Author/Authors :
Choubdar, Nayyereh Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Oshaghi, Mohammad Ali Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Rafinejad, Javad Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Pourmand, Mohammad Reza Department of Pathobiology - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Maleki-Ravasan, Naseh Department of Parasitology - Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran , Salehi-Vaziri, Mostafa Department of Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers - Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran , Telmadarraiy, Zakkyeh Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Karimian, Fateh Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Koosha, Mona Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Rahimi-Foroushani, Abbas Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Masoomi, Safdar Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Arzamani, Kourosh Vector-Borne Diseases Research Center - North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran , Nejati, Jalil Department of Public Health - School of Public Health - Zahedan Unversity of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran , Karami, Mohsen Department of Parasitology - Faculty of Medicine - Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran , Mozaffari, Ehsan Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Salim-Abadi, Yaser Department of Health Services and Health Promotion - School of Public Health - Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran , Moradi-Asl, Eslam Department of Public Health - School of Public Health - Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran , Taghilou, Behrooz Zanjan Health Center - Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran , Shirani, Manouchehr Mamasani Health Center - Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract :
Background: The impact of environmental factors and host on Hyalomma spp. community structure and abundance in the main Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) foci of Iran is largely unknown.
Methods: Biotic and abiotic factors, including host, temperature, humidity, altitude, Köppen-Geiger climate types, season, and precipitation on Hyalomma spp. community structure and abundances in 11 provinces of Iran were investigated. Additionally, the possible infection of ticks with CCHF virus was evaluated using reverse transcription PCR technique.
Results: Species analyses demonstrated the presence of Hyalomma anatolicum, H. marginatum, H. dromedarii, H. asiaticum, H. detritum and H. schulzei in the study area. Hyalomma anatolicum was the dominant species in the southern and northern parts, whereas H. dromedarii was distributed mostly in central parts of the country. The highest tick infestation was recog-nized in hot season. Spatial variation in tick relative density was observed between habitat types where more ticks were col-lected in deserts, semi-deserts, and Mediterranean habitats. Except for H. dromedarii, which was more prevalent on camel (P= 0.044), there were no significant variations in the frequencies of other Hyalomma species on different hosts. Hyalomma ana-tolicum, H. dromedarii frequencies had significant positive and negative association with temperature and precipitation re-spectively. Also humidity has positive impact on H. asiaticum frequency.
Conclusion: Data presented here will help improve ecological models to forecast the distribution of Hyalomma spp. ticks, to evaluate the risk of CCHF and other tick-borne diseases, and to design proper vector control measures to suppress Hyalomma populations in Iran.
