BACKGROUND: 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. OBJECTIVES: 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. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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). CONCLUSIONS: 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.

BACKGROUND: European chub (Squalius cephalus) is a member of Cyprinidae family and is classified as fresh water fishes which live in a group in roaring rivers. Siahrood runs from the south east to the Caspian Sea. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was determination and identification of parasites of European chub in the Siahrood river. METHODS: In the current study, a total number of 96 fishes with average weight of 42 ± 3 gr and average length of 15 ± 1 cm were collected during winter, spring, summer and autumn 2015. The collected fishes were transported to parasitology lab with oxygenated plastic bags and were kept in aquarium till examination. Sample collection was conducted from skin, gills, fins and eyes and prepared wet mount was studied with optical microscope. Samples which are positive for presence of parasite were fixed and identified at the level of genus or species by biometric characterization and identification keys. RESULTS: In the present study, 6 species of endo parasites and ecto parasites were detected from different organs of Siahrood’s European chubs that included: 2 protozoan species from gills, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis with the highest positive samples in summer; Trichodina sp. with the highest positive samples in spring; 1 Myxozoa species from the intestine, Myxobolus  muelleri with the highest positive samples in winter; 3 Monogenea species, Dactylogyrus vistulae and Diplozoon paradoxum from the gills with highest positive samples at autumn and summer respectively; Gyrodactylus mutabilitas from the gills and the skin with the highest positive samples in summer. CONCLUSIONS: It seems the major factors affecting the variable presence of parasites in different seasons are ecological and environmental variation of the river in different seasons and the effects of these changes on fishes physiology and parasites life cycle.

Ozobranchus spp. are leeches that feed solely on turtle blood. They are common ectoparasites found on a range of marine turtle species, with some species of the leech being implicated as vectors of fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpesvirus (FPTHV). Green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles are the two commonly occurring species in the inner granitic islands of the Seychelles. Routine monitoring of nesting turtles on Cousine Island, Seychelles, allowed for opportunistic sightings of leeches on two hawksbill females. In both cases infestation was low, with three leeches collected off one female turtle and five off the other. No obvious signs of papillomas secondary to infection of FPTHV were seen. All of the turtle leeches collected were determined to be Ozobranchus margoi as they had five pairs of lateral digiform branchiae. The specimens were deposited in the Seychelles Natural History Museum on Mahé. To the best of our knowledge this is the first record of Ozobranchus margoi recorded in the inner granitic Seychelles on hawksbill turtles.