ali moshaverinia

The common bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, and tropical bed bugs, Cimex hemipterus are the primary spe-cies of public health importance in the family Cimicidae. This study aimed to determine the morphometric criteria and prevalent species of bed bugs in eastern Iran.

Bed bugs were collected from March 2021 to June 2022 from infested residential buildings and apartments in eastern Iran, including North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, and Sistan and Baluchistan Provinces. The morphological and morphometrical characteristics were used to identify collected bed bugs at inter- and intra-specific levels.

A total of 34 isolates comprising 127 adult bed bugs were collected from Bojnord, Mashhad, Neishabur, Tai-bad, Sabzevar, Kashmer, Zahedan, Saravan, Rask, Pishin and Chabahar. Of these, 33 isolates (n=124) were found to be tropical bed bugs, C. hemipterus, and one population (n=3) was identified as C. lectularius. The index pronotal width/length ratio was calculated from 2.72 to 2.94 and 1.98 to 2.47 for C. lectularius and C. hemipterus, respectively. The length/width ratio of the hind femur was 3.365 in C. hemipterus and 4.267 in C. lectularius. The ratio of length/width of the third femur (F3 l/w) between populations of C. hemipterus was different, and this difference was statistically significant (P< 0.05).

The results of this study indicated that C. hemipterus was the dominant bed bug species in the east of Iran and provided more morphometric criteria of C. hemipterus for researchers to identify the species and determine the in-traspecific variations in the present and future.

Bedbugs are nocturnal ectoparasites that have made a comeback after 20 years and have become one of the main challenges for pest control methods worldwide. Monitoring chemical pesticide resistance is crucial for identi-fying the best bed bugs management strategies to effectively manage arthropods. This study aims to assess the suscepti-bility of Cimex hemipterus (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) collected from different parts of Khorasan-Razavi Province, (north-east of Iran) to deltamethrin (pyrethroid), phoxim (organothiophosphate) and propetamphos (phosphoramidate).

This study was conducted from Dec 2020 to May 2021. The efficacy of three insecticides (deltamethrin, phoxim, and propetamphos) on adult C.hemipterus was assessed using a bioassay method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO),. Concentrations of deltamethrin used were 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, and 2560 ppm, while concentrations of phoxim and propetamphos were 10, 40, 160, and 320 ppm. The bed bugs were continu-ously exposed to the insecticide for 24 hours, and mortality was assessed at regular intervals during the observation pe-riod. The concentration-response data were subjected to POLO-PC software and data were analyzed by the one-way and two-way ANOVA procedures.

The lethal concentration fifty values of deltamethrin, phoxim and propetamphos on the examined bed bugs were 0.551, 0.148 and 0.237 ppm, respectively. Insecticide effects of phoxim were significantly higher (P≤ 0.05) com-pared to each of either deltamethrin and propetamphos agents.

The insecticide effects of phoxim against bed bugs were significantly higher compared to each of either deltamethrin or propetamphosinsecticides.

The present study investigates the occurrence and the identification of tick species infesting wild songbirds in northern Iran. During the period from 2015 to 2016, 342 songbirds belonging to 15 families and 37 species were captured and examined for tick infestation. Of which, 70 specimens were infested by ticks representing a 20.46% infestation rate. Four tick species detached from examined birds and identified as follow: Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus, 1758), I. lividus Koch, 1844, Hyalomma sp., and Rhipicephalus sp. The most common one was I. ricinus. In all infected birds, collected ticks were in immature stages and the number of specimens of the larval stage was more than in the nymphal stage, and no adult tick was found. Following songbirds were introduced as new hosts: Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia (Linnaeus, 1766), Chestnut-shouldered Petronia Gymnoris xanthocollis (Burton, E, 1838), Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Hippolais pallida (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833), Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra Linnaeus, 1758, Common Mynah Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766), Eastern Pied Wheatear Oenanthe picata (Blyth, 1847), Pied Wheatear O. pleschanka (Lepechin, 1770), Desert Finch Rhodospiza obsoleta (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823), Fire-fronted Serin Serinus pusillus (Pallas, 1811), and Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva (Bechstein, 1792) for I. ricinus.

