Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases 2322-1984 0 0 2026 07 21 1913 1913 Soundaramourthy Padmaja Division of Vector Biology and Control, ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI, Medical Complex, Indira Nagar, India Ayyanar Elango Division of Vector Biology and Control, ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI, Medical Complex, Indira Nagar, India 2026 01 25 2026 07 19 Background: Indian tick typhus (ITT) is a type of spotted fever caused by intracellular Rickettsial pathogens, specifi­cally Rickettsia conorii subspecies indica, which exhibits unique clinical symptoms in humans compared to other spot­ted fevers. Human cases have been reported from several states based on hospital-based studies. However, research on the detection of these pathogens in ticks is limited. Methods: A tick survey was conducted in different agro-climatic regions of Tamil Nadu. A total of 3,016 ticks belong­ing to 12 species in 532 pools were tested for the presence of the groEL gene of Rickettsia conorii indica using indige­nously designed primers. Results:  Of the 532 pools tested, 44 pools (8.27 %) were positive for the groEL gene, resulting in an overall Minimum Infection Rate (MIR) of 1.50 (95% CI=1.11–1.98). The bacteria were identified in all agro-climatic regions except in the Cauvery delta region. The MIR of the screened tick species were 4.11 (95% CI=1.73–8.43) in Rhipicephalus mi­croplus, 1.34 (95% CI=0.90–1.92) in Haemaphysalis bispinosa, and 2.85 (95% CI=1.56–4.83) in Haemaphysalis inter­media.  The MIR of the ticks collected from cattle was 0.34 in cattle (95% CI=0.15–0.67), 5.50 (95% CI=3.97–7.44) in goats, and 1.37 (95% CI=0.36–3.71) in sheep. Conclusion: The present study reports that the groEL gene as preliminary marker for the detection of the ITT-causing pathogen in field-collected ticks. The positivity of the groEL gene in the salivary glands needs further experimental con­firmation. The primer needs further evaluation by comparing with MLST (Multilocus sequence typing) sequencing. https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1913 https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/download/1913/728

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases 2322-1984 0 0 2026 07 22 1966 1966 Tahereh Asgarian Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Seyed Hassan Moosa-Kazemi Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ahmadali Enayati Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Mohammad Ali Oshaghi Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Mehdi Sedaghat Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2026 06 16 2026 07 19 Background: Aedes aegypti is a major vector of numerous arboviruses, including dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yel­low fever. This study aimed to establish a standardized and practical procedure for maintaining and propagating an Ae. aegypti colony under controlled insectary conditions in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Methods: Environmental parameters were routinely monitored. Larvae were reared with an appropriate diet under a regular feeding schedule, while adult mosquitoes were provided with a sucrose solution and blood meals. The correla­tion between the duration of egg paper drying and the hatching percentage was evaluated. Hatching rates were com­pared across three media: cooled boiled water, yeast and larval food. Results: A strong negative correlation was observed between drying duration and hatching percentage, with a Pearson correlation of −0.818 (p< 0.001). Gradual drying of egg papers over a period of two days resulted in a hatching rate of over 90% without any hatching stimulant. No significant differences in hatching rates were found among the three me­dia, as indicated by F= 0.601 (p= 0.578). In a novel observation, female mosquitoes were found to deposit ap­proxi­mately 20−30% of their eggs directly on the water surface inside ovitraps under insectary conditions in Iran. Conclusion: This study provides a reliable, low‑cost model for rearing Ae. aegypti in research insectaries and facilitates future studies on vector control. https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1966 https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/download/1966/729

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases 2322-1984 0 0 2026 06 28 1898 1898 Aboozar Soltani Research Center for Health Sciences, Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Health, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran 2025 12 10 2026 06 15 Vector-borne diseases remain among the most persistent and dynamic threats to glob­al health. According to the World Health Organ­ization (WHO), these diseases account for more than 700,000 deaths an­nually and im­pose a dis­proportionate bur­den on tropical and subtropi­cal populations, particularly in low- and mid­dle-income countries (1). Mos­quitoes, ticks, sand flies, triatomines, black flies and other hema­tophagous arthropods transmit pathogens re­spon­sible for malaria, dengue, lymphatic fila­riasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, yellow fe­ver, Zika, chikungunya, tick-borne encephali­tis and numerous emerging zoon­oses. Rapid urbani­zation, globalization, en­vironmental deg­rada­tion, climate change and insecticide re­sistance are reshaping the epidemiology and geographic distribution of these infections, in­creasing both their incidence and unpredict­ability (2, 3).   https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1898 https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/download/1898/726

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases 2322-1984 0 0 2026 07 16 1931 1931 Dagmara Dyczko Department of Microbial Ecology and Acaroentomology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland Bartosz Borczyk Department of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of Vertebrates, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland 2026 03 05 2026 07 13 We report a historical record of the reptile-associated tick Amblyomma helvolum Koch, 1844 parasitizing the equatorial spitting cobra Naja sumatrana Laurenti, 1768, based on a preserved specimen housed in the herpetolog­ical collection of the Naturhistorisches Muse­um Wien (Natural History Museum Vienna, NMW), Austria. https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1931 https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/download/1931/727