Fungal contamination of indoor public swimming pools and their dominant physical and chemical properties.

Introduction: Considering the existence of both parasitic and fungal pathogens in the indoor public swimming pools and non-utilization of suitable filtration and disinfection systems in these places, this research aimed to determine the relationship between the indoor public swimming pools and possible pollution with parasitic and fungal agents, as well as physical and chemical characteristics of these pools and compare the results with national standards. Methods: In this study, 11 active indoor swimming pools of Zahedan city were sampled, using plastic pump techniques, from the middle of winter to the late summer season. A total of 88 water samples (eight water samples from each pool) were examined to determine the residual chlorine, contamination with parasitic and fungal agents, using culture media and slide culture techniques. Results were analyzed with SPSS software (V16) and, Microsoft Excel (V2010). Results: The findings revealed fungal contamination with Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus, etc. and the physicochemical factors comply with the minimum standards, which indicates the need for continuous monitoring and control of water filtration and disinfection of water in the pools. Conclusion: The results show reasonable derangement of physicochemical and microbial factors of the evaluated pools. Efforts shall be made by the concerned authorities to provide health education to users, quality water at the pools and to maintain the safety and quality of the water through proper and adequate chlorination.

Investigation of Parasitic Contaminations of Vegetables Sold in Markets in the City of Tabriz in 2014.

Parasitic diseases are among the most common problems in developing countries. Various parasitic forms such as cysts, larvae and eggs of the parasite are transmitted orally through the consumption of vegetables. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate parasitic contamination of fresh vegetables consumed in the city of Tabriz. This cross-sectional study was conducted for 3 months in 2014 in Tabriz. In this study, 1620 samples from 10 kinds of vegetables (leeks, basil, mint, chives, radishes, parsley, lettuce, watercress, tarragon and coriander) were collected from 54 vegetable shops. After the washing process, centrifugation, sediment preparation and staining, each sample was examined for parasitic contamination. The parasitic infection was observed in 316 (19.5%) which 141 samples (8.7%) was related to metazoan and 175 samples (10.8%) was related to protozoan. the highest contamination was observed in leeks and the lowest in radish. Most parasitic contaminations were related to Ascaris eggs and E. coli cyst and the lowest parasitic contaminations were related to Heterophyes eggs. It can be concluded that vegetables sold in Tabriz are potential sources of human contamination with parasites. It is suggested that the use of fertilizers of human source in agriculture should be avoided.

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infection among Food Handlers in Northwest Iran.

Parasitic diseases are among the most important infectious diseases and pose health problems in many countries, most especially in developing countries. Workers at food centers could transmit parasitic infections in the absence of sanitation. This is a descriptive study conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in food clerks in the city of Tabriz in 2014. Data was recorded in the offices of the health center for all food handlers who were referred to the laboratory for demographic and stool tests to receive the health card. Parasitic infection was observed in 172 cases (3.73%) of 4612 samples. A total of 156 positive samples (90.69%) were related to protozoa and 16 (9.3%) were related to helminthes. Most of the parasitic infections were related to Giardia and Entamoeba coli and the lowest infection was related to H. nana. Also, there was a significant relationship between level of education and parasitic infection rate (P = 0.0044). But there was no significant difference between the type of infection and amount of intestinal parasites. The results show that the prevalence of intestinal parasites, especially pathogenic protozoa, is common in some food handlers. Therefore, more sanitary controls are required and increasing of education will play a crucial role in improving the health of these people.

Temporal Dynamics of Phlebotomine Sand Flies Population in Response to Ambient Temperature Variation, Bam, Kerman Province of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Variations in climate condition may have changed the dynamic of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) and its agents such as sand flies and reservoir in the Bam Kerman the dry region of Iran. OBJECTIVES: In this study we intend to examine the seasonal and interannual dynamics of the phlebotomine mosquito as a function of ambient temperature in Bam, Kerman one of the main leshmaniasis prevalence area in Iran. METHODS: The MODIS land surface temperature product (LST; MODIS/Terra LST/E Monthly L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG [MOD11C3]) and land-based climatic data were used as explanatory variables. Monthly caught mosquitoes in Bam, Kerman, were used as a dependent variable. The temporal associations were first investigated by inspection of scatterplots and single-variable regression analysis. A multivariate linear regression model was developed to reveal the association between ambient temperature and the monthly mosquito abundance at a 95% confidence level (P < 0.05). FINDINGS: The findings indicated that the monthly variation of 0-10 cm of soil depth temperature is the main driver of phlebotomine mosquito temporal dynamics. The developed multivariate model also indicated that the ambient temperature variation was responsible for >0.80 of temporal dynamics of phlebotomine mosquitos in Bam.