Journal of School of Public Health and

Liver flukes-induced pathological changes in liver parenchyma and biliary passages are so severe that, in some cases, may cause total physiologic dysfunction. The human disease is endemic to some parts of the country, and there were two vast epidemics of the human fascioliasis in Gilan province, northern most part of the country. According to WHO reports , the human disease is prevalent in Gilan, Mazandaran, and Isfahan. However , the aim of the present study was to collect more information about the naturally- infected animal hosts, and to extend the Knowledge to prognosticate the pathologic effects occurring in human cases of liver flukes in endemic parts of the human disease. The present study was carried out in slauther houses of Gilan and Khuzestan province, two most endemic areas of human and animal Distomatosis, respectively, from spring 2002 to summer 2003. A total of 30 infected livers were collected, and were examined both for visible gross and microscopic changes. The results of the present study showed that the pathologic changes varied from mild effects to total biliary bstruction. Most of the present knowledge on pathology of the human disease is based on studies in animal models. To have precise and comprehensive information about the tissue changes in naturally –infected animal may help to describe some unanswered concepts about the pathology of the human distomatosis.

Background and Aim: Intestinal parasites cause significant morbidity and mortality and are considered by the World Health Organization as a public health problem of global importance. These agents are estimated to infect more than three billion people worldwide. In Iran, thanks to long-time efforts by the national health system (including environmental sanitation and public education campaigns), the frequency of the most intestinal parasitic infections has significantly declined in the recent decades. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in a high-risk occupational group, namely the municipal workers in the city of Esfahan.

Materials and Methods: A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among municipal workers in several districts of Esfahan. Specimens were placed into fecal pots, labeled and kept cool before being transported to the Health Research Center Laboratory, affiliated to the School of Public Health & Institute for Public Health Research in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The technique used for identifying infections was stool concentration by formalin & ether. All the slides were carefully studied using light microscopy with ×10, × 40, and ×100 magnification.

Results: The study results revealed that 24.6% of the workers harbored at least one parasitic species. The highest prevalence (36%) belonged to Giardia lamblia. Ascaris lumbricoides was the most common helminthic parasite (12.4%), followed by Hymenolepis nana (1.2%). The most common non-pathogenic protozoal species was Entamoeba coli (21.7%).

Conclusion: Infection with soil parasites is dependent on environmental conditions that allow parasites to complete their life cycle. Socioeconomic and cultural factors are important for the appearance and spread of intestinal parasites in communities where sanitary conditions and infrastructure are inadequate. However, soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) used to be prevalent throughout the country, especially in urban and rural population of the Esfahan Province. We investigated the prevalence of intestinal parasites by fecal examination of workers in Esfahan municipality, a group with a low-sanitation working environment close contact with soil contaminants. The lack of information on prevalence in the general population makes it difficult to arrive at any definite conclusions, but on the basis of unpublished data we can conclude that prevalence is somewhat higher in this occupational group compared to the population at large.

  Backgrond and Aim: Demodicosis is a common skin disease. Great number of admissions to the clinics is occurring in the country. Regarding the high prevalence of this parasitic arthropod, investigating on pathogenesis, route of transmission and the complications they may produce, is considered of great importance. Generally, demodex parasites often exist in the skin tissue and tend to live in the face specifically in cheeks, forehead and nose, where sebum excretion is active and may provide a favorable habitat for living and breading the parasite. Diagnosis is carried out during an exploratory skin test for a cne, pityriasis rosacea and ophthalmic infectious diseases such as blepharitis. Determination of their biological role in chronicity of general skin disorders is an interesting topic in research.

  Materials and Methods: Patients were admitted to the Razi hospital, Research Center for skin diseases and leprosy, and three other clinical laboratories considered for assays. The questionnaire was filled for each patient and the sample was taken from the affected area. Ecto parasites were transferred to the potassium chloride solution 10% and studied under a light microscope.

  Results: A total of 100 patients were studied, from which 78 patients were diagnosed as infected with the Demodex folliculorum. Of these, (%92) were female and (%7.6) male (p <0.05). The highest frequency was observed in the age group 41 to 50 years (P <0.05).

  Conclusion: In this study, the relative frequency of demodicosis was more common in women and in the middle-aged group. Generally this high level of frequency will intensify the necessity of the identification of parasites and its pathological effects in chronic infectious diseases.