Rodent species No.of tested No. of Positive microscopy No. of Positive on culture media Leishmania species (isoenzyme & PCR) Cricetulus migratorius 23 5 3 L. infantum Mesocricetus auratus 4 3 3 L. infantum Meriones persicus 469 69 5 L. infantum   L. donovani LON50 Mus musculus 124 0 0 0 Rattus norvegicus 60 0 0 0 Total 680 77 11 L. infantum L. donovani

Table 4: Leishmania species isolates from rodents caught in northwest of Iran during 1998–2004.