prevalence and molecular aspects of human hookworms in guilan province, northern iran

Background: hookworm infection is one of the important neglected tropical diseases (ntd) in the world. it was previously more prevalent in the northern and southern parts of iran with a prevalence rate higher than 40% in some endemic regions; nevertheless, the infection rate has decreased to less than 1%. this study aimed to determine prevalence and molecular aspects of hookworm infections in rural inhabitants of fouman county, guilan province, northern iran methods: this cross-sectional study was performed in 31 villages of fouman district in guilan province, northern iran during 2015-2016. stool samples were collected from 1500 rural inhabitants and examined by formalin ethyl-acetate concentration as well as agar plate culture techniques. after treatment with albendazole, adult hookworms were isolated. following dna extraction, pcr amplification of its2-rdna region was performed and the product was sequenced, followed by genetic variation analysis. results: of 1500 samples, one case was morphologically diagnosed as n. americanus. in addition, molecular characterization verified the presence of n. americanus, showing more than 95% similarity with sequences of n. americanus present in genbank. the patient showed no clinical symptoms and a mild hypereosinophilia was the only laboratory finding observed. conclusion: a reduced prevalence of human hookworms was demonstrated within guilan province located in north of iran. the n. americanus originated from guilan had a high homology with the isolates found in japan, laos, malaysia, and australia.