Saeedeh Ebrahimi; Marzieh Shahriari-Namadi; Saeed Shahabi; Mohammad Djaefar Moemenbellah-Fard; Hamzeh Alipour
Abstract
Background:Human head lice is one of the most invincible neglected skin diseases. The use of pyrethroid insecticides is a standard method of treating the disease, which leads to lice population resistance in the long run. The main aim of the current survey was to screen the biomarkers of permethrin-associated ...
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Background:Human head lice is one of the most invincible neglected skin diseases. The use of pyrethroid insecticides is a standard method of treating the disease, which leads to lice population resistance in the long run. The main aim of the current survey was to screen the biomarkers of permethrin-associated kdr (knockdown resistance) point mutations through molecular analysis of the human head lice populations in primary school children in the south of Iran. Methods: In an experimental study, Field-collected head lice from infested students were fixed in ethanol, identified using valid taxonomic keys, and processed by PCR for kdr mutant studies. Sequencing partial voltage-sensitive sodium channel gene in different head lice populations was subsequently implemented and compared with the permethrin-resistant diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) as the gold standard. Results:Human head lice appeared to reflect kdr point mutations in specimens from the city of Shiraz. At least three amino acid mutations at designated sites of D820E, L840F, and N874G, corresponding to replacements of aspartic acid to glutamic acid, leucine to phenylalanine, and asparagine to glycine, are clear in this representative population, respectively. At the same time, only L840F is reported as a new mutant in this survey. Conclusion: The ongoing treatment of head lice infested in school children harboring kdr-mutated or permethrin-resistant mutants in Shiraz is risky, illogical, and contrary to the One Health initiative of the World Health Organization. Health executives should thus immediately take the indispensable steps to prohibit further procurement of permethrin.
Saeed Shahabi; Ali Pouryousef; Kourosh Azizi; Bahador Sarkari
Abstract
Background: Rodents have a significant role as a reservoir in zoonotic diseases. Rodents which live close to human habitats such as muroid species play an important role in public health and economy. The current study aimed to evaluate the intestinal helminths infections of the Zagros Mountain rodent, ...
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Background: Rodents have a significant role as a reservoir in zoonotic diseases. Rodents which live close to human habitats such as muroid species play an important role in public health and economy. The current study aimed to evaluate the intestinal helminths infections of the Zagros Mountain rodent, Calomyscus (Calomyscus cf. bailwardi), in Shiraz, capital of Fars province, southern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from April to October 2019, and a total of 10 Calomyscus were trapped. The animals were transferred to the animal laboratory for euthanization and dissection. Each of the digestive organs was separately cut and examined to identify their intestinal helminths. Parasites were removed by a special needle, and then transferred to 5% glycerin alcohol for the identification of the isolated helminths, using carmine staining. Results: Among the 10 total numbers of specimens, 60% (6 out of 10) were infected. All of the intestinal helminths obtained from the rodents were identified as Syphacia obvelata. Conclusion: Given the fact that the infected rodents which live in close contact with human society may cause rodent-borne infections among the residents, this parasitological study can be important in identifying the epidemiologic pattern related to zoonotic diseases, especially in rarely studied host species like Calomyscus cf. bailwardi.
Zeinolabedin Mohammadi; Saeed Shahabi; Fatemeh Ghorbani; Asghar Khajeh
Abstract
Background: Morphological and allozyme studies are not remarkably efficient in identification of cryptic and unknown species; therefore, the differences between intra-and interspecific genetic variation (DNA barcoding) have been applied in recent decades. Applying molecular markers has been common for ...
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Background: Morphological and allozyme studies are not remarkably efficient in identification of cryptic and unknown species; therefore, the differences between intra-and interspecific genetic variation (DNA barcoding) have been applied in recent decades. Applying molecular markers has been common for identification of taxa, so that suitable marker choice representing high divergence is a crucial issue to reveal taxonomic status of the taxa in this approach. Methods: In this analytical study, the performance of two mitochondrial markers including cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (cyt b)was compared with nuclear recombination activating protein I locus(RAGI), and their efficiency in identification of mammal taxa as the host of zoonotic diseases was evaluated. The COI, cyt b, and RAGI sequences were retrieved from GenBank. Intra-and interspecific genetic distances were estimated and compared at the species level. The variances in genetic divergence were also calculated and compared between the markers. Results: Our results showed a wide gap between intra-and interspecific genetic distances for both COI and cyt b markers and less apparent gap for RAGI, indicating that this nuclear marker is less proper for species delimitation in DNA barcoding. Conclusion: We concluded that in the case of multiple sequences available COI, contributes to accurate differentiation at the species level, showing a significant gap between intra-and interspecific genetic distances and may play an important role as DNA barcoding marker.