Rodents are reservoirs and hosts for several zoonotic diseases such as plague, leptospirosis, and leishmaniasis. Rapid development of industry and agriculture, as well as climate change throughout the globe, has led to change or increase in occurrence of rodent-borne diseases. Considering the distribution of rodents throughout Iran, the aim of this review is to assess the risk of rodent-borne diseases in Iran. We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Magiran databases up to September 2016 to obtain articles reporting occurrence of rodent-borne diseases in Iran and extract information from them. Out of 70 known rodent-borne diseases, 34 were reported in Iran: 17 (50%) parasitic diseases, 13 (38%) bacterial diseases, and 4 (12%) viral diseases. Twenty-one out of 34 diseases were reported from both humans and rodents. Among the diseases reported in the rodents of Iran, plague, leishmaniasis, and hymenolepiasis were the most frequent. The most infected rodents were Rattus norvegicus (16 diseases), Mus musculus (14 diseases), Rattus rattus (13 diseases), Meriones persicus (7 diseases), Apodemus spp. (5 diseases), Tatera indica (4 diseases), Meriones libycus (3 diseases), Rhombomys opimus (3 diseases), Cricetulus migratorius (3 diseases), and Nesokia indica (2 diseases). The results of this review indicate the importance of rodent-borne diseases in Iran. Considering notable diversity of rodents and their extensive distribution throughout the country, it is crucial to pay more attention to their role in spreading infectious diseases for better control of the diseases. This review showed that approximately half of the known rodent-borne diseases have been reported in Iran, half of which were reported both in humans and rodents. Most of the diseases were bacterial and parasitic. Plague, leishmaniasis, and hymenolepiasis were the most frequent diseases among rodent populations. Also, this review showed that among the rodent species, three commensal ones—R. norvegicus, M. musculus, and R. rattus—play an important role in the transmission of diseases to humans in Iran. Considering repeated reports of many of these diseases in humans and rodents, and the notable diversity and extensive distribution of rodents throughout Iran, it is crucial to pay adequate attention to rodents as a source of zoonotic infectious diseases in the country.

Our aim in this study was to further the understanding of the taxonomic relationships and the evolutionary history of grey voles (subgenus

Introduction: Kurdistan Province in Iran is a historical focus for plague and tularemia. This study aimed at assessing the current status of these two foci by studying their rodent reservoirs. Materials and Methods: Rodents were trapped and their ectoparasites were collected. The genus and species of both rodents and ectoparasites were determined. Serological analyses of rodent blood samples were done by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for plague and by standard tube agglutination assay for tularemia. Rodent spleen samples were subjected to bacterial culture, microscopic examination, and real-time PCR to search for active plague or tularemia infection. Results: During this study, 245 rodents were trapped, of which the most abundant genera were Apodemus (40%), Mus (24.49%), and Meriones (12.65%). One hundred fifty-three fleas, 37 mites, and 54 ticks were collected on these rodents. The results of all direct and indirect tests were negative for plague. Serological tests were positive for tularemia in 4.8% of trapped rodents. Discussion: This study is the first report on the presence of tularemia infection in rodents in Western Iran. Since Meriones persicus is a known reservoir for plague and tularemia, and this rodent carried plague and tularemia vectors in Marivan and Sanandaj districts, there is a real potential for the occurrence of these two diseases in this region.

Recent water voles (genus Arvicola) display a prominent morphological diversity with a strong ecotypical background but with unclear taxonomic associations. We provide a novel synthetic view on the evolutionary history and the current taxonomic richness in the genus. Our molecular reconstruction, based on a 1143-bp-long sequence of cytochrome b and a 926-bp interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (irbp) confirmed the monophyly of four species (amphibius, sapidus, monticola and italicus) recognized thus far, and retrieved a new deeply divergent lineage from West Iran. Genetic divergence of the Iranian lineage (>9.0%) is inside the range of interspecies distances, exceeding the interspecies divergences between the remaining Arvicola species (range, 4.3–8.7%). The oldest name available for the Iranian phylogroup is Arvicola persicus de Filippi, 1865, with the type locality in Soltaniyeh, Iran. The molecular clock suggests the divergence of A. persicus in the Early Pleistocene (2.545 Ma), and the current radiation of the remaining species between 1.535 Ma (Arvicola sapidus) and 0.671 Ma. While A. sapidus possibly evolved from Arvicola jacobaeus, a fossil ancestor to A. persicus is unknown. The aquatic life-style of Mimomys savini, a direct ancestor to some fossil Arvicola, is retained in recent stem species A. sapidus and A. persicus, while a major shift toward fossorial morphotype characterizes the terminal lineages (amphibius, italicus and monticola). We suggest that habitat-dependent morphological plasticity and positive enamel differentiation in Arvicola amphibius widened its ecological niche that might trigger a range expansion across c. 12 million km², making it one of the largest among arvicolines.