Hard ticks are blood-feeding ectoparasites that are of great medical and health importance. This survey was carried out to determine the frequency of hard ticks infesting sheep and goats in Qaen County located in eastern Iran, South Khorasan Province. This survey started in November 2018 and continued for one year. In this study, 11 geographical locations were selected from the study area and 10 sheep and 10 goats from each location were randomly selected and examined for tick infestation each month. The ticks were collected from different infested organs and preserved in ethanol 70% until transferred to the parasitology laboratory for identification to species level. From a total of 1320 sheep and 1320 goats examined, 49.6% sheep and 32.3% goats were found to be infested. Overall, 2004 ticks were collected from infested animals and based on their frequency were identified as: Hyalomma asiaticum (39.6%), Hyalomma rufipes (33.7%), Hyalomma marginatum (9.7%), Rhipicephalus toranicus (6.4%), Dermacentor raskemensis (6.1%), Hyalomma excuvatum (3.5%) Hyalomma anatolicum (0.9%), and Haemaphysalis sulcata (0.1%). The most frequency of ticks were observed in spring and the highest number of ticks were collected in May. Tail was the most frequent and important site for tick attachment. The results of this study showed the prevalence and frequency of tick infestation in the study area is relatively high and tick control measures should be taken especially in spring and summer.

The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of dichloromethane extract of Melia azedarach ripe fruit on larvae and adult females of Hyalomma excavatum at concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4%, using the larval immersion test (LIT) and adult immersion test (AIT). The results showed that in LIT, the percentage mortality of larvae was significantly higher at concentrations 1, 2, and 4% than the control group after 24 h. While the mortality rates varied from 8.66% to 72.66% after 24 h post-treatment, complete mortality of the examined larvae was achieved at concentration of 4% after 48 h post-exposure whereas, it was13.33% in the negative control group. In AIT, the percentage inhibition of oviposition in the treatment groups was significantly greater than the control group (P < 0.01). The maximum inhibition of oviposition was 17.72%, which was achieved at a concentration of 4% and it was 0% in the control group. The difference between reproductive index in treatment and control groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.01). This study showed that the ripe fruit extract of M. azedarach was toxic to H. excavatum under laboratory conditions.

Health and welfare of dogs can be adversely affected by ectoparasite infestations and these infestations pose severe risks to human health due to close contact between dog and human.

This study was carried out to detemine the frequency of ectoparasite infestation in referred dogs to veterinary hospital of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

From April 2017 to April 2018, a total of 460 dogs were examined for ectoparasites. Age, gender, season, breed, keeping place, hair length, hair colour, pruritus, alopecia and distribution of parasites on different parts of the body of each examined dog were recorded in a questionnaire.

Out of 460 dogs examined, 99 (21.52%) were found to be infested with ectoparasites. Forty-eight  (10.43%) dogs were infested with Ctenocephalides canis and Pulex irritans. Rhipicephalus turanicus, Sarcoptes scabiei, Hippobosca longipennis and Rhipicephalus sanguineus were found on 14 (3.04%), 10 (2.17%), 10 (2.17%) and 9 (1.95%) dogs, respectively. Infestation with Wohlfahrtia magnifica, Demodex canis, Otodectes cynotis, Haemaphysalis erinacei and Linognathus setosus were observed in 9 (1.95%), 3 (0.65%), 2 (0.43%), 1 (0.21%) and 1 (0.21%) examined dogs, respectively. There was a statistically significant association between ectoparasite infestation and sex, keeping place and pruritus (p < /em><0.05). No statistical relationship was found between ectoparasite infestation and age, hair colour, hair length, season and alopecia (p < /em>>0.05).

This is the first study conducted on dog ectoparasite infestation in Mashhad district, Northeast Iran. Fleas were the most common ectoparasites and although ectoparasite infestation rate was relatively low, high species diversity was observed. Some of these ectoparasites have zoonotic importance.

