ABSTRACT:Enterococcus faecalis is one of the leading causes of many infections and mainly urinary tract infections. This pathogen developed high resistance to multiple antibiotics and it harbor many virulence factors genes. This study aimed to determine the antibiotic resistance patterns and screening for some virulence factor genes of E. faecalis isolated from urinary tract infection. Urine samples were collected from 788 outpatient's clinic having clinical signs of UTI that visited Azadi Teaching Hospital in Duhok city. Urine samples were cultured on bacteriological media and isolated colonies identified using standard bacteriological methods. Antibiotic susceptibility was performed by Kirby Bauer test. All isolates were subjected to species-specific PCR assay for confirmatory identification followed by targeting virulence genes. Twenty five isolates of E. faecalis were detected and confirmed by species-specific PCR assay that expressed high antibiotic-resistance to many selected drugs except norfloxacin, penicillin and ampicillin. The most prevalent genes among all isolates were cpd genes followed by asa1, ace, esp, and gelE. Bearing of virulence genes combination were more frequent among multiple-antibiotic resistant strains. This study highlighted on E. faecalis as causes of UTI in Duhok city that showed multiple resistances to common antibiotics and harboring more than one virulence gene.

Intestinal parasites and bacteria especially enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) are important causative agents responsible for persistent diarrhea in infants and children worldwide due to their high occurrence in both the hospitals and community settings. However, sporadic outbreaks by these microorganisms occur globally. This study was conducted from August 2021 to January 2022, during which 500 diarrheic stool samples were collected from both genders and various ages (6 month to 12 years) from outpatient in Zakho hospital. In this study the total rate of infection was 64.2% (321/500), considerable number of samples were positive for more than one species of microorganisms, elevating the rate to 89%, with the highest rate (62%) being with bacteria among which E. coli was the dominant species (74.84%), while the rate with parasites was 27%, with E. histolytica being the dominant species (45.93%). Other recorded bacterial species with their rates are: Klebsiella (15.16%) Pseudomonas spp. and Shigella spp. at rates of 6.13% and 3.87%, respectively. While other parasites included: Cryptosporidium spp. (34.07%), Blastocystis spp. (13.33%), G. lamblia (5.93%) and H. nana (0.74%). Single infections were reported in 61.68% (198/321) of the positive cases with the highest rate (49.53%) of bacteria and only 12.15% with parasites. The dominant organisms in single infections were E. coli and the oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. at rates of 81.13% and 61.54%, respectively. The mixed infections were documented in 38.32% (123/321). Among these, 67.48% (83/123) showed a combination between bacteria and parasites. The most frequent microorganisms encountered in mixed infections were E. coli and E. histolytica at rate of 33.33%. The total rate of infection in females was higher than that in males (59.19 vs 40.81%), with the highest (77.89%) being among the age group 6 months-2 years. In each gender separately, males of the age group 6 months to 2 years showed the highest rate (62.16%,) whereas females of the age group 9-12 years had the highest rate (51.16%). Statistically the relationships between the rate of infection, age and gender were non-significant (P < 0.294). In conclusions it's obvious that 89 % of diarrheal cases were associated with bacteria, and parasites, with E. coli, Klebsiella, E. histolytica, and Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts as leading microorganisms.  About 61.68% were infected with one microorganism and 38.32% with two different species of microorganisms and the prevalence rate of microbes was found to be sex and age independent. Therefore, it is recommended to disseminate the health education and sanitary application programs among the community.

No abstract

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease that contributes to severe global health and economic issues. In this study, the Rose Bengal Test (RBT), a crucial diagnostic tool for brucellosis in Duhok city, was evaluated in order to offer updated epidemiological data on this disease. Patients and Methods: A total of 339 patients suffered from fever and seeking medical attention in the private medical health center in Duhok city, Iraq, were enrolled after taking ethical approval from committee at Faculty of Sciences, University of Zakho and a verbal consent from each enrolled patient for using his/her blood and data. The blood specimens were tested for Brucella spp. Antibodies using the RBT and blood cultures, followed by spp. determination. A questionnaire form was designed to detect the associated risk factors. Results: Prevalence of brucellosis was 12.6% among participants with a probable diagnosis and 10.3% among those with a confirmed diagnosis (positive blood culture). Most of the positive cases were between the ages of 20 to 40 years. A highly significant (P < 0.0001) association was found between brucellosis with both consuming raw milk and having contact with cattle. The most common species identified were Brucella melitensis (57.1%) and Brucella abortus (42.7%). Conclusion:Brucellosis is a significant cause of fever in the current study and can be detected using the RBT. Human brucellosis can be reduced by minimizing the chances of contact with cattle and consuming boiled or pasteurized milk.

This study involved the prevalence of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) among outpatients of UTI attending three major hospitals in Zakho city. Four hundred urine samples were collected from patients of UTI of both sexes and different ages (≤ 1 year to over 50 years), during the period from July 2018 until January 2019. All urine samples were analyzed by conventional bacteriological method for the presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli), while molecular method was used for the presence of species-specific uidA gene in the isolated E. coli. Out of 400 samples, 141 (35.25%) were infected with UPEC from enrolled patients. The rate was higher in females than males (90.78% vs 9.22%), respectively. In both sexes, the age group 41-50 years in both sexes showed the highest rate (46.67%) of infection, and statistically this rate of infection was significant (p< 0.013) among both sexes and various age groups. Furthermore, in all ages, married patients showed slightly higher prevalence than un-married one (38% vs 32.5%), but this difference was statistically non-significant (p>0.05%). The rate of UTI was higher among urban inhabitants (40.56%) than others. During the months of the year, the peak (90.48%) in both sexes was during December while the lowest rates (13.64%) was during January.