis nana (13.5%), Trichuris sp. (11%), and Syphacia obvelata (8.5%). Rodents were also infected with Heligmosomum sp. (0.8%), Trichostrongylus (1.7%), Physaloptera (0.8%), Hymenolepis diminuta (0.8%), and Catenotaenia sp. (0.8%). The rate of infection with protozoa was 9.3%. Five (4.2%) were infected with Giardia sp., and two (1.7%) with Entamoeba coli. In addition, Chilomastix sp. (0.8%), Iodamoeba butschlii (0.8%), and Eimeria sp. (0.8%) were seen. The trematode Notocotylus noyeri is reported in Arvicola terrestris for the first time in Iran. This study emphasizes the impact of rodents on the spread of infectious agents and the necessity of effective preventive programs.

Glanders is a zoonosis caused by Burkholderia mallei (B. mallei). Glanders has been re-emerging in recent years due to war in the Middle East, unauthorized transfer, the lack of formulated action plans, etc. The prevalence of glanders in Iran and the risk of B. mallei transmission and infection is high, therefore requires the quick identify this disease in animals, particularly in horses. This study investigated glanders re-emerging in horses in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. From 22 September 2020 to 20 March 2021, six-month periodic tests such as the complement fixation test (CFT) were implemented by the Veterinary Administration of East Azerbaijan to detect glanders in horses. In the case of positive CFT results, the mallein test was conducted. According to the test results, blood samples were taken to culture and prepare serum for the ELISA test. Deep swab samples were collected from nasal mucosa, lymph fluid, and blood. The CFT results indicated 12 horses were susceptible to glanders, and three horses were diagnosed with glanders based on the mallein confirmatory test results. B. mallei were not isolated in culturing the samples. Three cases were positive in the ELISA test which was consistent with the CFT and mallein test results. However, the molecular test results were negative. It is challenging to isolate B. mallei in the early stage of disease, and the negative molecular diagnostic test result may be misleading in glanders diagnosis. In susceptible cases with a positive CF test result, glanders can be diagnosed by skin mallein and ELISA tests.

Human brucellosis causes a variety of clinical symptoms and osteoarticular involvement is the most common involvement. We conducted a bibliometric analysis study on osteoarticular involvement in brucellosis. The study's aim was to investigate the impact of publications in this field and to discover research development and clusters. We used the Web of Science (Wos) database to obtain the data. The titles, document types, publication years, authors, organizations, keywords, abstracts of each record, H-index, and citations were analyzed. We analyzed 642 documents (research articles and review articles). 83.178% of them were published in Science Citation Index Expanded (Sci-Expanded) indexed journals. English (88.785%) was the most preferred language. Researchers from 70 countries contributed to the growth of scientific studies. Turkey was ranked first with a total of 177 publications.  The United States of America (11.059%), Peoples' Republic of China (8.411%), Iran (6.698%), and Spain (6.698%) were the top five countries according to the number of publications. The publications were cited 11118 times (17.32 per item) and the mean of the H-index was 51. The publications published between 2000- 2009 received the highest number of citations and had the highest H indexes. H indexes and citation numbers of publications have decreased since 2010. This is the first report that shows the trends of osteoarticular involvement in brucellosis. In conclusion, financial support for scientific studies in regions where brucellosis is endemic may increase the number of articles to be published in the future from these regions.

Summary Toxoplasma gondii is considered to be a significant concern because of its zoonotic potential. In Pregnant women with toxoplasmosis, the parasite can be transmitted to the foetus causing severe complications. This study aimed to estimate the seroepidemiology of toxoplasmosis in Pregnant women who had referred to the Health Centers of Sanandaj in 2019. The study populations were women of child-bearing age (pregnant) aged between 15 and 44 years. Blood samples were collected from 146 women visiting six health centers during April to November 2019. Then, the levels of IgG and IgM antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Out of 146 samples, 44 (30.14%) and 4 (2.74%) cases were positive for IgG and IgM, respectively. The highest and lowest IgG antibody were found between the ages of 35-39 (64.28%) and 15-19 years old (7.14%), respectively. There was a significant relationship between the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection and age (P˂ 0.05). Also, our results showed that all women had a history of raw vegetables consumption. No significant relationship was found between rate of toxoplasmosis and washing raw vegetable methods (P≥ 0.05).69.86% of the selected women were seronegative. Preventive measures should be an infection. Our results confirmed that Toxoplasma is a common parasitic infection among pregnant women in Sanandaj. Thus, it is necessary to avoid the risk factors before and during the pregnancy of women via health trainings.

Brucellosis, or Malta fever, is one of the common diseases in humans and livestock that causes many health problems and economic losses. Therefore, this study investigated the frequency of seroconversion of persons with brucellosis symptoms in Gachsaran, Iran from 2016 to 2017. In this study, 1379 people (age range of 10-70 years) with clinical symptoms of brucellosis were monitored by standard agglutination test (SAT, Wright's Agglutination Test) who referred to the pathobiology laboratory from the beginning of 2016 to the end of 2017. In this monitoring, the individuals with a titer greater than or equal to 1: 320 (based SAT) and greater than or equal to 1: 160 (based 2ME) were selected. Using questionnaires, data on gender, contact with livestock, and dairy consumption behavior were collected. The study variables were analyzed using a chi-square test (p≤0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of brucellosis between men and women (p = 0.16), but direct contact with livestock (p = 0.001), history of unpasteurized dairy consumption (p = 0.001), occupation (p = 0.001) and location (p = 0.001) had a significant effect on infectivity to brucellosis. Based on the results of this study, apart from gender, other factors are the most important causes of seroconversion of persons to brucellosis.