M R Abai

Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehrān, Ostan-e Tehran, Iran

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Publications (18)13.17 Total impact

  • Article: First detection of Leishmania infantum in Phlebotomus kandelakii using molecular methods in north-eastern Islamic Republic of Iran.
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    ABSTRACT: Shirvan district in north-eastern Islamic Republic of Iran is a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis. This study aimed to identify the vector(s), the parasite and the species composition of sand flies in the district during July-September 2009 using polymerase chain reaction techniques. In all, 2088 sand flies were collected from 3 villages. Nine sand fly species were identified: Phlebotomus kandelakii (Shchurenkova), P. major (Annandale), P. halepensis (Theodor), P. papatasi (Scopoli), P. sergenti (Parrot), P. longidactus (Parrot), P. caucasicus (Marzinovsky), Sergentomyia sintoni (Pringle) and S. sumbarica (Perfil'ev). P. sergenti and P. kandelakii were the most prevalent Phlebotomus species at 31.3% and 10.0% respectively. Of 59 female P. kandelakii, 2(3.4%) were naturally infected with L. infantum. This is the first finding of natural infection of P. kandelakii by L. infantum in this region suggesting P. kandelakii may be the vector of L. infantum in the area although it is the second most prevalent phlebotomine species.
    Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ 04/2012; 18(4):387-92.
  • Article: Anopheline species composition in borderline of Iran-Azerbaijan.
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    ABSTRACT: Malaria is still one of the most important health-problems in the world and is endemic in Iran. Since 1994, after collapse of former Soviet Union, a new threat of malaria importation emerged from those countries into the northern Iran. This work was carried out to provide further evidence on the status of anopheline species composition, the malaria parasite species, and natural infectivity of mosquitoes distributed in Pars-Abad district, on the borderline of Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran. Mosquitoes were collected from May to December 2008 in anopheline seasonal activity and were identified at the species level. The genus- and species-specific primers against Plasmodium ssrDNA gene were used for specific amplification on female mosquito head+thorax. Members of the Anoheles maculipennis complex were identified by sequence analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer II (ITS2-rDNA). Morphological character-based identification showed that out of 1455 anopheline female specimens, 1121 (77%) were of A. maculipennis s.l. and 334 (23%) were of Anoheles hyrcanus. Molecular analysis of the species complex indicated the presence of Anoheles sacharovi 984 (67.6%) and A. maculipennis 137 (9.4%) in the region. None of themosquito's head-thorax was found to be naturally infected by malaria parasite. Results of this study, particularly high dominance of A. sacharovi, suggest a potential risk of malaria epidemic in the region, and the need for a continuous epidemiological surveillance.
    Acta tropica 07/2011; 119(1):44-9. · 2.22 Impact Factor
  • Article: Ecology of malaria vector Anopheles culicifacies in a malarious area of Sistan va Baluchestan province, south-east Islamic Republic of Iran.
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    ABSTRACT: A study was done of the bionomics, insecticide susceptibility and irritability status of Anopheles culicifacies in Sistan va Baluchestan province. Sampling was performed to determine the following parameters: species identification, seasonal activity, adult and larval susceptibility tests, irritability tests, anthropophily index and sporozoite rate. An. culicfacies adults were susceptible to all tested pyrethroid insecticides. An. culicfacies started to appear indoors in late May, showing 2 peaks in June and September. Fenitrothion, cyfluthrin and permethrin had the least irritancy effect and DDT the highest. Only 2/860 females tested were infected with Plasmodium spp. (sporozoite rate: 0.25%). ELISA testing of 250 blood meals derived from night-biting collections of female mosquitoes from humans and cows revealed that only 12.5% were human-fed.
    Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ 05/2011; 17(5):439-45.
  • Article: First report on Anopheles fluviatilis U in southeastern Iran.
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    ABSTRACT: Anopheles fluviatilis James, one of the malaria vectors in Iran, is a complex of at least three cryptic species provisionally designated as species S, T and U. These species are morphologically indistinguishable at any stage of their life cycle and can be identified only by the examination of species-specific fixed inversions in the polytene chromosomes. Recently, sequence analysis of 28S D3 and second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) regions of ribosomal DNA has revealed 7 haplotypes of S, U, T1, T2, Y, X and V within the complex. Identification of the cryptic species of the complex is of paramount importance in a disease control program due to contrasting differences in their vectorial efficiency, preference for feeding on humans and resting behavior. In this study we analyzed the sequence of 28S D3- and ITS2-rDNA loci to identify the species composition of the An. fluviatilis complex in Jiroft and Chabahar districts, two of the most important endemic malaria foci in southeastern corner of Iran. The ITS2 sequence analysis revealed that all of the An. fluviatilis specimens were identical to the Y/T2 haplotype of An. fluviatilis T, whereas D3 sequence analysis revealed presence of species T in Jiroft and species U in Chabahar district. It is the first report of species U in Iran.
