Antibodies to Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in domestic animals in Iraq: a seroepidemiological survey.

A seroepidemiological survey to determine the prevalence of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus and its circulation among animals in Iraq was carried out in 1980. Sera were collected from 2205 animals of different species in three different faunal areas of the country. Sera were tested by complement fixation test for quantitative determination of antibodies to CCHF virus. Among 769 sheep tested 443 (57.6%) were positive; 279 of 562 (49.64%) goat sera; 122 of 411 (29.28%) cattle sera; 148 of 252 (58.73%) horse sera; 23 of 99 (23.23%) camel sera and 5 of 35 (14.28%) sera collected from unclassified small mammals in Iraq have had antibodies to CCHF virus.

Congo/Crimean haemorrhagic fever in Iraq.

Congo/Crimean haemorrhagic fever was recognized for the first time in Iraq in 1979. The first case was reported on 3 September 1979 and since then a further 9 patients have been investigated. Eight patients gave a history of previous contact with sheep or cattle, while 2 patients, a resident doctor and an auxiliary nurse, acquired their infections in hospital by direct contact with patients. The causal virus was isolated from patients' blood and postmortem liver specimens. The virus isolates were found to be closely related if not identical serologically to members of the Congo/Crimean haemorrhagic fever virus group. Eight of the patients had no epidemiological relationship to one another and lived in widely separated areas around Baghdad and Ramadi (110 km to the west of Baghdad).

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in Iraq: isolation, identification and electron microscopy.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus was isolated for the first time in Iraq from the blood of three patients. It caused a cytopathic effect in lamb kidney and BHK-21 cell cultures. The virus particles were spherical, enveloped and had 90 nm in diameter similar particles were found in ultrathin sections of the liver from two fatal cases. The isolated virus proved to be antigenically closely related to CCHF virus.

Pollen and mold survey of Baghdad, Iraq.

There are few known adequate or accurate pollen surveys of the various climates of the Middle East. Certain of these countries, such as Iraq and Iran, have tested alleged "hay fever plants" but such surveys have been primitive and are based on searching for the families of hay fever plants of other nations within their boundaries. No sophisticated studies exist. This study is the result of a recent visit to Baghdad where the authors performed an admittedly rough plant survey, particularly identifying the flora indigenous to the area. Subsequently a roughly spaced mod survey was undertaken. The authors hope that a thorough pollen survey will eventually be made in these countries to enable physicians to better care for their allergic patients.

An outbreak of methylmercury poisoning due to consumption of contaminated grain.

An outbreak of methylmercury poisoning took place in the fall and winter of 1971-72 in Iraq. Six thousand five hundred and thirty cases were admitted to hospitals throughout the country and 459 died in hospital. The outbreak was the result of eating homemade bread prepared from wheat treated with a methylmercury fungicide. The wheat was intended for planting purposes only. Signs and symptoms of poisonings in adults indicate that the major site of action of this form of mercury is the central nervous system. Severe brain damage also resulted from prenatal exposure when the mother ingested large amounts of the contaminated bread. The frequency of signs and symptoms in an exposed population was found to be related to the estimated maximum blood levels, i.e., the concentration in blood at the end of exposure. A small percentage of the population exhibited a significant increase in complaints of paresthesia at maximum blood levels in the range of 240 to 480 ng Hg/ml. At higher blood levels a greater proportion of the population complained of paresthesia and other signs and symptoms became apparent.