Qasem Asgari; Seyedeh-Zahra Zandavi; Mohammad Djaefar Moemenbellah-Fard; Amin Hosseinpour; Mohsen Kalantari; Aboozar Soltani
Abstract
Background: Leishmaniasis, as a neglected health issue, is spreading in most parts of the world. It is one of the most important vector-borne diseases in Iran. Bee venom has shown a wide range of medicinal properties. The present study aimed to survey the effect of venom and propolis of Apis mellifera ...
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Background: Leishmaniasis, as a neglected health issue, is spreading in most parts of the world. It is one of the most important vector-borne diseases in Iran. Bee venom has shown a wide range of medicinal properties. The present study aimed to survey the effect of venom and propolis of Apis mellifera on Leishmania major in different environments, including in vivo and in vitro.Methods: In this experimental study, bee venom was extracted using the modified Benton method, and propolis was prepared by the soxhletation method. The promastigotes of L. major were exposed to the different doses of the venom (0.03125-1 μg/ml) and propolis (2.5-80 μg/ml) and then evaluated by MTT assay and Flowcytometry after 24 hours. In vivo phases, 107 promastigotes of the L. major in stationary phase were intradermally inoculated into 48 mice based on the study design. After appearance of the wounds, the mice were topically treated with the lotion containing different doses (5 and 10 μg/ml) of the venom and propolis. The size of the ulcers was measured for four weeks.Results: The results showed that propolis and BV had no significant effects on the vitality of Leishmania promastigotes. However, they had a high mortality effect on macrophages. The highest mortality belonged to propolis (78.39 %). In vivo results showed significant differences between some treated and control groups in terms of the mean ulcer size.Conclusion: It seems that a combination of honeybee venom and propolis in a particular dosage can prevent the development of the ulcers caused by L. major. More studies are needed to evaluate the effects of their constituent compounds precisely.
Jalal Mohammadi; Mohsen Kalantari; Zahra Nasiri; Davood Mehrabani; Hamzeh Alipour; Mohammad Djafar Moemenbellah-Fard; Kourosh Azizi
Abstract
Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is still widespread in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The vector of the disease is a sandfly, when infected with Leishmania parasite, can transmit the parasite from humans to other vertebrates. As knowledge about causative agents, vectors, and reservoirs ...
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Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is still widespread in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The vector of the disease is a sandfly, when infected with Leishmania parasite, can transmit the parasite from humans to other vertebrates. As knowledge about causative agents, vectors, and reservoirs of VL in Iran is necessary to control the disease, the present review study has focused on the disease elimination status from a health perspective in the country. Methods: In a recent review, various databases, such as Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Google Scholar, MEDLIB, Irandoc, Magiran, and SID were searched using the keywords “visceral leishmaniasis”, “VL”, “kala-azar”, “causative agent”, “parasite”, “vector”, “reservoir”, and “Iran”, and the retrieved data were extracted and reviewed independently during 2001-2019. Results: 475 published studies were recorded about VL in Iran from 2001 to 2021. 68 articles were later excluded from the study due to duplication after the initial review. Leishmania infantum and L. tropica were the causative agents, and dogs and humans were the reservoirs. The most common vectors were Phlebotomus major, P. kandelakii, P. keshishiani, P. alexandri, P. perfiliewi, and P. tobbi in different country regions. Conclusion: The prospect of eliminating VL in Iran is inadequate. Based on the findings, L. infantum and L. tropica were the causative agents, and humans and the Caninae subfamily were the VL reservoirs in the country. These findings can be added to the literature when health policymakers target preventive measures for VL in Iran.
Leila Izadpanah; Hamzeh Alipoor; Marzieh Shahriari-Namadi; Kourosh Azizi; Mohsen Kalantari; Abouzar Soltani; Masoumeh Bagheri
Abstract
Background: Sandflies are the vectors of at least eight different diseases, the most important of which is cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). CL is a major public health problem in Iran, with annual cases increasing to more than 20,000 in 2019. Fars Province has the second-highest number of cases with more ...
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Background: Sandflies are the vectors of at least eight different diseases, the most important of which is cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). CL is a major public health problem in Iran, with annual cases increasing to more than 20,000 in 2019. Fars Province has the second-highest number of cases with more than 3000 cases in 2019 in Iran. This study aimed to survey the fauna and different species of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in Fars Province, southwest Iran. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Sandflies were collected in urban and rural regions using the sticky-traps method, and then they were cleared and fixed in puris medium and identified using the pictorial key. Results: A total of 1071 of sandflies were collected. The dominant species consisted of 5 species of Phlebotomus (Ph. papatasi 55.4%, Ph. alexandri 17.4%, Ph.sergenti 5.6%, Ph. caucasicus 1.4%, Ph. ansari 0.46% and 6 species of Sergentomyia (Ser. sintoni 10.8%, Ser. antennata 5.4%, Ser. tiberiadis 1.4%, Ser. tobbi 1%, Ser. baghdadis 0.5%, and Ser. halepensis 0.09%. Conclusion: This investigation showed that Ph. papatasi was the most prevalent species playing a crucial role in the transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Fars Province. Species of Ph. papatasi and Ph. sergenti are the main vectors of CL in Iran. The healthcare system must take steps to control cutaneous leishmaniasis, raise awareness of the disease, and apply effective ways to prevent it.