    Acta tropica 10/2010; 117(2):76-81. · 2.22 Impact Factor
  • Article: Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) fauna of the Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf
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    ABSTRACT: Mosquitoes of four Iranian islands (Abu-Musa, Hormuz, Larak and Qeshm), Hormozgan Province of southern Iran, were surveyed between 200520. Madison DR, Madison WP. 2005. MacClade 4.08 [Internet]. Sunderland (MA): Sinauer Associates, Inc. http://macclade.org/index.html View all references and 200731. Tamura , K , Dudley , J , Nei , M and Kumar , S . 2007 . MEGA4: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) software version 4.0 . Mol Biol Evol. , 24 : 1596 – 1599 . [CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®]View all references. In 521 specimens collected, 14 species belonging to four genera were identified: Anopheles culicifacies Giles sensu lato (s.l.), An. dthali Patton, An. fluviatilis James s.l., An. stephensi Liston, An. turkhudi Liston, Culex bitaeniorhynchus Giles, Cx. perexiguus Theobald, Cx. pseudovishnui Colless, Cx. quinquefasciatus Say, Cx. sitiens Wiedemann, Cx. theileri Theobald, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus Giles, Culiseta longiareolata (Macquart) and Ochlerotatus (= Aedes) caspius (Pallas) s.l. This is the first record of all of these species on the islands. Cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) barcode sequences were used to confirm the taxonomic identity of An. stephensi, Cx. quinquefasciatus and Oc. caspius s.l. from the islands and mainland of Hormozgan Province, with genetic isolation noted in both Oc. caspius s.l. and Cx. quinquefasciatus samples collected in Abu-Musa Island. Morphological anomalies in island specimens of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. pseudovishnui are discussed.
    Journal of Natural History. 04/2010; 44(15-16):913-925.
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    Article: Designing of a laboratory model for evaluation of the residual effects of deltamethrin (K-othrine WP 5%) on different surfaces against malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi (diptera: culicidae).
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    ABSTRACT: Deltamethrin plays an important role in controlling malaria vectors, and is used in indoor residual spraying and manufacture of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets. The residual activity of deltamethrin (K-othrine WP 5%) @ 25 mg/m(2) was studied in laboratory conditions on different surfaces. The surfaces were made artificially with different building materials such as mud, plaster, cement and wood in the laboratory. The surfaces were mounted inside petri-dishes (diam: 20 cm) and wood surface was prepared separately. The prepared surfaces were attached to the walls and deltamethrin was applied using standard Hudson pump sprayer with a discharge rate of 757 ml/ min or 0.2 gal/min. The spraying was conducted at standard rhythm as recommended by WHO. After application all the sprayed surfaces were transferred into the special wooden boxes designed for this purpose. The surfaces were maintained at laboratory conditions. The WHO's recommended bioassay kit and method was used during this study. Bioassays on Anopheles stephensi Liston showed that the persistence of deltamethrin on different surfaces (>70% mortality) was around 4 months on plaster (Mortality = 77+/-6.2%), 2 months on mud (76.9+/-6.8%), 4.5 months on cement (79+/-3.2%), 4 months on wood (71.7+/-6.8%) and 4 months on filter papers (82.3+/-5.4%). The results of this study on residual effects of deltamethrin WP 5% (25 mg/m(2)) are highly concordant with two field bioassays carried out in a malarious area at south-eastern Iran. This method can be replaced by the field bioassay tests which are time consuming and costlier.
    Journal of vector borne diseases 12/2009; 46(4):261-7. · 1.18 Impact Factor
  • Article: Distribution and ecology of mosquitoes in a focus of dirofilariasis in northwestern Iran, with the first finding of filarial larvae in naturally infected local mosquitoes.
