Back ground: Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in the
middle and south of Iraq, it involves mostly infants. The
disease is observed mainly among rural areas that are far
from equipped medical centers. Therefore, there is a need
for anon- invasive, cost- effective, reliable, easily
available and fast method of diagnosis of this dngerous
disease.
Objective: The aim was to compare the validity and
predictive values of the recombinant K39 antigen (rK39)
test with that of the indirect fluorescent antibody test
(IFAT) test (the usual laboratory method) in the detection
of visceral leishmaniasis.
Methods: A Cross-sectional study was done in ALMansour Pediatric Hospital (in AL-Rusafa), and Central
Pediatric Hospital (in AL-Karkh) in Baghdad for 6
months duration (from the 1st of December 2004 to 30th of
May 2005). Children less than five years who suspected to
be infected with visceral leishmaniasis were selected and
investigated by IFAT test and rK39 dipstick strip.
Results: The validity of rK39 test when evaluated with
the standard methods IFAT test showed a sensitivity of
90.5%, specificity of 90.7%, predictive value positive of
77.9%, predictive value negative of 96.4% and 90.7%
accuracy.
Conclusions: The rK39 antigen strip test is valid in the
diagnosis of suspected children with visceral
leishmaniasis as the test is rapid, sensitive, and specific
Heart failure (HF) is characterized by family history and clinical examination combined with diagnostic tools such as electrocardiogram, chest x-ray and an assessment of left ventricular function by echocardiography. An early diagnosis of heart failure is still based on symptoms of dyspnea, fatigue and signs of fluid overload. Serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) is cardiac biomarker has emerged as potential predictor of heart failure. It is used as a sensitive biomarker in diagnosis and assessment severity of heart failure. This study assed the diagnostic value of (NT-pro BNP), in Iraqi children patients with heart failure and its correlation with LVEF% especially in emergency rooms of hospitals.Ninety (90) consecut
... Show MoreFever is a common illness in the pediatric age group ,the causes could be viral ,bacterial and fungal , this study was focused on bacterial pathogens as gram positive like Staphylococci, coagulase positive or negative ,Streptococci and gram negative like E-coli , Klebsialla ,Proteus, Pseudomonas, Burkhoderia , Acinetobacter and others like Pusturella ,E-alkalescendiaper, Haemophillus influenza and yeast like candida . Four thousand and seventy eight blood samples (4078)were collected in a period between January 2011 and the end of May 2012 at the child welfare hospital ,all the samples were cultured on suitable culture media and then biochemical tests were done using API-E 20 and sugar fermentation tests ,sensitivity
... Show MoreThe research falls in to three sections: the first section has two parts; the first one includes a general description of the research: its problem, aim, limitations, methodology, and the terminological definition. The second part presents historical background of the weekly school speeches in Iraq and their types. Section Two has two parts: the first is about the principles of writing weekly speeches, their elements, and principals, their conditions. As for the second part, it is about introducing four samples of weekly school speeches distributed as two taken from Al-karkh sector and two taken from Al-rusafa'a sector. The third section: analyzing the content of the sample and giving a short historical background abo
... Show MoreLeishmaniasis is a transmissible infection brought about by an obligatory intracellular protozoan from the genus Leishmania. It occurs worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions and can be burdensome in resource-constrained countries. The infection ranges in severity from mild cutaneous lesions to more severe and sometimes life-threatening visceral and distorting mucocutaneous sicknesses. Importantly, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is prevalent in the Middle East with a pooled prevalence of 12%. It imposes a significant health and socioeconomic burden
Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected disease in tropical countries, including Iraq. Several studies have sought to examine chemotherapies for leishmaniasis treatment but most of them are of toxic and/or undesirable side effect, therefore, the need for investigating new fewer toxic therapies is essential. Aim of study: In this study, the cytotoxic effect of Artemisinin (ART), a novel herbal compound, was screened against the two forms, promastigotes and amastigotes, of the Iraqi isolate of Leishmania tropica, the causative agent of Baghdad boil. Material and methods: Different concentrations (1000, 500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.6 and 7.8) µM of Artemisinin were screened to investigate the leishmanic
... Show MoreBackground: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected disease in tropical countries, including Iraq. Several studies have sought to examine chemotherapies for leishmaniasis treatment but most of them are of toxic and/or undesirable side effect, therefore, the need for investigating new fewer toxic therapies is essential. Aim of study: In this study, the cytotoxic effect of Artemisinin (ART), a novel herbal compound, was screened against the two forms, promastigotes and amastigotes, of the Iraqi isolate of Leishmania tropica, the causative agent of Baghdad boil. Material and methods: Different concentrations (1000, 500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.6 and 7.8) µM of Artemisinin were screened to investigate the leishmanicidal activity of th
... Show MoreDirect agglutination test was used to evaluate the immunogenicity of three different antigens inoculated in hamsters as one , two and three doses which were: Group (1) inoculated with autoclaved killed Leishmania tropica , Group (2) inoculated with BCG vaccine alone while Group (3) inoculated with mixed antigens (autoclaved killed Leishmania "AKL"+ BCG).(4) Control animals inoculated with phosphate buffer saline. The maximum level of antibody titers were evaluated in animal inoculated with one , two or three dose of mixed antigens (320 , 640 and 1280) respectively when it compared with animals inoculated with corresponding doses of AKL antigen (80 , 160 and 320) respectively. While the minimum level of antibody titers were observed in ani
... Show MoreBackground: Leishmaniasis is important public
health problem owing to its impact on morbidity
and mortality and difficulties in application of
effective control measures.
Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the
using of impregnate bed nets in the control of
leishmaniasis.
Methods: The study was conducted throughout
the years 2004 and 2005, in Diala Governorate
(about 60km north-east Baghdad). This is the first
study in Iraq for evaluation of the impregnated bed
net in control of leishmaniasis. Two villages were
selected to achieve this aim. The nets were
distributed for the first village to be used by their
population. The second village was served as
control.
Results: The
... Show More