Background: Scabies is referred to the infestation of skin by an ectoparasite, Sarcoptes scabiei. Having considerable financial consequences, this disease is a public health concern in several countries. In this review, we aimed to deter­mine the current status of scabies in different provinces of Iran.

Methods: Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Scientific Information Database (SID), Sci-explore, Civil­ica, Magiran, Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology and Elmnet databases were searched to find the related data in the time period within 2000–2022. To have a better insight into the status of prevalence of sca­bies in Iran, a meta-analysis and meta-regression was performed.

Results: A total of 943 relevant studies were retrieved from the databases, and 62 eligible studies met all the needed criteria for inclusion in this systematic review. Scabies was investigated and reported in at least 22 and 21 provinces of Iran respectively. Most of the studies were conducted in Tehran, Razavi Khorasan, Hormozgan, Fars and Guilan Prov­inces. Positive samples of scabies belonged to humans, sheep, goats, dogs, rabbits, mice and gazelles. Meta-analysis showed that the overall estimated presence of scabies in Iran during 2000–2022 was 7% (95% CI 4.7–10.3%, P< 0.001).

Conclusion: Infestations due to S. scabiei in Iran occur in different geographical locations and different climates. As a neglected tropical disease, the literature about the burden of scabies in Iran is inadequate. The present review highlights the importance of development of comprehensive strategies for the diagnosis and control of scabies, especial­ly the provinces with high infestation rates.

Background: The painful bite of Pulex irritans; causes wound on the host body and is a vector for Bartonella bacteria species, which can cause trench fever, Rickettsia species, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Mediterranean spotted fe­ver. We conducted a study to find out the hosts, abundance, as well as the molecular characteristics of this flea species in Meshkin-Shahr county, Ardabil province, northwest of Iran.

Methods: After collecting fleas from different reservoir hosts and transferring them to the laboratory, identification was done using different morphological characters as well as the internal transcribed spacer1 (ITS1) molecular marker.

Results: This morphological study indicated that from the 1053 fleas, which were collected from 162 different animals, including cats and dogs, 74 specimens belonged to human flea, Pulex irritans. In addition, in molecular analysis showed a high sequence similarity (99.5%) with the P. irritans counterparts from Spain country and Zanjan of Iran available in GenBank.

Conclusion: Pulex irritans species is an obligatory hematophagous ectoparasite of human and animals. Therefore, con­sidering the relatively high frequency of this species on the body of cats and dogs, it is suggested to conduct more stud­ies on its distribution and the possibility of being a vector of pathogens among these animals and human. The results of these studies will be used to compile and review the control programs of this vector.

Background: Culex theileri (Diptera: Culicidae) is a known vector of pathogens that cause dirofilariasis, Sindbis fever and West Nile fever in Iran. The species is one of the country’s most abundant and widely distributed species.

Methods: In order to conduct a faunistic and bionomic study of mosquitoes, larval collection was carried out in Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari Province of western Iran using dipping method.

Results: In total, some 2096 larvae of Cx. theileri were identified. Among the larvae, 1024 (48.9%) displayed aberra­tions and anomalies in the development of cranial seta 1-C (preclypeal seta). Morphological aberrations and anomalies of seta 1-C in the third- and fourth-instar larvae and abdominal terga of the adults of Cx. theileri collected in Iran are discussed and illustrated.

Conclusion: More studies are needed throughout the distribution of Cx. theileri to analyze the variation of the species, especially using both morphological and molecular data.

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) also known as Kala-azar is considered as one of the zoonotic infections in Mediterranean countries. The reservoir of this infection is dogs and sand flies are considered as its vectors. Due to reported sporadic cases of Kala-azar in the past five years in Shahroud County, Semnan Province, Iran, this study aimed to investigate the status of this infection in this area and to determine its seroepidemiology to take required measurements for infection control and treatment.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 504 subjects residing in seven villages in Shahroud County, Semnan, Iran. Samples were randomly selected using the cluster sampling method and blood samples were collected from subjects aged up to 13 years old (90%) and adults over 13 years old (10%) from September 2018 to May 2019. After separating sera from whole blood, samples were subjected to direct agglutination test (DAT) to detect anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies. First dilutions were prepared from 1:10 to 1:800 for human samples.

Results: Results of serological testing with 1:800 titration indicated that no sample was positive for antibody against Leishmania infantum. After secondary screening, 10 cases (1.98%) showed the antibody titer of 1:100, while four cases (0.79%) showed the antibody titer of 1:400. According to clinical findings, no patient was suffering from fever, weight loss, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and cachexia and therefore did not show the symptoms of Kala-azar.

Conclusion: The results of the current study indicate that Kala-azar is not prevalent in Shahroud County.

Background: Ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasites of many vertebrates and act as vectors of a wide range of vector-borne diseases. Alongside pathogens transmission, ticks also cause economic losses in animal industry such as produc­tion loss, physical damage, anemia, and poisoning. This study aimed to determine the fauna, geographical distribution and seasonal activity of ticks collected from animals in Lorestan Province, west of Iran.

