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Original Articles
The epidemiology of amoebiasis in Thi-Qar Province, Iraq (2015-2020): differentiation of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar using nested and real-time polymerase chain reaction
Mohammed Hassan Flaih, Ruaa Majid Khazaal, Manar Karem Kadhim, Khwam Reissan Hussein, Falah Abd Bashir Alhamadani
Epidemiol Health. 2021;43:e2021034.   Published online May 6, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2021034
  • 10,110 View
  • 373 Download
  • 4 Web of Science
  • 2 Crossref
AbstractAbstract AbstractSummary PDF
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to evaluate the present status of amoebiasis in Thi-Qar Province in southern Iraq, and to determine the presence of <i>Entamoeba histolytica</i> and <i>Entamoeba dispar</i> with nested and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
METHODS
Epidemiological data were obtained from the public health department of the Thi-Qar Health Office (2015-2020). Eighty stool samples were also randomly collected from patients ≤12 year of age with diarrhea at 2 hospitals between the beginning of February 2020 and the end of October 2020. These samples were selected after microscopy to identify the <i>18S rRNA</i> gene in <i>Entamoeba</i> DNA.
RESULTS
Of the 341,554 cases of intestinal parasitic infections, 38,004 (11.1%) individuals were recorded as having amoebiasis, which accounted for the highest proportion of infections in 2015 (26.1%) and the lowest in 2020 (8.1%). Amoebiasis was distributed among all age groups, with the age group of 5-14 years accounting for the highest proportion (27.3%). In molecular testing, 42 (52.5%) out of 80 samples were positive for the <i>18S rRNA</i> gene (888 bp). Using nested PCR, <i>E. histolytica</i> (439 bp) was detected in 25 (31.3%) samples and <i>E. dispar</i> (174 bp) in 14 (17.5%), while using real-time PCR, <i>E. histolytica</i> and <i>E. dispar</i> were detected in 28 (35.0%) and 15 (18.8%) samples, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Epidemiological data confirmed that amoebiasis is endemic in this province, and is not limited to certain months. Our study confirms the applicability of molecular identification to detect pathogenic and non-pathogenic <i>Entamoeba</i> to prescribe the appropriate drug.
Summary
Key Message
Our study conducted an epidemiologic evaluation of amoebiasis (2015-2020). Amoebiasis is considered a health burden and uncontrolled disease, is endemic in Thi-Qar Province, and is not related with certain months. This study suggests that molecular diagnosis is necessary before the treatment. Both Nested and RT PCR assays are beneficial to diagnose Entamoeba spp.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by  
  • Molecular Detection of a Pathogenic Entamoeba among Symptomatic Children in Eastern Kurdistan of Iraq
    Sham Jamil Abdullah, Shahnaz Abdulkader Ali
    Polish Journal of Microbiology.2024; 73(1): 99.     CrossRef
  • Global burden and trends of the Entamoeba infection-associated diseases from 1990 to 2019: An observational trend study
    Xiaofang Fu, Yonghong Zhong, Liyan Chen, Minjie Ge, Min Yu, Yibo Sun, Linfeng Shen
    Acta Tropica.2023; 240: 106866.     CrossRef
An epidemiological comparative study on diagnosis of rodent leptospirosis in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran
Behzad Esfandiari, Mohammad Reza Pourshafie, Mohammad Mehdi Gouya, Pejvak Khaki, Ehsan Mostafavi, Jamshid Darvish, Soheila Moradi Bidhendi, Hamed Hanifi, Hossein Nahrevanian
Epidemiol Health. 2015;37:e2015012.   Published online February 23, 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih/e2015012
  • 19,266 View
  • 180 Download
  • 15 Web of Science
  • 12 Crossref
AbstractAbstract PDF
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by leptospires, in which transmission occurs through contact with contaminated biological fluids from infected animals. Rodents can act as a source of infection for humans and animals. The disease has a global distribution, mainly in humid, tropical and sub-tropical regions. The aim of this study was to compare culture assays, the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and nested PCR (n-PCR), for the diagnosis of leptospirosis in rodents in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran.
METHODS
One hundred fifty-one rodents were trapped alive at 10 locations, and their urine and kidney samples were collected and used for the isolation of live Leptospira. The infecting serovars were identified and the antibody titres were measured by MAT, using a panel of 20 strains of live Leptospira species as antigens. The presence of leptospiral DNA was evaluated in urine and kidney samples using PCR and n-PCR.
