Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are ectoparasites that infest livestock in every geographic region of the world and are vectors of several viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogens to both animals and humans. There is little information is available is about tick presence in Buffalo Bubalus bubalis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) in Iraq. The current study determined the species of ticks parasitizing Buffalo in some central and southern regions included: Baghdad (Al Fathelia), Karbala (Al-Hussainia), Wasit (Kut and Al-Suwairah), Al-Qadisia (Al- Diwaniyah, Al- Saniya, Al-Mihnawea, and Afak), Thi Qar (Al-Nasiriyah and Al-chibayish), Missan (Amara and Qalaat Salih) and Basrah (Al-Haretha, Al-Madena and Al-Deer). A total of 150 Buffalo were examined for ixodid ticks with an infestation rate 66.66%. A total of 172 Specimens of hard ticks were isolated including 104 (58.4%) males and 68 (39.53%) females. The current results revealed to eight species of ixodid ticks belong to the genus Hyalomma as follow: H. truncatum Koch,1844 (50.66%), H. excavatum Koch,1844 (24%), H. anatolicum Koch, 1844 (16%), H. marginatum Koch,1844 (8%), H. impeltatum Schulze & Schlottke, 1930 (8%), H. rufipes Koch,1844 (5.33%), H. scupense Schulze, 1919 (4%), H. dromedarii Koch,1844 (2.66%) respectively. The prevalence of these species in buffaloes was also discussed with previous studies in Iraq and the worldwide. As the current results suggested that buffaloes are considered a new host for three species of them in Iraq the following are: H. truncatum, H. impeltatum, and H. rufipes.
Salmonellosis in poultry is one of the most significant bacterial infections causing mortality, reduced production, and serious economic losses. This study aimed to study the molecular diversity among Salmonella isolates and investigate the epidemiological spread of these bacteria in broiler and layer chicken flocks in five different farms in Karbala, Iraq, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In total, 217 cloac a swabs were collected from the farms, out of which 129 and 88 swabs were taken from broiler and layer chickens. The samples were screened by PCR for S. enterica subsp. enterica using primers specific for the invA gene. Afterward, RAPD-PCR with uniplex or multiplex octamer primers was appli
... Show MoreThe trematode Plagioporus skrjabin iKowal, 1951 was recorded in this study for the first time in Iraq from intestine of Mystus pelusius
(Solander, 1794) which were collected from different locations along Tigris River near Al-Shawwaka region, Baghdad city. The description and measurements of this parasite as well as its illustration were given.
Abstract- Asymptomatic or clinically silent kidney stones are possibly serious because, in their expected passage, they may cause infection, obstruction and renal impairment. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of silent kidney stones in a sample of Baghdad population and consider how this value could affect the justification for a screening system. To our best knowledge, this is the first study of its kind conducted in Iraq. We investigated 714 consecutive patients who sustained an abdominal ultrasound at our hospital with further kidney screening. All these patients did not have clinical signs and symptoms of nephrolithiasis. Age, sex, the indication for ultrasound, the size, side, and the number of the disco
... Show MoreThe ciliate species isolated from midgut and hindgut of Rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Heyden, 1827), identified as Nyctotherus hardwickii was collected from many regions of Baghdad, Iraq. The current study deals with a description and comparison of the morphology and morphometric characters of this species for the first time in Iraq.
The fingerprinting DNA method which depends on the unique pattern in this study was employed to detect the hydatid cyst of Echinococcus granulosus and to determine the genetic variation among their strains in different intermediate hosts (cows and sheep). The unique pattern represents the number of amplified bands and their molecular weights with specialized sequences to one sample which different from the other samples. Five hydatitd cysts samples from cows and sheep were collected, genetic analysis for isolated DNA was done using PCR technique and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA reaction(RAPD) depending on (4) random primers, and the results showed:
... Show MoreDrought is a natural phenomenon in many arid, semi-arid, or wet regions. This showed that no region worldwide is excluded from the occurrence of drought. Extreme droughts were caused by global weather warming and climate change. Therefore, it is essential to review the studies conducted on drought to use the recommendations made by the researchers on drought. The drought was classified into meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and economic-social. In addition, researchers described the severity of the drought by using various indices which required different input data. The indices used by various researchers were the Joint Deficit Index (JDI), Effective Drought Index (EDI), Streamflow Drought Index (SDI), Sta
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