Climate condition is expected to have significant in rodents’ diversity and in the seasonal pattern of diseases carried by different rodents. In an effort to aid in the study of the biodiversity of parasites of rodents in different climate zoon we examined climate patterns in the parasite assemblages of different rodents from Mar 2015 to Feb 2016.
Of 253 captured rodents in three climate zone of Iran, thirteen species of rodents were recognized. Rodents included Mus musculus, Microtus, Apodemus witherbyi, Calomyscus elburzensis, Meriones libycus, Tatera indica, Alactaga elater, and Arvicola amphibius. Trapped rodents humanely sacrificed and the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts were removed and examined to identify parasitic helminths. Parasites were identified using key morphological characteristics.
Of 253 rodents examined, 109 (43.08%) were positive for helminth infection including Syphacia obvelata (20.1%), Aspicularis tetraptera (9.9%), Trichuris muris (0.3%), Capillaria sp. (0.3%), Physaloptera sp. (0.7%), Gongylonema sp. (1.1%), Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (6.7%) Heligmosomoides polygyrus (4.3%) Hymenolepis diminuta (3.1%), H. nana (0.8%), Cysticercus fasciolaris, (2.7%), Mesocestoides sp. larva (0.3%) and Moniliformis moniliformis (0.3%). Notocotylus neyrai was the only species of Trematoda isolated from water vole (Arvicola amphibius) for the first time in Iran.
Some rodents are omnivorous, showing high predisposition to helminths parasites consequently, they harbor some species of parasites which are potentially zoonotic or may serve as vectors of important zoonotic pathogens. Therefore, the potential health hazard of these species needs to be considered to prevent infectivity of humans.

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro acaricidal effect of aqueous ozone against Dermanyssus gallinae (Acari: Dermanyssidae) under laboratory conditions. For this purpose, aqueous ozone at concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 ppm were prepared, and five replicate experiments were carried out using 400 µl of each concentration sprayed on every treatment batch of mites (plus a distilled water control). The mortality rate of mites in treatment and control groups were assessed 24 h post exposure. The mortality rate obtained by concentrations of 4, 5, and 10 ppm were significantly different from the control group (p < 0.05). The highest mortality rate (63.99%) was observed at concentration of 10 ppm. In this study, aqueous ozone showed a dose-dependent acaricidal potency against D. gallinae.

The aim of this study was to evaluate acaricidal activity of Melia azedarach L. ripe fruit extract against Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer, 1778) under laboratory conditions. For this purpose, hexanic ripe fruit extract of this tree at concentrations 0.25, 0.5, 1, 3, 5 and 10% were prepared with acetone as solvent and treatment groups exposed to these concentrations using Petri dish residual film bioassay method. The positive control was carbaryl while negative control was acetone. The bioassay was repeated five times. The mortality rate of mites in treatment and control groups were assessed 24 h post exposure. All treatment groups showed significantly higher mortality compared to the negative control group (P

Myiasis is defined as the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae for a certain period. There are reports indicating that dogs are the most common species affected by myiasis. This study was conducted to identify myiasis-causing flies in owned and stray dogs in Mashhad (Northeastern Iran).
A total of 435 owned dogs and 800 stray dogs were examined for myia­sis. Myiasis cases were cured and fly larvae were identified by microscopy using the relevant standard identification keys.
Ten out of 435 owned dogs (2.29 %) and 18 out of 800 stray dogs (2.25 %) had myiasis. The causative agents of myiasis in dogs based on their fre­quencies were as follows: Wohlfahrtia magnifica (50%), Lucilia sericata (28.57%) and Chrysomya albiceps (21.42%).
W. magnifica was the most important myiasis-causing fly among the dogs sampled here, sometimes causing very serious damages. However, when treatment was given early enough, the larvae removed and the wound disinfected, the animals usually made a full recovery.

Nosema apis is an obligate intracellular parasite belonging to phylum Microsporidia. This para site is known as main causative agent of nosemosis in honeybees especially in the European honeybee (Apis mellifera). Nosemosis can cause queen supersedure, reduction of honey yield and dwindling the population of honeybees. A total number of 54 apiaries were randomly sampled from April to July 2011 and April to July 2012 in North Khorasan province, Iran. Collected samples were examined for infection to N.apis. In the collected bees from 30 apiaries, any Nosema infection was not observed in spring 2011, while of 24 apiaries sampled in spring 2012, 12 (50%) apiaries were infected with N. apis. The seasonal rainfall of spring in 2012 in the study area was 53% higher than the same period of last year. It was concluded that there has been a direct relationship between rainfall and frequency of N. apis infection in apiaries of North Khorasan province.