Background: The prevalence of blood borne viral infection is escalating worldwide. Screening blood donors is needed to prevent further spread of such infections. Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among blood donors in Duhok, Northern Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on blood donors attending Duhok blood bank. A total of 7900 subjects were included in the study from January to December 2014. Subjects were tested for evidence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HCV antibody (HCV-Ab). A questionnaire was used to collect demographic and personal data of each positive subject. All HCVpositive samples were assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to confirm the results. Results: Among the studied sample, the prevalence of HBsAg and HCV-Ab were 62/7900 (0.78%) and 16/7900 (0.2%), respectively. The results of RT-PCR for quantitation of HCV showed that only 1/7900 (0.013%) patients was HCV-positive. No significant difference was observed in the positivity of HBV and HCV between donors living in the city and rural areas (P > 0.05). In addition, history of dental procedure was given in 77% and 75% of HBV-and HCV-positive donors, respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of HBV infection among donors in Duhok was comparable with those of reports from other parts of Iraq. Education and immunization should be initiated to target the high-risk groups. Furthermore, a community-based study is recommended to study the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in the population.

Abstract:The symptoms of IBS are common in community, there are overwhelming numbers of Diagnosed cases of IBS in Duhok Governorate, and frequently many cases appears to have been misdiagnosed. This study is through light on the very update methods of diagnosing IBS, its pathophysiology with the most update treatment. All diagnosed cases of IBS for more than three months, both in azadi General Hospital Out Patient Department and Private clinics are re-evaluated for the possibility of misdiagnosis and all were fully investigated for all differential diagnosis and according to its clinical presentation by most recent methods available for each disease. The aim of this study is to: (1) Know the prevalence of IBS in Dohuk Governorate and to be compared with studies done in other localities in different countries. (2) Differentiate between patients who are really IBS from those due to other causes and wrongly diagnosed as IBS. (3) Stimulate other doctors to investigate all suspected cases and not to depend merely on clinical presentation. The results shows that most cases are diagnosed according to clinical presentation which is important but not enough at all and the diseases should be diagnosed after excluding all diseases with similar presentation and not to miss any treatable conditions. The total number of the IBS patients were 529 (76.01%), while the number of the patients that misdiagnosed as IBS were 167 (23.99%) due to other causes that needed investigations. The differences among IBS, sex, and other causes were significant at (p < 0.095). The percentage of cigarette smokers 52.9% was significantly associated with IBS The study shows high percentage of misdiagnosed treatable cases.