BackgroundParasitic infections are still a significant health problem in rural areas in developing countries including Iran. There is no recent population-based data about the prevalence of human intestinal parasites in most rural areas of Iran. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection in inhabitants of rural areas of Boyer-Ahmad district, Southwestern Iran.MethodsA total of 1025 stool samples were collected from the inhabitant of 50 randomly selected villages in Boyer-Ahmad Township. The stool samples were evaluated by parasitological methods including, direct wet-mounting, formalin ethyl acetate concentration, zinc sulfate floatation, and Trichrome permanent stain for detection of protozoan infections. Diarrheic samples were further evaluated with a modified Ziehl–Neelsen staining method for detection of coccidian parasites.ResultsThe prevalence of both pathogenic and nonpathogenic intestinal parasites in the population was 37.5% (385 out of 1025 cases), some individual with multiple infections. Giardia lamblia was detected in 179 (17.46%), Blastocystis hominis in 182 (17.76%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar in 9 (0.87%), Endolimax nana in 216 (21.07%), Entamoeba coli in 151 (14.73%), Ioedamoeba butschlii in 45 (4.39%), Chillomastix mesnili in 22 (2.14%), Trichomonas hominis in 2 (0.19%) and Dientamoeba fragillis in 2 (0.19%) of cases. Multivariate logistic regression revealed significant associations between protozoan infection (pathogenic protozoa) and contact with animals (OR yes/no = 2.22, p < 0.001) and educational status (OR higher/illiterate = 0.40, P = 0.01).ConclusionFindings of this study demonstrated that protozoan infection rate in rural areas of southwestern Iran is still high and remained as a challenging health problem in these areas.

Background & objectives: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne viral zoonosis with up to 50% mortality rate in humans. In addition to the role of animals in the transmission of the virus and spread of infected ticks through livestock trade, they can be employed as sentinel hosts for monitoring the infection. Iran is one of the endemic counties for CCHF and the disease has been documented in all provinces. However, in some provinces such as Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, the rate of the disease has been dramatically low. Therefore, this serosurvey was designed to investigate CCHF virus (CCHFV) seroprevalence among livestock in different parts of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. Methods: This study was conducted in 2017, in which, blood samples were collected from 501 sheep and goats from eight different cities of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. CCHFV IgG antibodies were detected in livestock serum samples by specific ELISA assays for detection of ovine and caprine antibodies. Results: In total, four sheep serum of out of 501 (0.8%) livestock samples (3 from Gachsaran and 1 from Dena) had CCHFV IgG antibodies. No significant association was found between CCHFV seropositivity and sex or age of animals (P>0.05). Interpretation & conclusion: Our findings suggest a minor CCHFV circulation in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran. However, due to the notion that outbreaks of tick-borne infections is hard to predict; steady and comprehensive monitoring programs especially in ticks and animals would be critical for understanding the circulation on the pathogen in a region.