Acanthamoeba, a free-living amoeba, is widely distributed in the environment, water sources, soil, dust, and air. It can cause keratitis in contact lens wearers with poor hygiene and also fatal granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE) in immunocompromised hosts. The aim of this study was to gain some insights into the distribution and genotypes of the potentially pathogenic species of Acanthamoe...

BACKGROUND The protozoan parasites Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia are known to occur widely in both raw and drinking waters. They are two of the causative agents of waterborne outbreaks of gastroenteritis throughout the world. In the present study, a PCR assay and FA were developed for detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cyst in environmental samples. METHODS We have detected C...

In the present study, water samples from 3 stations of Kor river, Iran were analyzed for seasonal fluctuation of physico-chemical parameters, i.e. air and water temperature, dissolved oxygen, BOD, COD, total nitrogen, total hardness, pH, alkalinity, acidity, total dissolved solid and water current. Effect of physico-chemical parameters on surface water density of rotifers was also studied. Duri...

BACKGROUND Geothermal waters could be suitable niches for thermophilic free living amoebae including Naegleria and Hartmannella. Ardebil Province, northwest Iran is popular for having many hot springs for recreational and health purposes activity. The present research is the first molecular based investigation regarding the presence of Naegleria and Hartmannella in the hot springs of Ardebil Pr...

Exposure to inorganic arsenic mainly occurs via drinking water, however because of potential changing of water sources during time, there is not consensus over the best route for assessment of past exposures to arsenic. At present study, we compared three potential sources of data in this regard. Thirty nine human hair samples were taken from persons residing in three villages of Bijar city in ...