Dear Editor

I would like to draw your attention to “Marrara syndrome”, a food borne parasitic infection induced by Lingutula serrata. As we know, the name of Marrara syndrome is originated from Marrara, a popular meal in Sudan prepared form raw liver and lung of sheep or goat. High infection rate of L. serrata in human population of some areas of Sudan is attributed to the consumption of this meal. According to the current scientific database, L. serrata is more prevalent in some African and Asian countries such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iran compared with the other areas of the world. Moreover, consumption of raw or undercooked edible offal is a common habit in some parts of these regions. So, populations of these countries are at relatively high risk of infection. Molecular techniques are the best ways to study this issue. Since molecular epidemiology of L. serrata is still unknown, the reasons for such high prevalence in domestic animals and consequent food of animal origin are not clear yet. On the other hand, it is not still known if the isolated nymphs pertaining to edible offal of different hosts are exactly the same or not. So, it seems that the first step to achieve more scientific information about this question is to study more about molecular epidemiology of the nymphs isolated from edible liver or lung of animals. Therefore, since the L. serrata is a problematic hazard in some African and Asian countries, native researchers should study more about molecular analysis of this food borne parasite.