Clinico-pathological findings of Clostridium perfringens type D enterotoxaemia in goats and its hemolytic activity in different erythrocytes

The present investigation was conducted to study the effects of experimental Clostridium perfringens type D enterotoxaemia in teddy goats. Clinical signs started to appear after 30 min of experimental infection like anorexia, diarrhea, dehydration, frothing and dyspnea. Gross lesions consisted of severe congestion in tissues of varying intensity with enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes while histological examination revealed edema of lungs, kidney, and lymph nodes and to some extent in brain along with hemorrhages in lungs and intestines. Clostridium perfringens type D carrying alpha and epsilon toxin genes were amplified with amplicon size about 247 bp and 665 bp, respectively. Human erythrocytes showed the highest hemolysis, 68%, followed by mice, 57%, against culture supernatants. The percentage of hemolysis was significantly higher at 37[degree]C as compared to 25[degree]C except for rabbit and dog

Perinatal mortality in Azadi teaching hospital, Dohuk city, Iraq

Still birth and perinatal mortality has always been a major problematic issue in clinical practice. They are devastating experience for the parents specially the mother. Few local studies have addressed these problems. Estimation of the perinatal mortality rate and studying the major local etiological and predisposing factors in order to highlight the preventive strategies and form a base for future plans. A descriptive study was carried out for all perinatal deaths from 1st January to 31st December 2004 at Azadi teaching hospital in Dohuk city, Kurdistan region, Iraq. During the study period, the number of total births recorded was 10879. There were 427 perinatal deaths giving a perinatal mortality rate of 39.2 per 1000 births. The ratio of fresh stillbirths to macerated cases was 2/1 [126 and 60] respectively. The direct leading causes behind fresh stillbirths were placental abruption [25.4%], pre-eclampsia [16.7%], and congenital anomalies [14.3%]. The main causes of maceration were pre-eclampsia [33.3%], diabetes mellitus [21.6%] and congenital anomalies [20%]. Prematurity [46.9%], birth asphyxia [19.9%] and congenital anomalies [12.4%] were strongly associated with early neonatal deaths [241 cases]. A significantly higher risk of perinatal death was observed among women under 20 or over 40 years of age, grand-multiparity, low socioeconomic status, and poor antenatal care attendance. The profile of perinatal deaths among the studied group suggests the need for improvement in obstetric care, early referral, and availability of advanced neonatal care services including neonatal screening protocols