RESULTS
No live leptospires were isolated from the kidney and urine samples of the rodents. Different detection rates of leptospirosis were observed with MAT (21.2%), PCR (11.3%), and n-PCR (3.3%). The dominant strain was Leptospira serjoehardjo (34.4%, p=0.28), although other serotypes were also found. The prevalence of positive leptospirosis tests in rodents was 15.9, 2.6, and 2.6% among Rattus norvegicus, R. rattus, and Apodemus sylvaticus, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Leptospirosis was prevalent in rodents in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. MAT was able to detect leptospires more frequently than culture or PCR. The kidney was a more suitable site for identifying leptospiral DNA by n-PCR than urine. Culture was not found to be an appropriate technique for clinical diagnosis.
Summary

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by  
  • Clinico epidemiological study of human leptospirosis in hilly area of South India-A population based case control study
    SharvananE Udayar, NarasimhaB Chengalarayappa, Ashwini Madeshan, Manjunatha Shivanna, Krishnaveni Marella
    Indian Journal of Community Medicine.2023; 48(2): 316.     CrossRef
  • Seroepidemiology of leptospirosis in livestock and workers of high-risk occupation in Kurdistan, Iran
    Shadi Aghamohammad, Arian Hajijafari Anaraki, Maryam Rahravani, Mojtaba Rastin, Reza Atashin Sadaf, Meysam Moravedji, Mahdi Rohani
    Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.2022; 82: 101758.     CrossRef
  • Epidemiology of Leptospirosis: The First Literature Review of the Neglected Disease in the Middle East
    Elena Harran, Christo Hilan, Zouheira Djelouadji, Florence Ayral
    Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease.2022; 7(10): 260.     CrossRef
  • Rodent Species Diversity and Occurrence of Leishmania in Northeastern Iran
    Seyed Farzad Motevalli-Haghi, Ghorban Mohammad Ozbaki, Nasibeh Hosseini-Vasoukolaei, Seyed Hassan Nikookar, Omid Dehghan, Jamshid Yazdani-Charati, Roohollah Siahsarvie, Reza Dehbandi, Mahmoud Fazeli-Dinan, Ahmadali Enayati
    Polish Journal of Ecology.2021;[Epub]     CrossRef
  • Leptospirosis: Increasing importance in developing countries
    Zoey May Pheng Soo, Naveed Ahmed Khan, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui
    Acta Tropica.2020; 201: 105183.     CrossRef
  • Impacts of flood on health of Iranian population: Infectious diseases with an emphasis on parasitic infections
    Azar Shokri, Sadaf Sabzevari, Seyed Ahmad Hashemi
    Parasite Epidemiology and Control.2020; 9: e00144.     CrossRef
  • Diagnosis of Leptospirosis in Febrile Patients of Golestan Province, Iran: Serology versus PCR
    Saied Reza Naddaf, Reyhaneh Mohabati, Rouhollah Vahabpor, Sabah Naeimi, Sana Eybpoosh
    Journal of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.2020; 8(3): 98.     CrossRef
  • Rodent-borne and rodent-related diseases in Iran
    Vahid Kazemi-Moghaddam, Rouhullah Dehghani, Mostafa Hadei, Samaneh Dehqan, Mohammad Mehdi Sedaghat, Milad Latifi, Shamim Alavi-Moghaddam
    Comparative Clinical Pathology.2019; 28(4): 893.     CrossRef
  • Leptospira infection in rats: A literature review of global prevalence and distribution
    Kenneth Boey, Kanae Shiokawa, Sreekumari Rajeev, Nicholas P. Day
    PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.2019; 13(8): e0007499.     CrossRef
  • Rodent-borne diseases and their public health importance in Iran
    Mohammad Hasan Rabiee, Ahmad Mahmoudi, Roohollah Siahsarvie, Boris Kryštufek, Ehsan Mostafavi, Peter J. Krause
    PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.2018; 12(4): e0006256.     CrossRef
  • In memoriam Jamshid Darvish
    Christiane Denys, François Bonhomme, Boris Kryštufek, Marjan Mashkour, Jean Denis Vigne, Roohollah Siahsarvie
    Mammalia.2018; 82(6): 521.     CrossRef
  • Epidemiological Distribution of Rodents as Potent Reservoirs for Infectious Diseases in the Provinces of Mazandaran, Gilan and Golestan, Northern Iran
    Behzad Esfandiari, Hossein Nahrevanian, Mohammad Reza Pourshafie, Mohammad Mehdi Gouya, Pejvak Khaki, Ehsan Mostafavi, Jamshid Darvish, Hamed Hanifi
    Infectious Disease Reports.2017; 9(2): 6900.     CrossRef
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