BACKGROUND: Fasciola species are parasitic trematode with world wide distribution that infects wild and domesticated herbivores, particularly ruminants. The aim of the present study was to investigate the intra species variations of F. gigantica, from goats and buffalos isolates in two common geographic climates of Iran. METHODS: Fasciola species were collected from goat, buffalo, sheep, and cattle in different regions. Cytochrome c oxidase I (COX1) of mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) was amplified from individual trematodes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using universal primers, and the amplicons were consequently sequenced and sequencing data were analyzed, using Clutal W software against the GenBank database. RESULTS: A monomorphic DNA segment of approximately 499bp was seen in Fasciola isolates. The results of the amino acid sequence alignment defined strictly conserved amino acid residues in buffalo isolates of F. gigantica and partially conserved residues for goat isolates of F. gigantica. There are four tandem amino-acid replacements in the goat isolates at the position of 135-138, where Leucine (L), F (Phenylalanine), T (Threonine), and D (Aspartate) sequences changed into S (Serine), L (Leucine), H (Histidine), and L (Leucine), respectively. Furthermore, a replacement in the sequence of amino acid was found in isolates from buffalo at the position of 154, where Serine (S) was transformed into Leucine (L). CONCLOUSION: The findings our study indicate that the variants of goat and buffalo can be responsible for persistence of Fasciola infection in the endemic areas of Iran. It seems that biological differences could be occurred by considering a variety of F. gigantica-hosts in Iran. Thus, suitable approaches are required for effective treatments and useful control strategies.

Background: Dicrocoeliasis is caused by digenean trematode of Dicrocoelium dendriticum, small liver fluke, a hepatic parasitic disease in ruminants and human, throughout the world. D. dendriticum infection has been considered to be correlated with the economic and veterinary aspects. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and intensity of infection with D. dendriticum in sheep and cattle in Guilan, Mazandaran and Golestan provinces from Caspian Sea Littoral, Northern part of Iran. Methods: For this purpose, 4 cities in every province, 4 villages in each city, and 4 districts in each village were chosen for sampling. Totally, 1344 faecal samples of sheep and cattle were examined. It should be taken in to consideration that the number of eggs per gram of feces (E.P.G) was determined by flotation technique. Results: The results suggested that sheep was infected 4-5 times more than cattle in all three provinces. The average of prevalence of D. dendriticum infection in sheep and cattle were 38.43% and 9.37%, respectively in Guilan province. The average of prevalence in Mazandaran province was determined to be 21.35% and 4.16% in sheep and cattle, respectively. It is worth noting that the highest infection rates were occurred in Chalus and Noor from Mazandaran province. The average of D. dendriticum infection was determined to be 6.87% in sheep and 1.87% in cattle from Golestan province. Conclusions: Our results indicated that not only the prevalence but also the intensity of infection were higher in sheep compared to cattle Furthermore, the rate of infection was about two fold higher in both hosts from Guilan province. Therefore, according to the higher prevalence of infection in two provinces of Guilan and Mazandaran and the importance of sheep in distribution of infection, sever control program are required by providing comprehensive plans.

BACKGROUND: Canine brucellosis may occur due to Brucella spp. other than Brucella canis. Brucella bacterium is transferred between dogs, ruminants, and humans. Therefore, there is a need for vaccinating the hosts of Brucella, especially dogs. OBJECTIVES: The present study evaluates the efficacy of Rev.1 against B. melitensis in experimentally infected dogs. METHODS: Twelve Brucella-negative dogs were divided into two groups of test and control. The animals in the experimental group were vaccinated with Rev.1. After vaccination, sera of the dogs were tested by the standard tube agglutination test (STAT) and Rose Bengal test (RBT). Five months following vaccination, dogs in both groups were inoculated with 3×109 CFU of B. melitensis biotype 1. Serum samples were taken after inoculating the bacteria and were examined using the STAT and RBT. The specimens of lymph nodes and reticuloendothelial organs were collected for bacteriological culture. RESULTS: After the inoculation of Brucella, the antibody titer was significantly higher in the control dogs than in the experimental group. B. melitensis biotype 1 was isolated from all the control dogs, but it was isolated from three dogs in the test group. CONCLUSIONS: According to the findings of the current study, we recommend further studies on the immuniza-tion of dogs with the Rev.1 vaccine along with vaccinating small ruminants.