Toxoplasmosis is a common parasitic infection in the world. Since increased free radicals and oxidative stress are reported in many parasitic diseases the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the oxidative stress in acute and chronic toxoplasmosis. RH strains of Toxoplasma tachyzoites were used in the present study. Twenty‐five female rats were infected with the parasite while 25 other rats were as the control group that received normal saline. Zero‐, 5‐, 7‐, 10‐, and 45‐day postinfection (DPI) blood samples were taken. Some parameters related to oxidant and antioxidants such as antioxidant enzymes, malondialdehyde, and total antioxidant capacity were measured. On day 7 after infection, GPX activity and GSH level were significantly increased and in the mentioned day the amount of total antioxidant capacity was significantly reduced. In other cases, there were no significant differences between the groups in different days. Overall, based on the results it seems that, on day 7 after infection, in infected rats responses to oxidative stress were triggered and led to decrease of total antioxidant capacity. Furthermore, glutathione was increased to cope with stress. It seems that probably antioxidant defense system entered the infection to the chronic phase and changed the parasites stage.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum infects a wide variety of wild and domestic animals and causes an emerging zoonotic tick-borne disease. There are no available data regarding the presence of A. phagocytophilum in camels (Camelus dromedarius). Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of A. pagocytophilum in Iranian camels. Whole blood of 207 camels from five geographical regions of Iran was tested for A. phagocytophilum using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nested PCR, and specific nested PCR based on 16S rRNA. The overall prevalence of infection in tested animals was 34.2% (71/207). Sex was not identified as a risk factor for A. phagocytophilum infection, but analysis revealed significant differences in age and region. In conclusion, Iranian camels can be potential reservoirs for A. phagocytophilum, and Iran must be considered an enzootic area for this infection as indicated by the high subclinical infection rate in camels.