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    ABSTRACT: A study of the distribution and ecology of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Ardebil Province of northwestern Iran, with special reference to the known dirofilariasis focus in Meshkinshahr County, was carried out in July-August 2005 and April-October 2006. In total, 17,533 adult mosquitoes and 3090 third- and fourth-instar larvae were collected on 14 occasions and identified using morphological characters and DNA sequence data. Twenty species belonging to seven genera were found: Anopheles claviger (Meigen), An. hyrcanus (Pallas), An. maculipennis Meigen, An. pseudopictus Grassi*, An. sacharovi Favre, An. superpictus Grassi, Aedes vexans (Meigen)*, Coquillettidia richiardii (Ficalbi)*, Culex hortensis Ficalbi, Cx. modestus Ficalbi, Cx. pipiens Linnaeus, Cx. theileri Theobald, Cx. torrentium Martini*, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus Giles, Culiseta longiareolata (Macquart), Cs. annulata (Schrank)*, Cs. subochrea (Edwards), Ochlerotatus caspius (Pallas) s.l.* (= Aedes caspius sensu auctorum), Oc. geniculatus (Olivier)* (= Aedes geniculatus sensu auctorum) and Uranotaenia unguiculata Edwards (asterisks indicate new occurrence records for the province). The most prevalent species in adult catches were An. maculipennis (52%), Cx. theileri (45%) and Cx. hortensis (1%); the most prevalent species caught as larvae were Cx. theileri (27%), Cx. hortensis (21%) and An. maculipennis (19%). Anopheles maculipennis, Cx. pipiens and Cx. theileri were most widely distributed in the province. The occurrence of Cx. torrentium in Iran is verified based on differential characters of fourth-instar larvae. Anopheles maculipennis and An. sacharovi of the Maculipennis Group were identified from their diagnostic ITS2 sequences. For the first time, cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences were obtained from Iranian specimens of An. hyrcanus, An. pseudopictus, Cx. theileri and Oc. caspiuss.l. Culex theileri and An. maculipennis were found naturally infected with third-stage (infective) larvae of Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy) and Setaria labiatopapillosa (Alessandrini) (Spirurida: Onchocercidae), respectively, for the first time in Iran.
    Medical and Veterinary Entomology 07/2009; 23(2):111-21. · 1.91 Impact Factor
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    Article: Molecular data on vectors and reservoir hosts of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in central Iran.
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    ABSTRACT: Due to the increasing number of positive cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis with occurrence of new foci, a study was carried out to investigate on vectors and reservoirs of the disease in the Shahrood district, central Iran during 2005-2006. Sandflies and rodents were collected using sticky papers and Sherman live traps respectively More than 1700 sandflies were collected and identified, mainly Phlebotomus papatasi species. RAPD-PCR analysis of sandflies showed that 10% of P. papatasi and 4.2% of P. caucasicus were naturally infected with Leishmania major. Two species of rodents, potential reservoirs, Rhombomys opimus (92.5%) and Nesokia indica (7.5%) were trapped in the district. Microscopy identification from rodents confirmed that 91.9% of the Rhombomys opimus were positive to amastigotes. Species identification of isolated parasites revealed Leishmania major DNA in the infected Rhombomys using RAPD-PCR technique. This epidemiological data highlight the importance of the disease in the region and could help people involved in control programs.
    Bulletin de la Société de pathologie exotique 01/2009; 101(5):425-8.
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    Article: Comparative performance of imagicides on Anopheles stephensi, main malaria vector in a malarious area, southern Iran.
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    ABSTRACT: Jiroft district has subtropical climate and prone to seasonal malaria transmission with annual parasite index (API) 4.2 per 1000 in 2006. Anopheles stephensi Liston is a dominant malaria vector. The monitoring of insecticide susceptibility and irritability was conducted using discriminative dose as described by WHO. The IV instar larvae were collected from different larval breeding places and transported to the temporary insectary, fed with Bemax and then 2-3 days-old emerged and sugar-fed adults were used for susceptibility and irritability tests employing WHO methods and kits to organochlorine (OC) and pyrethroid (PY) insecticides. Mortality rates of field strain of An. stephensi were 91.3 +/- 0.14 and 90 +/- 0.47% to DDT and dieldrin, respectively at one hour exposure time but was susceptible to all pyrethroids tested. The average number of take-offs per min per adult was 2.09 +/- 0.13 for DDT, 0.581 +/- 0.05 for dieldrin, 1.85 +/- 0.08 for permethrin, 1.87 +/- 0.21 for lambda-cyhalothrin, 1.53 +/- 0.13 for cyfluthrin, and 1.23 +/- 0.1 for deltamethrin. Currently, deltamethrin is being used for indoor residual spraying against malaria vectors in the endemic areas of Iran. The findings revealed that the main malaria species is susceptible to all pyrethroids including deltamethrin, permethrin, cyfluthrin and lambda-cyhalothrin but was tolerant to DDT and dieldrin. This report and the finding are coincided with results of previous studies carried out during 1957-61 in the same area. Irritability tests to OC and PY insecticides revealed the moderate level of irritability to DDT compared to pyrethroids and dieldrin. Monitoring for possible cross-resistance between OC and PY insecticides should come into consideration for malaria control programme.
