Gastrointestinal helminths infection of free-roaming cats (Felis catus) in Southeast Iran.

BACKGROUND: Cats in Iran are definitive hosts for several zoonotic intestinal helminths, such as Toxocara cati, Dipylidium caninum, Toxascaris leonina, Physaloptera praeputialis and Diplopylidium nolleri. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminth infection in free-roaming cats in southeast Iran, a region with a high free-roaming cat population. METHODS: From January 2018 to December 2021, 153 cadavers of free-roaming cats from Southeast Iran were necropsied for intestinal helminth infections. The carcasses were dissected, and the digestive systems were removed. The esophagus, stomach, small intestine, caecum and colon were tightly ligated. All adult helminths were collected, preserved and identified. RESULTS: The prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth infections was 80.39% (123/153). Of the cats from Kerman, 73% (73/100) were infected with at least one helminth, including D. caninum 70% (70/100), T. leonina 8% (8/100) and P. praeputialis 17% (17/100). Concurrent infection with two helminth species was found in 16% (16/100) and of three species infections was found in 3% (3/100) of the cats. Of the cats from Zabol, 94.33% (50/53) were infected with at least one of the helminths, including D. caninum 69.81% (37/53), T. leonina 11.32% (6/53), P. praeputialis 37.73% (20/53) and T. cati 5.66% (3/53). Concurrent infection with two helminth species was found in 28.3% (15/53), and three species were found in 1.88% (1/53) of the cats. Helminth infections were more prevalent in older cats. There was no association between sex and infection rate. CONCLUSION: Based on the very high prevalence of zoonotic intestinal helminth infections in free-roaming cats in southeast Iran, the potential public health risk emphasizes the need for intersectoral collaboration, particularly the provision of health and hygiene education to high-risk populations, such as pre-school and school-age children.

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum Infection and Associated Risk Factors in Cattle of Sistan Areas, Southeastern Iran in 2016.

BACKGROUND: Neospora caninum is protozoan parasitic disease now described as the major cause of abortion and other reproductive issues. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of N. caninum in cattle breeds of the Sistan region, southeastern border area of Iran. METHODS: Using an ELISA kit (ID.VET, France), the antibodies against N. caninum in cattle of Sistan was evaluated in 2016. Overall, 184 blood samples from apparently healthy cattle in the eastern border area of Iran Sistan were collected for assessment of antibodies against N. caninum. The values greater than or equal to 50%, were considered positive based on manufacture's manual for ELASA kit. RESULTS: 3.8% of 184 cattle have antibody against N. caninum. Chi-square test showed that the seroprevalence among Holsteins, Sistan and cross-breed was 9.4%, 0%, and 4.3%, respectively. No significant difference was observed among the breeds (P>0.05). The seroprevalence was decreased as the age of cow increased and there is no significant difference between the prevalence of N. caninum and different city area. No statistically significant relationship between the seroprevalence of N. caninum and history of abortion, lactation number and infertility was observed. Although there was no significant difference between the cattle breeds of the Sistan region all the Sistani cows were negative for the antibody against N. caninum. CONCLUSION: Infection rate with N. caninum in bovine population in Sistan region is very low. Environmental and management factors are the major causes, which influence the regional prevalence.

Bovine fasciolosis: prevalence, relationship between faecal egg count and worm burden and its economic impact due to liver condemnation at Rudsar abattoir, Northern Iran.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of Fasciola hepatica, the economic losses from liver condemnation and the relationship between burden of F. hepatica in liver and EPG of F. hepatica in Rudsar city (north of Iran). Between May 2011 and May 2012, a total of 680 slaughtered cattle were examined for the presence of F. hepatica in the liver. Data collected were analyzed by the sex, age, season and breed of the animals. In this study 137 cattle (20.14 %) were found to be positive for F. hepatica. The mean fluke burden in the affected livers was 14 ± 2 flukes per liver. There were no seasonal and age-related differences (P > 0.05) in prevalence of F. hepatica, but there was a statistically significant association (P < 0.05) between the prevalence with breed and sex and a high prevalence of F. hepatica was observed in indigenous and female cattle. The financial loss due to liver condemnation almost was estimated to be 2,750 USD. To study the relationship between burden of F. hepatica in liver and EPG of F. hepatica, faeces collected from rectum of cattles in slaughterhouse were examined by McMaster egg- counting technique. The abundance (worm burden) of F. hepatica in contaminated liver was classified in three group, group A, <10 worms/liver, in group B, 10-30 worms/liver and in group C, >30 worms/liver. In this groups (A-C) EPG of F. hepatica was 156, 240 and 620 respectively. There was a strong relationship between EPG and burden of worm in the liver.

Mesenteric and mediastinal lymph node infection with Linguatula serrata nymphs in sheep slaughtered in Kerman slaughterhouse, southeast Iran.

This research was carried out in order to detect the prevalence of nymphal stages of Linguatula serrata in mediastinal and mesenteric lymph nodes of sheep slaughtered in Kerman slaughterhouse, southeast of Iran. For this purpose, mesenteric and mediastinal lymph nodes of 806 sheep of different sex and age were examined. One hundred and thirty out of 806 (16.1%) of the sheep were found positive for L. serrata infection. The infection rate increased with age (P < 0.001). Prevalence of L. serrata nymphs in males and females and different seasons was not significantly different (P > 0.05). Considering the results, it could be concluded that the prevalence of L. serrata in sheep of Kerman is high and plays an important role in epidemiology of linguatulosis. The zoonotic potential of this parasite to human health is discussed.

Contribution of food deprivation to the immune response in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) vaccinated against Cryptobia salmositica and Aeromonas salmonicida.

The aims of the present study were to determine (a) the effectiveness of an attenuated live Cryptobia salmositica vaccine; (b) the effects of food deprivation on the immune response and its duration in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) immunised with a live C. salmositica vaccine or with a killed Aeromonas salmonicida vaccine. The fish were divided into three groups (I, II and III; 14 fish per group), those in Groups I and II were under food deprivation (0.40% of body weight), while Group III fish were fed to satiety. The study showed that the attenuated strain of C. salmositica did not cause anaemia and disease, and the fish were protected from clinical disease when they were challenged with virulent parasites. Parasitaemia in all fish vaccinated and challenged with virulent C. salmositica fluctuated and was relatively low; however, fish in Group III had higher parasitaemia than those in Groups I and II between weeks 8 and 14. The numbers of activated neutrophils increased [nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) assay] after immunisation with both Cryptobia and Aeromonas vaccines and they remained high throughout the experiment. Antibody production (ELISA values) increased after vaccination and were slightly higher in Group III. ELISA titres against A. salmonicida increased after vaccination and decreased after 5 weeks. The titres increased again after the vaccinated fish were given booster, and they were higher than those in the first vaccinated fish.