Dung beetles (family Scarabaeidae) are one of the largest families of beetles worldwide. Due to biological behavior of these arthropods, they are considered to play an important role in the life cycle of some helminths. In the present study, dung beetles collected from cattle pastures in rural areas of Ardabil province, north-west of Iran were examined for infection with larval stages of helminths. According to the results, nematodes of 2 genera were identified including Rhabditis and Gongylonema. The more common species was Rhabditis sp. which was found in 9 species of beetles. Out of 15 different species of dung beetles, Copris lunaris was the only scarabaeid to be found naturally infected with the larval stages of Gongylonema sp. Our new findings introduce C. lunaris as a potential biological vector for transmission of Gongylonema sp. to vertebrates in the surveyed region.
Animals ; Arthropod Vectors/*parasitology ; Beetles/*parasitology ; Humans ; Iran/epidemiology ; Larva/physiology ; Rhabditoidea/isolation & purification/physiology ; Spirurida Infections/epidemiology/parasitology/*transmission ; Spiruroidea/isolation & purification/*physiology

OBJECTIVETo determine the effects of environmental characteristics of larval habitats on distribution and abundance of anopheline mosquitoes in Bashagard county, a malarious area in southeast of Iran.

METHODSLarvae were collected monthly using the standard dipping method and identified using a morphological-based key. Environmental characteristics of the larval habitats were recorded. Water samples were taken from habitats during larval collection for physico-chemical characterization. Statistical analyses were performed.

RESULTSIn total 5 150 anopheline larvae from 36 larval habitats were collected and identified. They comprised of six species: Anopheles culicifacies (29.36%), Anopheles moghulensis (25.20%), Anopheles dthali (18.02%), Anopheles superpictus (17.24%), Anopheles turkhudi (5.17%) and Anopheles stephensi (5.01%). The most common larval habitats were natural and clear water bodies such as riverbeds with sandy substrates and still water. Furthermore, the anopheline larvae were abundant in permanent and full sunlight habitats without vegetation and algae. Larval density was positively correlated with water temperature. Chemical characteristics including conductivity, total alkalinity, sulphate and chloride had significant effects on distribution and abundance of anopheline species.

CONCLUSIONSThe result of this study indicates a correlation between some environmental characteristics and anopheline larvae abundance which can be considered for effective planning and implementing malaria elimination program in Iran.

Objective: To evaluate the susceptibility of Anopheles stephensi (An. stephensi) Liston, the main malaria vector in southern Iran, to WHO recommended insecticides. Methods: Larvae of An. stephensi were collected from three different larval habitats in both urban and rural area of Bandar Abbas city and one rural area in Rudan county southern Iran. WHO standard method was used for evaluation of adult and larval mosquito susceptibility. Bendiocarb, permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, deltamethrin as insecticide and temephos and chlorpyriphos as larvicide were used at the diagnostic dosages recommended by WHO. Results: Findings of this study showed all larval populations of An. stephensi were completely susceptible to temephos and candidate for resistance to chlorpyriphos. Adult mosquitoes in rural areas of Bandar Abbas city were resistant to pyrethroid and carbamate insecticides. Conclusion: Comparison of the results of this survey with previous studies indicates that the resistance to pyrethroids and carbamates in this malaria endemic region is increasing. Wide use of pesticides in agriculture is certainly effective in increasing resistance. The inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration in health and agriculture seem to be necessary to manage insecticide resistance in malaria vectors.

Objective To determine the wash resistance of Olyset

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the insecticidal effect of diatomaceous earth (DE) against adults and nymphs of Blattella germanica.

METHODSThis cross sectional study has been done on the laboratory strain of German cockroaches. Two stages, nymph and adult, were exposed to six dose rates of the DE, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 g/m(2), at 24, 48 and 72 h exposure period. Mortality (number of dead cockroaches) was assessed after 24 h. Other exposed specimens were transferred to the beakers contained food and water for counting the retard mortality rate after 1 week.

RESULTSIncreasing in dose rates of DE increased mortality rate, so that the lowest and highest mortality rates were observed in 2.5 and 25 g/m(2), respectively. The results of the statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the lethality of 50% of DE plus water on the German cockroach nymphs.

CONCLUSIONSDue to the resistance of German cockroach against organochloride, organophosphorus, carbamate and pyrethriodes insecticides, it is suggested to use DE for insect's control.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the susceptibility status of Anopheles maculipennis (An. maculipennis) against the major insecticides used in the health sectors in West Azarbaijan Province, Northwestern Iran. METHODS: Unfed 3-5 days old adult females of An. maculipennis were collected across the West Azarbaijan Province and were subjected to evaluation of their susceptibility following World Health Organization recommended protocol against six insecticides (permethrin, deltamethrin, propoxur, bendiocarb, malathion and dieldrin) belonging to four different classes. RESULTS: In this study, 916 specimens of An. maculipennis were examined against the insecticides which indicated that An. maculipennis was tolerant to permethrin, deltamethrin and dielderin, but displayed resistance against propoxur, bendiocarb and malathion. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of resistance in An. maculipennis could be attributed to the agricultural landscapes, agricultural pesticides used and the exposure of the mosquitoes to insecticides. Logical cooperation is needed between the agriculture and health sectors to ensure the judicious use of pesticides in each sector and the management of probable resistance.

Objective: To determine the significance of temperature, rainfall and humidity in the seasonal abundance of Anopheles stephensi in southern Iran. Methods: Data on the monthly abundance of Anopheles stephensi larvae and adults were gathered from earlier studies conducted between 2002 and 2019 in malaria prone areas of southeastern Iran. Climatic data for the studied counties were obtained from climatology stations. Generalized estimating equations method was used for cluster correlation of data for each study site in different years. Results: A significant relationship was found between monthly density of adult and larvae of Anopheles stephensi and precipitation, max temperature and mean temperature, both with simple and multiple generalized estimating equations analysis (P<0.05). But when analysis was done with one month lag, only relationship between monthly density of adults and larvae of Anopheles stephensi and max temperature was significant (P<0.05). Conclusions: This study provides a basis for developing multivariate time series models, which can be used to develop improved appropriate epidemic prediction systems for these areas. Long-term entomological study in the studied sites by expert teams is recommended to compare the abundance of malaria vectors in the different areas and their association with climatic variables. Abbasi Madineh 1 Deparment of Medical Entomology & Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran; Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center,Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz Rahimi Foroushani Abbas 2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Jafari-Koshki Tohid 3 Molecular Medicine Research Center; Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz Pakdad Kamran 4 Department of Parasitology & Mycology, Paramedical School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Vatandoost Hassan 5 Deparment of Medical Entomology & Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Hanafi-Bojd Ahmad 6 Deparment of Medical Entomology & Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran WHO. Malaria report 2019. Geneva: WHO; 2019. 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Objective To determine the larvicidal activities of petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol fractions of roots and fruits extracts of Astrodaucus persicus from Apiaceae family against malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi (An. stephensi). Methods Twenty five third instar larvae of An. stephensi were exposed to various concentrations (10–160 g/L) of fractions and were assayed according to World Health Organization protocol. The larval mortality was calculated after 24 h treatment. Results Among tested fractions, the highest larvicidal efficacy was observed from ethyl acetate fraction of fruits extract with 50% and 90% mortality values (LC