Visceral leishmaniasis among children in an endemic area of northwestern Iran between 2016 and 2017: An epidemiological study
Journal Title: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine - Year 2019, Vol 12, Issue 7
Abstract
Objective: To clarify the epidemiological aspects of visceral leishmaniasis in Kaleybar and Khoda-Afarin districts, north-west of Iran. Methods: A total of 1 420 human (children under 12 years) samples, 101 domestic dogs samples (Canis familiaris), and 577 female sand fly samples were collected. Sera of human and dogs were tested using the direct agglutination test, and sand flies were identified at species level using the microscopic method. Furthermore, a structured questionnaire was applied to evaluate the correlation between the potential risk factors and the related clinical signs/ symptoms with the human and dogs' seropositivity. Results: Totally, 2.18% of human samples were positive at titers≥1: 800; among them, 13 cases (41.94%) were above 1:3 200, and clinical symptoms were observed in all of them except for an 11-year old girl. Anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies were found at titer≥1: 320 in 9.90% of dogs' samples, half of them had at least one sign of canine visceral leishmaniasis. Moreover, 10 Phlebotomus species were identified in the study areas, and Phlebotomus (Larroussius) major group was the predominant species. There are significant correlations between the presence of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies and the fever (P<0.001), anemia (P=0.001) and weight loss (P=0.016) in children. On the other hand, significant correlations were revealed between the Leishmania infection and the shelter (P=0.039), cutaneous lesion (P=0.005), lymphadenopathy (P=0.001) and weight loss (P<0.001) in the infected dogs. Conclusions: Visceral Leishmania infection is prevalent in rural areas of Kaleybar and Khoda- Afar districts located in East-Azerbaijan province, therefore active detection and treatment of visceral leishmaniasis cases should not be neglected.
Authors and Affiliations
Mehdi Mohebali
Anticancer activity of Mahonia leschenaultii methanolic root extract and berberine on Dalton’s ascitic lymphoma in mice
Objective: To evaluate the effects of methanol root extract of Mahonia leschenaultii and berberine of Mahonia leschenaultii on Dalton’s ascitic lymphoma in Swiss Albino mice. Methods: The methanol root extracts of Mahoni...
Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) tubers improve glucose tolerance and hepatic lipid profile in rats fed a high-fat diet
Objectives: To analyze the effects of feeding Helianthus tuberosus (HT) tubers on glucose tolerance and lipid profile in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Methods: A normal HFD or HFD including 10 w/w% HT tubers (HFD + HT)...
Evaluation of antiparasitic, anticancer, antimicrobial and hypoglycemic properties of organic extracts from Panamanian mangrove plants
Objective: To investigate 33 organic extracts of mangrove plants for: antiparasitic, anticancer, and antibacterial activities, as well as their ability to inhibit the activity of the 毩-glucosidase enzyme. Methods: Leave...
Effect of Taoren Quyu Decoction on human endometrial cells and its anti-endometriosis activity in rats
Objective: To study the effect of Taoren Quyu Decoction (TQD) on endometrial cells in patients with endometriosis (EMs) and EMs in rats. Methods: A total of 60 female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, name...
Anti-cancer effect of ethylacetate fraction from Orostachys japonicus on HT-29 human colon cancer cells by induction of apoptosis through caspase-dependent signaling pathway
Objective: To investigate the anti-colon cancer effects of ethylacetate fraction from Orostachys japonicus (O. japonicus) on HT-29 cancer cells. Methods: The viability of HT-29 cells was assayed by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthi...