The effect of Toxoplasma gondii infection in women on some biochemical and hormonal parameters in Duhok province, Iraq

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is protozoal parasite that cause Toxoplasmosis, which is an important protozoal disease that infect more around billion people globally. Toxoplasmosis transmitted by two way in human; the horizontal transmission by accidental and ingestion of oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii through contaminated water or food, and the second rout is vertical transmission by placenta from mother to the baby. The aim of the current study was to detect the effect of toxoplasmosis on kidney function, liver function enzymes and gonadotropin hormones like follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing hormone (LH).Methods: A total of 101 (71 samples and 30 controls) of blood samples were collected from women, which were tested for seropositivity against anti-toxoplasma antibodies like immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM) by ELISA. After that the biochemical test (alanine aminotransferase-ALT, Aspartate transaminase-AST, Alkaline phosphatase-ALP, Urea and Creatinine) and hormonal assay (LH and FSH) and achieved for all samples.Results: Results revealed a slight increase in the level of both urea and creatinine in infected women compared with the control group. A Pearson’s Coefficient Correlation test was used to examine the positive correlations between ALT and Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), LH and FSH at p value (<0.001 for both). Preliminary studies indicate that the level of LH and FSH in infected women is lower compared to control healthy group. Finally, current study indicated that toxoplasmosis is effect on the levels of studied biochemical and hormonal parameters.Conclusions: Current study shows a significant increase in the levels of biochemical and hormonal parameters in women infected with toxoplasmosis

Sero-prevalence of Chlamydophila abortus in goat farms in Duhok Province-Iraq

Chlamydophila abortus is still considered one of the most common causes of reproductive defeat in goats all over the world. In Duhok province, no data for the presence of Chla-mydophila abortus infection has been reported. This is a preliminary study on a seroprevalence of C. abortus antibodies by using ELISA test from goat’s flocks in Duhok province. Total of 92 female goats, that were ≥ 12 months old, were randomly selected from three flocks (Zakho, Amedy, and Summer districts) of 250 total animal populations in each flock in these three different districts in Duhok province from March to April 2013. From each individual animal, 5 ml of blood was collected from the jugular vein and put them in EDTA tubes for harvesting serum. Out of 92 dairy goats examined, 11.9% were seropositive for C. abortus antibodies. The highest percentage was reported to be in Summer district, then followed by Zakho district. The lowest rate was reported to be in Amedy district. The high percentage of seropositive goats found in this study reflect that this pathogen is highly available in this areas and need further researches to identify the pathogen on a wide country level on many animal species with excellent quality control programs to eradicate this pathogen

Multidrug-resistant and clonal dispersion of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli from ready-to-eat meat products in Duhok province, Iraq

This research evaluated the effluent proportion of E. coli and ETEC in RTE meat products, characterized the isolated strains' clonal relatedness, and determined their antibiotic resistance. 130 RTE products were gathered from various restaurants and street fast food vendors in Duhok and Zakho Province. The Isolates of E. coli identified by culture methods were confirmed as ETEC by multiplex PCR of the identified virulence genes. ERIC-PCR was applied to establish the clonal relationships between strains. The disk diffusion method performed the susceptibility of antibiotics on the isolated ETEC. Out of 130 examined samples, 39 (30%) isolates of E. coli and 16 (12.3%) ETEC were detected. Pan-fried burgers were revealed to be the most frequent contaminated sample type, with both E. coli and ETEC 50% and 23.3%, respectively (P≤0.05). A high clonal dispersion (12 genotypes) was observed among the isolated ETEC strains. A strong genetic linkage was discovered between a few isolates retrieved from the same sample type and within the strains from the same geographic source area. A high antibiotic resistance rate was observed with total resistance to Amoxicillin/clavulanate, Clarithromycin, Doxycycline, Erythromycin, and Clindamycin. Isolates from burger samples showed a higher resistance rate when compared with the other sample types (P≤0.05). Multi-drug resistance was noticed in all ETEC isolates. RTE meat products sold in our area have a high rate of clonally heterogeneous carrying multi-drug resistant ETEC and may constitute a significant public health risk