Background: Toxoplasmosis is a widespread disease in humans and many other species of warm-blooded animals. Among livestock animals, sheep and goat are more widely infected by Toxoplasma gondii. This parasite is a major cause of abortion, with significant economic losses for sheep and goat breeders. Objectives: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was employed to detect of the T. gondii DNA in the milk of sheep and goats based on its B1 gene. Materials and methods:A total of 625 milk samples were collected from 345 sheep and 280 goats from randomly selected flocks of NorthWest of Iran. Results: Of 625 examined milk samples, 19 animals (3.04%) yielded a specific T. gondii B1 fragment (529 bp), of which T. gondii was detected in 16 (4.63%) sheep and 3 (1.07%) goat milk samples. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the PCR products of T. gondii with AluI restriction enzyme produced only one distinct pattern among all positive samples, which indicates that one RFLP profile of T. gondii exists in the study area. Conclusions: Presence of T. gondii DNA in the milk of sheep and goats raises the possibility that this parasite is transmitted through consumption of raw milk. Since sheep and goats are important milk sources in Iran, there is a high risk of contamination through milk from these hosts due to their susceptibility to infection. Further studies are required on milk producing animals to implement effective control strategies against toxoplasmosis.

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Medically important arthropods, including fleas, play an important role in causing clinical disorders and disease in man and domestic animals. This study was conducted to determine the seasonal flea infestations for domestic dogs from different geographic regions of Iran. A total of 407 fleas, belonging to 5 different species, were recovered from 83 domestic dogs from 3 regions. There was a distinctive pattern of species distribution and infestations with the highest infestation rates observed in a temperate climate and higher rainfall. Additionally, fleas were observed over all seasons, except February and March, with the highest infestation rate observed in August (24.7%) and the lowest rate in January (1.7%). They also parasitize dogs with a different spectrum of species. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (67.5%), exhibited the highest prevalence among all flea species found on dogs. Thus, climatic conditions and seasonal patterns impact on flea infestation and must be considered in developing control programs.

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