Some parasites are innocuous or even beneficial to mammalian hosts. The gastrointestinal helminths modulate several important intestinal functions such as immunomodulation. . . .

Background: Eosinophils dysregulate immune responses associated with malignancies, allergic and PARASITIC diseases especially helminthic INFECTIONS, though it is infrequently observed with protozoan diseases. Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the percentage of eosinophils in different PARASITIC diseases at Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: One hundred and 72 samples were obtained from 74 and 98 patients with helminthic and protozoan diseases respectively and evaluated. Direct wet mount and formalin ether concentration were used for intestinal parasites identification. Scotch tape test and serological methods were utilized for diagnosis of Enterobius vermicularis and tissue parasites respectively. Eosinophils were counted and six or more percentages were considered as eosinophilia. Results: In general, in 34 out of 74 helminthic INFECTIONS (45. 9%) and 5 out of 98 protozoan INFECTIONS (5. 1%), an eosinophil level equal or more than 6% was observed. The rate of eosinophilia in helminthic INFECTIONS were 13/18 (72. 2%), 7/11 (63. 6%), 3/10 (30%), 2/3 (66. 7%), 1/9 (11. 11%), 5/13 (38. 5%), 3/4 (75%) in the patients with fasciolosis, strongyloidiasis, hymenolepiasis, hookworm infection, enterobiasis, echinococcosis, and trichostrongyliasis, respectively. Concerning the protozoan INFECTIONS, 3/26(11. 5%) and 2/20(10%) of the individuals suffering from giardiasis and blastocystosis showed an eosinophil level higher than normal range, respectively. Conclusion: As expected, helminthic INFECTIONS especially fasciolosis and strongyloidiasis were the most important INFECTIONS correlated with eosinophilia. According to available reports, eosinophilia higher than normal range in giardiasis and blastocystosis is not unexpected.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the most important cause of disability and death in the world. Many factors are involved in the development of CVDs, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, overweight and obesity, smoking, diabetes, insufficient physical activity, and an improper diet. 1, 2 Interestingly, in addition to non-infectious causes, a series of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses are known to cause various types of heart complications. 3 Occasionally, PARASITIC INFECTIONS may affect the cardiovascular system and cause diseases such as coronary artery disease, stroke, and chronic granulomatous disease. Unfortunately, there is not much information about the role of parasites in causing heart diseases in developing and even developed countries.

Background: Organ transplant recipients can experience serious diseases from INFECTIONS due to emerging and reemerging PARASITIC INFECTIONS. This study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of intestinal parasites among renal transplant recipients of Iran.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2003 to August 2004 on renal transplant recipients in Iran. A total of 706 fecal samples obtained from randomly selected population originated from all over Iran. Patient’s information was recorded in a questionnaire before sampling. A sample of stool was taken from each person. Direct wet smear examination, formalin-ether concentration, Ziehl-neelsen staining, and agar plate culture were done for each sample.Results: Totally 32 patients (4.5%) were positive for PARASITIC INFECTIONS. In searching for emerging PARASITIC INFECTIONS, the most prevalent parasites were found to be Blastocystis hominis, Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba coli, respectively. The merely ova which were seen were related to Hymenolepis nana. With investigation of healthy control, no significant difference was found between transplanted and normal population.Conclusion: The population showed controlled rate of intestinal INFECTIONS probably due to regular awareness concerning risks of opportunistic INFECTIONS; albeit regular surveillance through routine examination of stool samples for parasites seems considerably advantages the transplant recipient patients.

Background and purpose: Accurate information on clinical and laboratory findings of PARASITIC diseases in medical centers could be effective in evaluating various aspects of their disease. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and preclinical findings of the intestinal PARASITIC INFECTIONS in patients in gastrointestinal clinics in Sari, Iran, 2006 to 2015.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using the medical records of 300 cases of gastrointestinal disorders with intestinal PARASITIC INFECTIONS. Clinical and laboratory data were collected and analyzed in SPSS V.16.Results: Among the patients with PARASITIC INFECTIONS there were 57.7% females, 64.3% lived in rural areas, 81% were married, and 40% were illiterate or had primary school educational levels. The most important PARASITIC diseases in patients were Giardiasis (44.7%), Amebiasis (12.3%), Enterobiasis (10.6%), Trichostrongylus (10.2%), Strongyloidiasis (9.78%) and, Hymenolepiasis (6.38%). Abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea were the most common symptoms.Conclusion: According to this study, intestinal PARASITIC infection is a high priority for diagnostic purposes in gastrointestinal clinics. Therefore, diagnosis is important for appropriate treatment. Future studies are suggested to use sensitive and specific methods such as molecular methods to identify the parasites.

This study was carried out from March 2007 to March 2008 in order to determine the role of litter in diagnosis of PARASITIC infection of poultry in Golestan province, Iran. In this study 50 litter samples of native poultry and 50 from those of industrial broiler were examined. Flotation method was applied to determine OPG and EPG, eggs of 3 species of nematode were identified in 48% of litter samples of native fowl including: Ascaridia galli (44%), Heterakis gallinarum (18%) and Capillaria spp (32%) and 2 species of nematode in those of 8% of industrial poultry: Ascaridia galli (8%) and Heterakis gallinarum (4%). No oocyst was found in native fowl litter, whereas 36% of industrial poultry litters harbored three species of Eimeria as follow: E. tenella, E. acervulina, E. maxima. Free living oribatid mites were collected from 100% 0f industrial poultry litters and non from native one. It seems likely that the origin of helminth INFECTIONS of poultry is native fowl and examination of the litter is an easy, cheap and rapid method for diagnosis of poultry PARASITIC INFECTIONS.

Background: The prevalence of infection with bowel parasites is still remarkably high in children of developing countries. Day-care units usually serve for the infants and children as their primary site of social contact; so we aimed to determine the frequency rate of bowel INFECTIONS in children attending these places, on their arrival and comparing it with this frequency 4-6 months afterwards. Methods and Materials: In this descriptive-analytic longitudinal study performed during the latter half of 1378, a total of 853 children of 4-6 years were randomly selected from day-care units of different regions in Zahedan. After recording the demographic data, a direct stool exam, scatch test and formaline-etter test were done. In the first stage 411 and in the next stage (4-6 months later) 438 children were studied. Chi-square test was used to compare the infection rate between the first and second stages. Results: The rate of infected children was 19.1% and 42% in the first and the second stages respectively. The highest increase in infection rate belonged to Oxyuris which increased from 4.7% in stage one to 15.5% in stage two. The rate of infection with Giardia lambelia and Hemonolepsis nana was 10.6% and 3.1% in stage one, which respectively raised to 15% and 4.6% in stage two. The above increment was significant (P<0.05). Totally 835 children all younger than 6 years old were studied in the two stages of which 263 (30.8%) had at least one type of infection. The frequency of infection with Oxyuris was 78 in 785 prepared slides. Conclusions: Considering the life cycle of bowel parasites and their routes of transmission, it seems that we face shortness in knowledge of workers in day-care centers and also an insufficiency in practice of sanitary principles. A closer study of effective factors in transmission of infestation in these centers and their elimination, periodically testing the children and their care-givers, and finally programs of hygiene education and control for the workers seems a necessity.