Plague epidemic in sumerian empire, Mesopotamia, 4000 years ago

This research work concerns the realization and verification that an epidemic of plague had in reality occured 4000 years ago in Sumer, present day Iraq, that affected that population in a catastrophic way and had lead to the decline and fall of the Sumerian Empire. This important conclusion same after verifying the translations and transliterations of thousands of clay tablets which was made available by scholars and international academic agencies. Of course there was no mention clearly of the disease as we know now but there was a clear description of various aspects of the disease including signs and symptoms, epidemic occurrence and effects on the people and propagation through place over time which may have reached a pandemic proportions. It was concluded that such an epidemic could be the main factor in the declining of the Sumerian Empire. The epidemic itself could be a ring in the chain of plague epidemics propagated through place in history and known nowadays as the black death

Burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis among under five years children at Al-Alwaiya paediatric hospital

Rotavirus is the main cause of diarrhea in <5 years children causing high rates of hospitalizations and high mortality. To estimate the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis among less than five years children attending Al-Alwaiya Pediatric Hospital. To examin the validity of ELISA and Latex screening tests and to find out the concordane rates. Across sectional study involved under five years[1-59months] children with acute gastroenteritis attending Al-Alwaiya Pediatric Hospital for the period from 1[st] of January 2008 to 31[st] of May 2008. The questionnaire used depended on WHO protocol of the National Rotavirus Gastroenteritis Surveillance Program. LATEX and ELISA tests were used for diagnosis. The period of study included two seasons: Winter and Spring. Stool samples of 342 children with acute gastroenteritis were investigated by general stool examination, stool culture, LATEX and ELISA tests for the presence of any parasite, bacteria and/ or rotavirus antigen respectively. Rotavirus was detected in 162[47.4%] of children with acute gastroenteritis either by LATEX, ELISA or both. Total concordance rate between the two tests was as high as 85.4%. Females were 61[37.7%] and males were 101[62.3%]. Age group mostly affected was [>6-12] months which was [31.4%]. Rotavirus cause 47.4% of acute gastroenteritis cases of the studied sample with no significant statistical difference between rotavirus and other causes of gastroenteritis regarding demographic features [except for gender, more in males], clinical features, and type of treatment and course of disease [except time of onset].Concordance rate between ELISA and Latex was found to be high confirming their validity

Does gender confound risk factors for actue under 40 years of age? a case control study

Studies have shown that gender has an effect on acute myocardial infarction [AMI]. The current study concentrated on those under 40 years of age. Little research has been done on this age group in Iraq. The effect of gender on fatality due to AMI was studied. In addition, the confounding effect of gender on known risk factors was studied. to assess the effect of gender on risk factors of AMI in patients under 40 years of age. a case control study was conducted in Ibn Al Nafis Cardiology Hospital in Baghdad during the period from May to December 2000. All cases of AMI 40 years of age and under were studied. A total of 48 cases, 40 males and 8 females were admitted to the hospital and included in the study. Cases were diagnosed as AMI only with ECG changes and/or enzyme changes suggestive of the disease. Both typical and atypical histories were included. A control group was selected from the outpatient department of the same hospital. The controls were matched with the cases as closely as possible in terms of age and sex. AMI was excluded in the controls using the same criteria. An interview of all cases and controls using a validated questionnaire was carried out. Main Outcome Measures included distribution of cases compared to controls in terms of age and gender. Case fatality by gender was studied. The effect of gender was measured on the risk factors studied. males were more affected in the younger age group than females. Increasing age, in general, was found to have a positive correlation with the number of cases admitted [Pearson's rho=0.943, p=0.057]. Younger age group seemed to have a protective effect against fatal outcome of the disease. Current smoking was found to have a significant effect unconfounded by gender [adjusted Mantel- Haenszel weighted OR=3.3 with a 95% confidence limits of 1.16-9.63]. High serum cholesterol [>250 mg/dl] showed a significant effect unconfounded by gender [OR=7.93, 95% confidence interval 1.73-62.04]. Low density lipoproteins [LDL] showed significantly higher values in cases compared to controls [F=11.29, p=0.0001], and high density lipoproteins [HDL] showed significantly lower values in cases [F value=2.67, p=0.023]. In both LDL/HDL and the total cholesterol TC/HDL ratios, the cases showed significantly higher values than the controls [F value = 8.51 and 4.91 respectively, p value=<0.0001 for both]. Family history was unconfounded by gender. [Adjusted OR = 3.76, 95% CI 1.18-12.86]. fatality associated with AMI in those under 40 years of age affected males more than females. Gender did not appear to confound risk factors for AMI including current smoking, high cholesterol levels, high levels of LDL, low levels of HDL, and family history. These are important risk factors in patients under 40 years of age irrespective of gender

Efficacy of BCG vaccination in prevention of tuberculous meningitis in Iraq

to evaluate the efficacy of BCG vaccination in the prevention of tuberculous meningitis and in reducing mortality among those affected by the disease. the study included the analysis of information in the hospital records of 283 tuberculous meningitis cases admitted to Ebn-El-Khateeb Hospital during the period from 1989 to 1998. Comparison was made with 527 cases admitted to the same hospital with diseases other than tuberculosis or tuberculous meningitis. The controls were matched for age and sex and for a ratio of greater than 1:1 controls to cases. BCG in Iraq under the current conditions had a significant level of efficacy [OR=0.57, 95% Confidence Interval=0.42 to 0.78] in the prevention of tuberculous meningitis. Stratified analysis showed a significant effect of BCG in lowering mortality of tuberculous meningitis cases that had been vaccinated compared to non-vaccinated cases. The mortality in the non-vaccinated cases was significantly higher than vaccinated cases. [Standardized OR=2.30 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.19 to 4.92]. Conclusions: the use of BCG vaccination in Iraq has been shown to be efficacious in preventing tuberculous meningitis and in lowering mortality due to this disease. Its usage is recommended