BACKGROUND Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. Ticks may act as vectors, and many epidemiological studies aim to assess C. burnetii prevalence in ticks. Because ticks may also be infected with Coxiella-like bacteria, screening tools that differentiate between C. burnetii and Coxiella-like bacteria are essential. METHODS In this study, we screened tick specime...

The composition and seasonal changes of the fish assemblage in a coastal lagoon system in southeastern Gulf of California were assessed from December 2001 to July 2005. A total of 20,877 organisms belonging to 191 species and 47 families were analyzed. We determined that almost all the species inhabiting the system were found; however some rare species were not captured in our study. The majori...

BACKGROUND Anaplasmosis is an important issue for animal breeders in terms of economic losses as well as a health concern to human. Ticks are considered as the main vector of this disease. Lack of documented information about Anaplasma species in Iran was the scope of this study to determine the population of ticks and the presence of Anaplasma in ticks, domestic ruminants and also human beings...