Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C viruses are the major health problem in the worldwide. In the Middle East, the prevalence of HBV in general population with the chronic infectionsis 2-5%,whereas the prevalence of HCV is about 1% in Arabian Gulf countries. World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the risks of HBV and HCV transmissionas well as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through the transfusion of contaminated blood and blood products is high, because of the fragility of health services in these countries. Several viral diseases are transportby different modes like bloodtransfusion, sexual contact, and unsafe injections. The mostcommon blood-transmitted viruses are hepatitis B virus(HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV);which cause fatal and chronic disorders. The prevalence ofthese viruses varies in Asia and developing countries depending on nationality, geography and lifestyle, sex, race, and educational levels. For all these previous causes, thisstudydesigned to know the seroprevalenceof HBV, HCV and human retroviruses(HIV-1, 2) among inpatients and outpatients of Balad General Hospital in Saladin governorate in Iraq. The study conducted in Balad General Hospital. Subjects with hepatitis C, B viruses, and HIV recorded from January2017 to December 2017. The age of patients ranged from 6 to 70 years; and the total number of tested serum samples was 32,942 serum samples. The highest percentage of HBVprevalence was in July by using ELISA technique (11.1%) for outpatients followed by 15.40% for outpatients in May by using anti-HBV strip.While the highest percentage of HCV prevalence was recorded in July by using ELISA technique (11.73%) for outpatients followed by 14.76% for outpatients in May by using anti-HCV strip. The percentage of patients infected with HBV in both sexes (females and males) was higher than the percentage of patients infected with HCV (1.80%vs.0.57%, respectively). Also, the present study indicated the seroprevalence of HBV (anti-HBV) was 38.27% for female and 41.02% for male with age range 21-30 years, and this significantly higher than in HCV which thepercentage of the seropositive cases were 37.03% in female and 39.13% in male with age range 41-50 years.Therewere no significant differences betweenthe seroprevalences of eachof anti-HCV Ab,anti-HBV Ab and HBsAg,and only 2 cases (0.03%) were seropositive for HIV-1, 2. Although, the HBV and HCV in Iraq are a major problem for the community and viral infectious diseases;the current study revealed that Iraq has a low prevalence for HBsAg, HBV, HCV and HIV.
Background: Osteoporosis (OP) is a prevalent age-related condition that increases the risk of fracture and bone fragility, as result loss of bone mass as well as micro-architectural degradation of the bone, thereby reducing the mass and strength of bone. Human β-defensin (HBD-3) is ananti-inflammatory peptide andcrucial part of the human innate immune system. Giving early therapeutic intervention for OP requires an early diagnosis. Objectives: To evaluate the serum HBD-3 accuracy of diagnosis in patients with osteoporosis. Methods: The study was conducted in the National Joint Center at Yarmouk Teaching Hospital in Baghdad during September - October 2023. Eighty participants were recruited, all of whom had clinical examinations an
... Show MoreThe current research aims to identify the effectiveness of a computerized program in developing mathematical skills among the first cycle students in basic education schools in the Sultanate of Oman. The two researchers used the quasi-experimental approach on an intentional sample consisting of (40) male and female students at Al Kawakeb School for Basic Education (1-4). Two of the basic fourth-grade classes and then randomly distributing them into two groups, one is experimental (20) male and female students who followed the computerized interactive program, and the other is (20) male and female students followed the traditional way. On the other hand, its reliability has reached (0.81), and the results of the research have concluded th
... Show MoreThe current research aims to examine the effect of the rapid learning method in developing creative thinking among second-grade female students in the subject of history. Thus, the researcher has adopted an experimental design of two groups to suit the nature of the research. The sample of the study consists of (36) randomly selected students from Al-Shafaq Secondary School for Women, which are divided randomly into two groups. The first group represents the experimental; it includes (31) students who studied the subject of history using the quick learning method. The second group, on the other hand, is the control group, which consists of (32) students, who studied the same subject using the traditional way. Before starting with the exp
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontal diseases are inflammatory diseases affecting the supporting tissues of the teeth. One of the leading environmental factors that are closely related not only to the risk but also to the prognosis of periodontitis is smoking. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of smoking on periodontal health status and to measure the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in smokers and nonsmokers chronic periodontitis patients, also it aimed to test the correlation between the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and the clinical periodontal parameters. Materials and Methods: Five milliliters samples of un-stimulated whole saliva and full-mouth clinical periodontal recordings (plaque index, gingival index, bleeding on probing,
... Show More4 Blood Res 2018;53:314-319. Received on August 11, 2018 Revised on August 30, 2018 Accepted on August 30, 2018 Background Iron overload is a risk factor affecting all patients with thalassemia intermedia (TI). We aimed to determine whether there is a relationship of serum ferritin (SF) and alanine ami- notransferase (ALT) with liver iron concentration (LIC) determined by R2 magnetic reso- nance imaging (R2-MRI), to estimate the most relevant degree of iron overload and best time to chelate in patients with TI. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 119 patients with TI (mean age years) were randomly se- lected and compared with 120 patients who had a diagnosis of thalassemia major (TM). Correlations of LIC, as determined by R2-MRI, with SF
... Show MoreSystemic lupus Erythematosus is an autoimmune disease of unknown aetiology affecting multiple organ system. Reactive nitrogen and oxygen species are claimed to play a role in this disease. However, the potential of Nitrosative/Oxidative Stress to elicit an autoimmune, response remain till now largely unexplored in humans. This study was done to investigate the status and contribution of nitrosative/oxidative stress in Iraqi patients for systemic lupus erythematosus. Blood samples from 19 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and 19 age-and sex- matched apparently healthy controls were evaluated for serum levels of nitrosative/oxidative stress markers including nitric oxide, peroxynitrite and malondialdehyde. Nitric oxide levels were
... Show MoreBackground: Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that mostly involves the spine and sacroiliac joints. It is associated with a decreased quality of life. Biological medicines such as infliximab and its biosimilar are the mainstay treatments for active ankylosing spondylitis.
Objective: The study objective was to conduct a pharmacoeconomic study comparing the cost-effectiveness of the reference infliximab with its biosimilar in ankylosing spondylitis patients visiting public hospitals.
Subjects and Method: This is a two-center pharmacoeconomic study performed at two large teaching governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, which s
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