Tehran University Medical Journal

---

Background: Malaria is still one of the main health problems in south and southeast provinces of Iran and recently on average 10,000-30,000 malaria cases were reported annually. Mosquitoes of Anopheles superpictus are one of the main malaria vectors in Iran and have been reported from all areas of the country including central plateau and plains of Alborz and Zagrous Mountains chains, and with low numbers in shore plains of the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea. There are variations in larval and adult morphological characters and also in vectorial capacity of this species in different areas of Iran.
Methods: This study has been conducted to investigate rate of mtDNA variation among various populations of this species in Iran. The sequence variation of an 1512 bp length of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase subunits 1 and 2 (COI-COII) and an 708 bp sequences of COI gene were analyzed by PCR-RFLP and PCR-direct sequencing respectively.
Results: This study showed that there are considerable variations between and within populations. Rate of variation was 12.3 % between populations and this was 2-5% for within Baluchistan population. Totally 4 haplotypes were observed between populations where 3 occur in Baluchistan and one in other places.
Conclusion: This is the first report on existence of various haplotypes in An. superpictus in science, and presumably this species comprising siblings and is a species complex. Further studies need to confirm this result and to determine the relationship between mtDNA haplotypes and their role in malaria transmission in each locality.

---

Background: Over the last two decades invasive candidiasis has become an increasing problem in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Colonization of skin and mucous membranes with Candida spp. is important factor in the pathogenesis of neonatal infection and several colonized sites are major risk factors evoking higher frequencies of progression to invasive candidiasis. The aim of this study was to detect Candida colonization in NICU patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 93 neonates in NICUs at Imam Khomeini and Children Medical Center Hospitals in Tehran. Cutaneous and mucous membrane samples obtained at first, third, and seventh days of patients’ stay in NICUs during nine months from August 2013 to May 2014. The samples were primarily cultured on CHROMagar Candida medium. The cultured media were incubated at 35°C for 48h and evaluated based on colony color produced on CHROMagar Candida. In addition, isolated colonies were cultured on Corn Meal Agar medium supplemented with tween 80 for identification of Candida spp. based on their morphology. Finally, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was performed for definite identification of isolated species.

Results: Colonization by Candida spp. was occurred in 20.43% of neonates. Fifteen and four patients colonized with one and two different Candida spp., respectively. Isolated Candida spp. identified as; C. parapsilosis (n: 10), C. albicans (n: 7), C. tropicalis (n: 3), C. guilliermondii (n: 2), and C. krusei (n: 1). In present study non-albicans Candia species were dominant (69.56%) and C. parapsilosis was the most frequent isolate (43.47%). Using Fisher's exact test, the correlation between fungal colonization with low birth weight, low gestational age, and duration of hospital stay was found to be statistically significant (P=0.003).

Conclusion: The results of this study imply to the candida species colonization of neonates. Neonates in NICU are at the highest risk for severe infection with Candida parapsilosis. Therefore, isolation of C. parapsilosis as the most common species (43.47%) in present study was noteworthy.