BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) is an endemic disease in some areas of Iran. A cross- sectional study was conducted for sero-epidemiological survey of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Baft district from Kerman Province, southeast of Iran. METHODS Blood samples were collected from children up to 12 years old and 10% of adult population from Baft villages with a multi-stage randomiz...

Financial resources tend to be limited in schistosomiasis endemic areas, forcing program managers to balance financial and scientific considerations when selecting detection assays. Therefore, we compared the costs of using single stool Kato-Katz, triplicate stool Kato-Katz, and point-of-contact circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) assays for the detection of Schistosoma mansoni infection. Ec...

paracobitis vignai is a nemacheilid loach endemic to the sistan basin. it occurs in helmand river and its related reservoirs in sistan-va-baluchistan province in southeastern iran and probably in afghanistan. this species is currently endangered due to habitat loss or degradation, damming and droughts. therefore, this paper reviews the available data on taxonomy and distribution of p. vignai , ...

The species Cyanocyclas brasiliana (Deshayes, 1854) is endemic to South America and occurs in northern Brazil, the state of Amazonas, Pará Piauí. present study was carried out Parnaíba River estuary, Piauí, Brazil. objective this verify tolerance limit survival freshwater bivalve submitted an increasing salinity gradient under laboratory conditions. specimens (19.49 26.47 mm) were kept containe...

the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and distribution of chlamydia trachomatisgenotypes in shiraz, iran. two hundred twelve cervical swab samples were collected from women attendingshahid motahari polyclinic in shiraz, iran. the endocervical specimens were screened for c. trachomatis byplasmid pcr. genotyping was performed in c. trachomatis-positive samples by nested pcr ...

Sputum induction can aid tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis, but adult data from HIV-endemic environments are limited, and it is unclear how performance varies depending on the clinical context (in-patient versus outpatient), HIV status and whether patients are smear-negative or sputum-scarce. 696 adults with suspected smear-negative or sputum-scarce TB from Cape Town (South Africa) were referred for ...

A dedicated “Bioblitz” survey of the Ntinini Nature Reserve was organized and coordinated by Ezemvelo KwaZuluNatal (EKZN) Wildlife, during the period 16–18 November 2010. The main aim of the Bioblitz was to provide biodiversity data that could assist in assessing the necessity of a formal proclamation for the protection of the reserve, within the scope of the integrated Biodiversity Conservatio...

BACKGROUND Dengue is a potentially fatal acute febrile illness (AFI) caused by four mosquito-transmitted dengue viruses (DENV-1-4) that are endemic in Puerto Rico. In January 2010, the number of suspected dengue cases reported to the passive dengue surveillance system exceeded the epidemic threshold and an epidemic was declared soon after. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To characterize the ep...

In the 19th century, natural mummies of amphibians were discovered in Quercy Phosphorites. The specific collection site was never formally reported, which hampers precise dating these specimens. Still, name Bufo servatus erected based on external morphology one mummified A tomography a similarly preserved specimen revealed skeleton, soft tissues and gut contents. We analyze here holotype using ...