Background/Objective:Cervical cancer ranks the second among the most common gynecologic cancers. This study was established to determine the distribution of cervical HPV genotypes among different Pap readings in Duhok/Iraq. Methods:Between January and September-2016, HPV-DNA was tested in 64 women. Genotyping was carried out by the hybridization reverse blot technique. Cervical smears were taken, performed by ThinPrep technique and stained by Pap stain. Results:Twenty six (40.6%) cases were positive for HPV, 12 (46.2%) in normal and 14 (53.8%) in abnormal Pap smears. 39 (19 high-risk and 16 low-risk) genotypes were identified. The high risk group comprised 6 HPV16, 4 HPV18, 2 HPV66, 2 HPV52, 2 HPV39, 1 HPV56, 1 HPV31 and 1 HPV45. The 16 low risk strains encompassed 4 HPV6 strains, 4 HPV71, 2 HPV54 and 2 HPV83, HPV11, HPV61 HPV84, and HPV62. Mixed infections were described in 4 women (6.25%), limited to the NILM, ASC-US and LSIL smears. They included variable admixtures of 7 high risk genotypes, HPV39 (both copies), HPV66 (both copies), HPV52, HPV31, HPV45 and 6 low risk strains: HPV83, HPV6, HPV11, HPV54, HPV62 and HPV71. Conclusions:The higher frequency of HR-HPV than the LR-HPV with identification of 4 mixed cases indicates that our women are at risk of developing cervical cancer. Detection of HR-HPV in NILM and ASC-US smears with restriction of some strains to these 2 categories highlights the great value of HPV genotyping as a surrogate test to pick up unscreened women at risk of developing cervical malignancy particularly when a proper screening program is absent.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESHelicobacter pylori is a Gram negative bacteria that causes peptic ulceration and gastric adenocarcinoma. H pylori virulence factors, such as cagA and dupA, are important to study in populations as they contribute to disease risk. This study aimed to look at the distribution of the cagA and dupA genes in H pylori strains isolated from patients suffering from gastroduodenal diseases in Kurdistan region, Iraq.DESIGN AND SETTINGSA cross-sectional study conducted between June 2011 and January 2012. Biopsies were collected from the Endoscopy Department in Duhok and Sulaimania hospitals, Kurdistan region, northern Iraq.PATIENTS AND METHODSUpper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy examination was performed and 4 gastric biopsies (2 from the antrum and 2 from the corpus) were obtained from 204 patients. H pylori positivity was examined by CLO test; then the association between disease status and virulence factors was assessed by polymerase chain reaction.RESULTS154 (75%) of our samples were found to be H pylori + by CLO test. Endoscopic diagnoses for those who were positive were as follows: peptic ulcer disease (PUD) including duodenal ulcer, 45; gastric ulcer, 23; and no ulcer (NPUD), 86. The overall prevalence rates of cagA and dupA were 72.7% and 18.8%, respectively. While a significant association between cagA and PUD was observed (P ≤ .017; OR=0.4; CI=0.18–0.85), no relationship between dupA and PUD could be seen.CONCLUSIONThese data suggested that the presence of cagA may be a predictor of clinical outcome in Kurdistan region, northern Iraq.

No abstract

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major etiological agents causing acute and chronic liver disease worldwide with significant morbidity and mortality. The high genetic variability of HBV is reflected by eight genotypes (A to H), each with a particular geographical prevalence.Objectives: The study was conducted to find out HBV genotypes in chronic hepatitis B- (CHB) carriers in association with serological markers of HBV.Methods: This work was carried on from March to, December 2012 in Duhok/Iraq and enrolled 134 HBsAg positive carrier cases. recruited to Central Public Health Lab. Specific primers PCR technique was used to detect HBV genotypes. The carrier cases were screened for markers of HBV infection by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Automated machine for quantitative determination of ALT was used.Results: The carrier cases were 91 males (67.9 %), 43 females (32.1 %), and their age range was 10-87 year old (mean=31.4 SD± 13.3). Among the studied patients 133(99.2%) were found to have genotypes D including 91(67.9%) males and 42(31.3%) females and only one female patient carried genotype B (0.8%). Anti-HBc(total), IgM anti-HBc, HBeAg and Anti HBeAb were detected in rates of 100%,0%,50%and 46.9 % respectively. The patient with genotype B had positive HBe Ag, negative HBeAb and normal ALT level.Conclusion: This study revealed that hepatitis B virus genotype D is the main genotype in Duhok/ Iraq followed by genotype B. High percentage of CHB patients with genotype D are HBeAg positive. Most of CHB patients with high ALT level had positive HBeAg rather than negative HBeAg.

Human Papilloma virus infection is the fundamental reason for the development of ano-genital malignancies and knowing the best tool for diagnostic purposes is mandatory. This study investigated the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV genotypes in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks from patients with different anogenital lesions. In this cross-sectional retrospective study, 125 blocks from patients with different anogenital lesions were collected. Three internal sections were taken for HPV detection and genotyping using the paraffin tissue processing kit and HPV Direct Flow CHIP. HPV positivity was detected in 90 (72.0%), with 77 (85.6%) females and 13 (14.4%) males as follows: SCC 64.0%, CINIII 66.7%, CINII 100.0%, CINI 83.3%, KA 83.7%, NILM 44.0%, Anus 66.6%. A total of 44% of histologically unremarkable (negative) cases were positive for HPV genotypes while in only 64% of SCC were HPV genotypes detected. Sixty-six (73.3%) cases were low-risk, and 16 (17.8%) cases were high-risk genotypes, mostly cervical lesions, while seven (7.8%) cases showed a mixed viral detection. The most frequent low-risk genotype was HPV6 genotype (62–68.9%), while the prevalent high-risk HPV was HPV16 genotype (12–13.3%). In this study, HPV16 was more frequently detected than HR-HPV, but mainly in cervical lesion, while HPV6 topped the LR-HPV infections amongst different anogenital lesions in Duhok-Iraq. Higher HPV positivity among cytological unremarkable and abnormal cases may reflect the higher sensitivity of the direct flow CHIP diagnostic technique. The results demonstrate that screening for HPV is essential to reduce cancer development and planning for the vaccine’s introduction in Iraq.