An indirect ELISA technique was used to determine the prevalence of infection in sera and milk samples among goats and sheepin Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Results of the present study shows that ...the prevalence of infection was higher in sera compared to milk samples among goats and sheep as follow: (6.3, 4.2%) and (8.9, 5.6%) respectively and there was no statistical significance difference in goats at P value =0.42, also there was no statistically differences at P value= 0.22. ELISA results also shows that the prevalence according to the age among goats and sheep were higher in animal aged > 2 years in both sera and milk samples were (7.5, 5.3%) and (11.3, 7%) respectively and there was no significant difference between age groups of goats and sheep by ELISA. The present study is the first study done to determine the prevalence of F. hepatica in both sera and milk samples among local goats and sheep. Continuously screening of sheep and goats for Fascioliasis and using of anthelmintic to control the infection in small ruminants is necessary
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.
Toxoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan zoonotic parasitic disease of mammals and birds; human infection occurs through consumption of raw or undercooked meat. Little was known about the infection rate of T. ...gondii among free range local chickens (Gallus domesticus) in Duhok province. Therefore, the present study was carried out to determine the infection rate in Duhok province by using ELISA (IgG) and conventional PCR. A total of 368 blood samples were collected from free range local chickens distributed in five different areas of Duhok province during the period from November 2016 to March 2017. The collected blood samples were from different sexes (hens and cocks) and from different age groups (less than 6 months and older than 6 months). The data found that the total infection rate was (84 / 368) 22.8% by ELSIA. The presence of the infection was confirmed by PCR and DNA sequencing. In this study, there were differences from area to area in the infection rates, the highest rate was reported in Semel district at 33.7% which was significantly (p
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.
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.
Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonotic diseases in human and animals. The disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. It is an economically important disease of livestock, especially sheep ...and goats. The present work aimed to diagnose toxoplasmosis in sheep using two methods, serological (ELISA) and molecular tools (PCR) and comparing the serological data with the molecular results to determine the sensitivity and the specifity of the molecular tools. The study was carried out at Duhok Research Center, University of Duhok. Ninety sex whole blood samples were collected from in aborted ewes in Duhok governorate during the period September 2013- September 2014.The samples were collected from different localities including Aqra, Dohuk district, Shikhan and Zakho The serological tests showed that22(22.91 %) of the samples were positive from examined sheep serum by ELISA, while 23(23.93%) by using PCR assay. PCR was performed on all DNA of sheep blood samples to amplify B1 gene as a target sequence. Good correlation between the results of PCR and ELISA were detected, there’s no statistically significant difference, It can be concluded that ELISA combined with the PCR technique is a recommended tool for accurate diagnosis of Toxoplasmosis but PCR is more specific for detection of T. gondii with sensitivity of 95.45 % and specificity of 97.29%.When taking the ELISA as a reference test. The results of PCR assay showed it’s important in the diagnosis of the carrier infected cases more than ELISA techniques.