A retrospective study of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Iraq.

Background: CCHF is transmitted via ticks biting and directly by contact with tissue or blood of infected patients or viremic animals. This study intends to determine the occurrence of CCHF in Iraq between 2015 and 2019. Methods: This study was designed as a retrospective and descriptive cross-sectional study. It was approved the occurrence of CCHF in Iraq with relation to some epidemiological and demographic data reported in the Iraqi Communicable Diseases Control Center (CDC)/zoonotic diseases section between 2015-2019. Results: Out of 206 suspected cases, only 17 were diagnosed as CCHF with a total fatality ratio of 52%, 25%, and 80% in 2015 and 2018 respectively. However, no mortality was reported during 2016, 2017, and 2019. The mean age of the patients was 33 years± 18 SD, in males mainly (76%). Moreover, the risk groups were 29 %, 23 %, 18 % 12 %, and 6 % for butchers, animal dealers, gainers, both housewives and students and children respectively. Conclusion: Strict precautions and precise surveillance should be implemented to control the disease and protect the community by improving the diagnosis and treatment of CCHF. The authors recommend another future study to detect the genotyping and sequencing of CCHFV in Iraq.

Biochemical and histopathological changes in livers of rats poisoned with aluminum phosphide and treated with carrot extract.

The experimental studies of Aluminum Phosphide (AP) poisoning in rats revealed several clinical and pathological signs such as hemorrhage, sinusoidal dilatation, bile stasis, centrilobular necrosis, Kupffer cell hyperplasia, infiltration by mononuclear cells, and fatty infiltration in the liver tissues. This paper aimed to show the impact of carrots on the toxic effect of AP on the livers of adult rats (female). To investigate some biochemical and histopathological changes effects of AP in rats, sixty white female rats were equally divided into four groups, the first group (G1) was administered orally with 3mg/kg/ body weight of AP, the second group (G2) was orally treated with AP and 10% carrot extract at the same time. The third group (G3) administrated 10% carrot extract only. The fourth (G4) group was the negative control and was treated with distilled water only. The experiments continued for a month at the animal house of the Veterinary Medicine College of Baghdad University. The results revealed that high levels of liver enzymes and bilirubin were induced in G1 with decreasing total protein levels. The pathological examination revealed the presence of marked proliferation of Kupffer cells in G1 livers. However, the G2 group showed slight infiltration of lymphocytes in sinusoids. The pathological changes in the livers of G3 group showed slight cloudy swelling in hepatocytes compared with the normal texture of hepatocytes in G4. The data of this experiment showed that treatment with carrot extract significantly decreases the elevation in the level of liver function enzymes in animal poisoned with AP. In addition, treatment with carrot extract reduces the severe damage in the hepatic tissue that occurred in rats treated with AP only. In general, it could be concluded that treatment with carrot extract provides a remedial effect against the hepatotoxicity that is resulted from exposure to AP.

Histopathological and immunological study of rats liver hydatid cysts isolated from human, sheep, goat and cows.

In endemic places, liver hydatidosis is a life-threatening health issue. Many consequences such as hepatomegaly, infiltration with inflammatory cells and histopathological changes might arise as a result of liver hydatidosis. This study aimed to look into pathogenic changes in the livers of the rats that experimentally infected with hydatid cysts. These hydatid cysts were isolated from naturally infected humans, sheep, goats and cows. Liver hydatid cysts were collected from the main abattoir of Al-Muthanna province while human hydatid cysts were collected from Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Al-Muthanna province. The hydatid cysts were grossly and histology examined for inspection of hydatid cysts. The in vivo experiments were done by injection of hydatid protoscoleces or sand (fluid) in rats intraperitoneally. The results showed that the gross signs were same in all infected livers which range from paleness, hepatomegaly, hemorrhage and calcification. The hydatid cysts isolated from sheep and goat livers were highly fertile compared to others isolated from humans and cows. Injection of hydatid protoscoleces and hydatid fluid isolated from sheep and goat livers in rats induced the highest immune response compared to that isolated from humans and cows. The liver sections of rats that were injected with human, goat and sheep hydatid protoscoleces and fluids showed hyperplasia in the bile duct, aggregation nonnuclear cells with congested blood vessels. While liver sections of rats were received goat hydatid fluid, cow hydatid protoscoleces and hydatid fluid showed normal liver tissue. These findings suggested that the immunogenicity of hydatid materials is different according to the host and the component of hydatid cysts.

Prevalence and seasonal pattern of enteric viruses among hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis in Samawah, Iraq.

Almost all of the deaths happening under the age of 5 occur in the developed countries of Africa and Asia. This study included children admitted to the surgical care, aged 6 months to 5 years, who suffered from acute gastroenteritis and received treatment at Samawah, Iraq, from December 2018 to December 2019. Test results detected different types of rotaviruses, adenoviruses, astroviruses using ELISA. 56.6% of the infections were attributed to a viral pathogen. The main cause was attributed to rotavirus and adenovirus. The causative agents of diarrheal diseases in 28.1% of cases are rotaviruses, in 17.05% - adenoviruses, in 11.43% - astroviruses. Viral mono-infections are detected more often than mixed infections. Viral intestinal infections are characterized by seasonality and rise in the cold season, with a peak incidence of rotavirus infection in April, adenovirus infection in November, and astrovirus infection in December.