Aim: Rats are accused in disseminating many zoonotic diseases. This study aimed to isolate and identify bacteria from internal organs of rats captured in Baghdad City, Iraq. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 black rats (R. rattus) were trapped from different areas in Baghdad city. Rats were kept in individual plastic cages for 3 h before euthanizing. Deep pharyngeal swab, intestinal content, urine, and pieces of the liver and spleen, lung, kidney, and brain were obtained aseptically. The specimens were inoculated into peptone water and incubated at 37°C for 24 h for enrichment. A loopful of each specimen was then subcultured onto MacConkey Agar, Blood Agar, and Mannitol Salt Agar. CHROMagar O157 H7 and CHROMagar Listeria were used to detect Escherichia coli 157:7 and Listeria spp., respectively. Biochemical tests on analytical profile index, microscopic examination, and commercial kit for latex agglutination test for serotyping E. coli O157:H7 were used. Results: Mixed bacterial isolates were recorded as 116, 52, 36, 28, 18, 6, and 4 from intestinal contents, deep pharyngeal, liver and spleen, urine, lung, brain, and kidney, respectively. Microorganisms included E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter freundii, Proteus vulgaris, E. coli O157:H7, Enterobacter cloacae, Listeria spp., Klebsiella spp., Ochrobactrum anthropi, Aeromonas spp., Brucella spp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia fergusonii, Micrococcus spp., Morganella spp., Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas luteola, and Streptobacillus spp. The highest bacterial prevalence (88; 73.33%) was recorded for E. coli, where 68 isolates were identified from the intestinal contents. Of these, four isolates were E. coli O157:H7. Conclusion: Rats are important carriers and transmitters of a number of pathogens and can disseminate these microorganisms to humans and animals.
Land snails constitute an important group of mollusks distributed worldwide. This study reports on land snails found in Iraq. A survey of terrestrial gastropods was performed during their activity seasons in gardens, agricultural lands and nurseries in Iraq from March 2022 to September 2023. Fifteen terrestrial snails belonging to seven families were documented. The species Euchondrus michonii (Bourguignat, 1853) was identified and recorded based on several distinct conchological characters for the first time in Iraq. The recently collected specimens, along with those previously recorded in Iraq, were included in this checklist. Essential information on each species is also presented. As there is no previous checklist or study that
... Show MoreA general and accurate morphological study was carried out for the species Calotropis procera which belongs to the family Asclepiadaceae. The research included the phenotypic characteristics of the root, stem and leaves the leaves were studied morphologically and anatomically, Flowers, fruits and seeds, as well as the geographical distribution of the genus were studied also. In general, there are no previous taxonomic study of this genus under consideration, according to the available sources and it is the first one has been done in Iraq, perhaps Because of its low prevalence previously, where it was recently noticed its spread in last two to three years ago. Keywords: Apocynaceae, Apple Sodom, Poisonous Plant, Anatomy
Total of 170 samples were collected from Al-Chibayish Marsh reality in Dhi-Qar governorate southern of Iraq to study the epidemology of viral hepatitis in these areas and to detect the type of hepatitis viruses which include A ,B,C,D .The percentage of hepatitis A was 1.17% and most of them below age of ?10 (66.6%) while infection with hepatitis B account 5.29% and includes all age groups. There was no detected cases of hepatitis C,D. The laboratory study showed that the incidence of hepatitis B higher in male (4.11%) compared to female ( 2.35%)
The present study aims to isolate and identify ectoparasites, specifically hard ticks, that infest both domestic and wild rabbits. This research is motivated by the heightened sensitivity of rabbits to infestations by hard ticks, which are recognized as the primary vectors of certain blood-borne diseases, particularly Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF). The study areas were spread across five provinces in Iraq: Baghdad, Karbala, Wasit, Mosul, and Al-Anbar. A total of 85 hard ticks (42 male and 43 female) were infested by 57 rabbits (Leporidae Family), including 19 wild rabbits (hare) with an infestation rate of 100% and 38 domestic rabbits with an infestation rate of 18.42%. Total of infestation was 45.61%. The current results are the oc
... Show MoreThe antiviral activity of leaf extracts from Datura stramonium and tomato plants inoculated with TMV, combined with 20% skimmed milk, was investigated. A TMV isolate was confirmed using bioassay, serological, and molecular approaches and subsequently used to inoculate plants. Tomato plants, both pre- and post-inoculated with TMV, were sprayed with leaf extracts from either TMV-free or infected plants, alone or mixed with 20% skimmed milk. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using tobamovirus-specific antibodies and local lesion tests were conducted to assess antiviral activity based on virus concentration and infectivity in treated plants. The experiment followed a completely randomized design (CRD), and the Least Significant
... Show MoreThe present study included the collection of fresh samples of species of genus Oxalis and examined the anatomical characteristics of the stem, scape, petiole, leaf and pedicel