IDENTIFICATION OF COLLECTED COCKROACHES FROM AHVAZ HOSPITALS, SOUTH- WEST OF IRAN Abdughani Ameri 1 , Babak Vazirianzadeh 2 , Behzad Ehdaei 3 , Hossein Motamedi 4 , Zeinab Arab Sadeghabadi 5 , Mohsen Ghanbari 3 , Nersi Nasirabadi 4,6 and Akbar Asmar 7 1 Department of Drug and Food Control Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. 2 Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, and Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Ahvaz Jundishapour University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. 3 Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. 4 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran. 5 Department of Microbiology Sciences and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Fars, Iran. 6 Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapour University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. 7 Faculty of Para-Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapour University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. e mail: babakvazir@yahoo.co.uk (Accepted 10 June 2013) ABSTRACT- Cockroaches act as an important mechanical or biological vector for lots of pathogenic microorganism agents. The aim of this study was to identify the major cockroach species in hospital environments in Ahvaz, capital of Khuzestan province, Iran. Totally, 7 hospitals and one private clinic of Ahvaz were investigated to collect the cockroaches using hand catch method. Totally, 76 cockroaches were collected from different parts of Ahvaz hospitals and one private clinic in the present study. They were identified as 4 species of cockroaches. From the data of this study it is concluded that the major collected cockroach species from Ahvaz hospitals are similar to the same studies of Iran. Key words : Identification, cockroach, Ahwaz, Iran. J. Exp. Zool. India Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 709-710, 2013 ISSN 0972-0030 INTRODUCTION There are more than 4000 known species of cockroaches over the world, however less than 40 of them are very close to human dwellings. Cockroaches, Blattodea order insects, act as an important mechanical or biological vector for lots of pathogenic microorganism agents, including bacteria, protozoa, worms, fungi, and viruses amongst humans and animals (Tatfeg et al, 2005; Salehhzadeh et al, 2007; Vazirianzadeh et al, 2009; Adeleke et al, 2012; Nejati et al, 2012). They can transmit different microorganisms, special medically important bacteria in the hospitals (Fakoorziba et al, 2010). Therefore, reducing and eradication of their population have been considered as one of the most medical important insects around the world. One of the most important steps to do an approach of pest management is the identification of pest species. Because each species has own ecology and biology that effect the kind of selected control measures (FAO, 2013). However, a few studies have been performed on identifying cockroaches from hospitals of Iran, but there is not available a comprehensive study regarding cockroaches of Ahvaz hospitals (Fakoorziba et al, 2010; Vahabi et al, 2011). The aim of this study was, therefore, to identify the major cockroach species in hospital environments in Ahvaz, capital of Khuzestan province. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was carried out in Ahvaz (31°192 133 N 48°402 093 E) as a part of the central coordination Khuzestan (31.3273°N 48.6940°E), capital of Khuzestan, a south-western province of Iran from during April 2013 to July 2013. Totally, 7 hospitals and one private clinic of Ahvaz were investigated to collect the cockroaches. The hand catch method (using glove) was used to collect the cockroach samples from different parts of Ahvaz hospitals. The samples were transported into sterile containers to the medical entomology lab, school of public health, Ahvaz Jundishapour University of Medical Sciences. They were identified using Cochran and Department of Entomology and Nematology University of Florida keys by species level (Cochran, 1999; Department of Entomology and Nematology of University Florida, 2013).