Methods: Ticks were collected from domestic animals including cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, pigeons, as well as wild animals such as jackals in 2017–2018. Then, they were identified based on morphological characteristics using valid identification keys.

Results: Out of a total of 706 ticks, 433 (61.33%), 104 (14.73%), 33 (4.67%) and 136 (19.26%) ticks were collected in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. In terms of hard ticks, 4 genera and 6 species were identified: Hy­alomma asiaticum (22.80%), Hyalomma anatolicum (3.68%), Hyalomma marginatum (2.40%), Rhipicephalus san­guineus (0.84%), Dermacentor marginatus (1.13%), and Haemaphysalis sulcata (0.64%). Additionally, two genera and four species fell into soft ticks: Argas persicus (60.48%), Argas reflexus (6.65%), Ornithodoros canstrini (0.70%) and Ornithodoros erraticus (0.42%). There was significant variation in the seasonal activity and abundance of ticks in dif­ferent seasons but in the tick abundancy among different regions.

Conclusions: The present study provides a perspective of the distribution status of ticks in Lorestan Province, their sea­sonal activity and the likelihood of emergence of related diseases.

Background: Due to the outbreak of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), a disease caused by Leishmania major and mainly transmitted by Phlebotomus papatasi, in Damghan City, Semnan Province, the probable vectors of the disease were investigated in the city from 20 March 2016 to 20 January 2018.

Methods: Sand flies were collected from indoors and outdoors biweekly by sticky traps in different parts of the city. The trapped sand flies were stored in 70% ethanol. They were identified and checked for Leishmania infections using nested-PCR method and specific primers; CSB1XR, CSB2XF, LiR, and 13Z. 

Results: Overall, 1862 phlebotomine sand flies of Ph. papatasi (48.8%), Ph. andrejevi (8.3%), Ph. caucasicus (7.7), Ph. mongolensis (2%), Ph. sergenti (1.2%), Ph. alexandri (0.7%), Sergentomyia murgabiensis sintoni (29.3%), and Se. sumbarica (2%) were collected indoors (31.1%) and outdoors (68.9%). The highest and lowest numbers of collected sand flies were belonging to Ph. papatasi (48.8%) and Ph. alexandri (0.7%) respectively. 2.2% of the examined sand flies were shown to be infected with L. major and all were belonging to Ph. papatasi.

Conclusion: This study confirms the report of Ph. papatasi infection with L. major and also the existence of Ph. sergenti and Ph. alexandri, the potential vectors of L. tropica and L. infantum respectively, in Damghan City. According to the findings, it is necessary for health officials to plan and take action to prevent the occurrence of ZCL epidemic in the city as well as the occurrence of other forms of leishmaniasis.

Background: Fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera) are considered as highly specialized bloodsucking on mammals such as dogs. The existence of three factors, namely a vast distribution area, different hosts, and digestive system with a specific mecha­nism for digesting blood has led to species of fleas who nourish from mammals be introduced as the potential vectors of diseases. The aim of this study was to assess Leishmania infantum natural infection of dog fleas in northwest Iran in 2018.

Methods: A total of 20 infested domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) were randomly selected from 5 villages. Fleas were collected using brushing against dog hairs and fine forceps. Then, they were morphologically identified and pre­served in ethanol for molecular assay. The kinetoplast DNA of the parasite was used for detection of Leishmania infan­tum using a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay.

Results: The human flea, Pulex irritans, and the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis were identified on 40% and 35% of dogs, respectively. The results of PCR indicated that L. infantum was found in the Ctenocephalides canis (75%) and C. felis (66.7%) col­lected from infected dogs. No leishmanial infection was observed in P. irritans.

Conclusion: It is concluded that fleas could be infected by Leishmania infantum, but maintenance of the parasite and their vectorial competence needs to be determined.

Background: Annually, thousands of scorpion stings and rare mortalities are recorded in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In the present study, we prepared a checklist for the geographical distribution of scorpion fauna composition, new localities data, and scorpion sting profile for the years 2019–2020 in the region.

Methods: Random field surveys for scorpion collection were carried out in 22 localities in the Kurdistan Region from June 2020 to October 2021. Clinical data related to scorpion stings in 2019 and 2020 were obtained from the medical records of public health offices in the region.

Results: In this survey, 166 specimens were collected. They were composed of seven scorpion species belonging to three families including: Buthidae, Hemiscorpiidae, and Scorpionidae. The collected species were Androctonus crassi­cauda, Compsobuthus matthiesseni, Hottentotta saulcyi, Mesobuthus mesopotamicus, Orthochirus fomichevi, Hemiscor­pius lepturus, and Scorpio kruglovi. Moreover, three scorpion species comprising Buthacus tadmorensis, Hottentotta mes­opotamicus, and Calchas anlasi were recorded in the previous study conducted in the Kurdistan region. In 2019–2020, 3726 scorpion stings were reported, with a peak in the summer season. Most of the patients were 15–49 years old. In the current study, medically significant scorpion species have been identified.

Conclusion: The outcome of the present work will increase the awareness of the Kurdish community regarding the distribution of dangerous scorpion species and consequently reduce their stings.