    Journal of vector borne diseases 12/2008; 45(4):307-12. · 1.18 Impact Factor
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    Article: Effect of washing on the bioefficacy of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) against main malaria vector Anopheles stephensi by three bioassay methods.
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    ABSTRACT: The use of pyrethoid impregnated bednets is one of the main malaria vector control strategies worldwide. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the bioefficacy of bednets impregnated with various pyrethroids after repeated washings. The effectiveness of bednets impregnated with permethrin, deltamethrin, bifenthrin, etofenprox and long-lasting bednets like OlysetNet and PermaNet which were provided by WHOPES was evaluated. The tests were carried out according to the WHO-recommended methods. Malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi was exposed to impregnated bednets for 3 min and the mortality was measured after 24 h recovery period. Knockdown was measured as well. Results of three methods of bioassay tests showed that between two LLINs, PermaNet was more efficient than OlysetNet. Results of ITNs exhibited that deltamethrin and permethrin were more effective than etofenprox and bifenthrin as impregnants. Findings of this study will be useful for WHO, local authorities and people who wish to use different pyrethroid-impregnated bednets for malaria vector control.
    Journal of vector borne diseases 06/2008; 45(2):143-50. · 1.18 Impact Factor
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    Article: Comparative study on the efficacy of lambdacyhalothrin and bifenthrin on torn nets against the malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi as assessed by tunnel test method.
    Journal of vector borne diseases 10/2006; 43(3):133-5. · 1.18 Impact Factor
  • Article: Anopheles peditaeniatus (Leicester) new to the Iranian mosquito fauna with notes on Anopheles hyrcanus group in Iran.
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    ABSTRACT: Anopheles peditaeniatus is reported for the first time in Iran. Species of the Hyrcanus Group previously reported in Iran, including An. hyrcanus, An. pseudopictus, and An. nigerrimus, are reviewed.
    Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 04/2006; 22(1):144-6. · 0.91 Impact Factor
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    Article: Larval habitats of main malaria vectors in Hormozgan province and their susceptibility to different larvicides.
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    ABSTRACT: Hormozgan Province is located in the south of Iran bordering the Persian Gulf. In this area, malaria is still considered a major health problem. In the province, eleven species of Anopheles were identified: An. pulcherrimus, An. sergenti, An. apoci, An. multicolor, An. subpictus, An. turkhudi, An. fluviatilis, An. stephensi, An. d'thali, An. superpictus, and An. culicifacies, among which only the last five species play an important role in malaria transmission. Larval habitats of malaria vectors varied from clean to brackish water, as well as sewage water, under palm trees, marshland, pools, pounds, drainage, irrigation canals, wells, and water containers. Malathion, fenitrothion, chlorpyrifos, and temephos were tested against An. stephensi, An. fluviatilis and An. d' thali larvae at diagnostic doses recommended by WHO. The results showed susceptibility to malathion, chlorpyrifos and temephos, but fenitrothion was not able to yield 100% mortality.
    The Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health 02/2004; 35 Suppl 2:22-5. · 0.60 Impact Factor
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    Article: Enhanced Tolerance of House Mosquito to Different Insecticides due to Agricultural and Household Pesticides in Sewage System of Tehran, Iran
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    ABSTRACT: Different insecticides are being used for household and agricultural pest control in the capital city of Iran, Tehran. An investigation was carried out in order to evaluate the susceptibility level of laboratory and field collected mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatusin to different insecticides. Field strain was collected from sewage system of the city. Adult females were subjected to the diagnostic dose of different insecticides as recommended by WHO. Results showed that laboratory strains only exhibit resistant to DDT 4%, and susceptible to other insecticides. By using WHO criteria, field strain is resistant to DDT 4%, bendiocarb 0.1%, and tolerant to malathion 5%, permethrin 0.75%, deltamethrin 0.05%, lambdacyhalothrin 0.05% and etofenprox 5%. The field strain is still susceptible to cyfluthrin 0.15%.This findings indicate that routine use of pesticides in household and agricultural pest control may cause resistant in the wastewater mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus.
    Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering. 01/2004;
  • Article: Epidemiological study in a new focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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    ABSTRACT: An outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Sabzevar county prompted this study of the epidemiology and the ecology of vectors and reservoirs. Examination of 541 schoolchildren showed rates of 9.4% for scars and 5.9% for ulcers. Among 807 inhabitants of 4 villages, 10.4% had scars and 3.0% had active lesions. The most highly infected age group was 0-4 years with a rate of 5.9%. A total of 12 849 sandflies representing 7 species were collected in the study area. Leptomonad infection was found in Phlebotomus papatasi, P. caucasicus and Sergentomyia sintoni. Parasites from man, P. papatasi and Rhombomys opimus, were isolated and characterized as Leishmania major. Based on this survey, this is an epidemic of zoonotic CL, with R. opimus the main reservoir host, and P. papatasi the main vector.
    Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ 08/2003; 9(4):816-26.
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    Article: Factors involved in the re-emergence of malaria in borderline of Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.
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    ABSTRACT: The borderline of Iran with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey had been considered a malaria free region. However, in 1991, after the independence of the southern countries of the former Soviet Union, a new threat of malaria importation emerged from those countries into Iran, which was affected by serious epidemics of Plasmodium vivax malaria. Various factors can affect malaria resurgence in this region, such as socioeconomic conditions, especially the displacement of massive populations from war-stricken zones in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Accordingly, in some parts of West-Azerbaijan, East-Azerbaijan, Ardebile and Gilan provinces of Iran, several malaria foci were observed. Construction of dams, people traveling from neighboring countries to Iran, urbanization, irrigation projects, lack of malaria vector control, shortage of drug supplies are also major factors in malaria outbreaks in the region. An investigation was carried out on the bionomics of the main malaria vectors in the region. The result showed that Anopheles sacharovi plays an important role in malaria transmission and An. maculipennis and An. superpictus can be secondary vectors. Larvae were found in slow flowing water and channels with water plants. They were more abundant in June. The parity rate of blood-fed females was high in May. An. sacharovi is active from May to October with two peaks of activity, which occur in August and October. The population of this species is higher in animal shelters with a zoophicity of 95%. About 90% of bites took place in the second half of the night. A CDC light trap can also catch this species. Susceptibility testing using the WHO-recommended diagnostic doses of insecticides, revealed that this species is resistant to DDT and dieldrin, but susceptible to malathion, fenitrothion, propoxur, bendiocarb, lambdacyhalothrin, permethrin, cyfluthrin, etofenprox and deltamethrin.
    The Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health 02/2003; 34 Suppl 2:6-14. · 0.60 Impact Factor
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    Article: Epidemiological study in a new focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
    Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ 10(4-5):688.
  • Article: Enhanced Tolerance of House Mosquito to Different Insecticides due to Agricultural and Household Pesticides in Sewage System of Tehran, Iran
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    ABSTRACT: Different insecticides are being used for household and agricultural pest control in the capital city of Iran, Tehran. An investigation was carried out in order to evaluate the susceptibility level of laboratory and field collected mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatusin to different insecticides. Field strain was collected from sewage system of the city. Adult females were subjected to the diagnostic dose of different insecticides as recommended by WHO. Results showed that laboratory strains only exhibit resistant to DDT 4%, and susceptible to other insecticides. By using WHO criteria, field strain is resistant to DDT 4%, bendiocarb 0.1%, and tolerant to malathion 5%, permethrin 0.75%, deltamethrin 0.05%, lambdacyhalothrin 0.05% and etofenprox 5%. The field strain is still susceptible to cyfluthrin 0.15%.This findings indicate that routine use of pesticides in household and agricultural pest control may cause resistant in the wastewater mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus.
    Iranian Journal of Environmental Health, Science and Engineering (ISSN: p-ISSN: 1735-1979) Vol 1 Num 1.