No abstract

This study was conducted to estimate the incidence and the effects of associated risk factors of scabies and head lice on displaced people in Cham Mishko camp, Zakho city, Duhok Province, Iraq. The study included 1300 internally displaced people (IDPs) who visited the dermatology clinic and health care center in Cham Mishko camp from January 2018 to December 2019. Participants’ bio-information was collected on special questionnaire form after receiving permission from the camp’s health authorities and verbal consent from the participants. Monthly weather data were collected from Duhok Directorate of Meteorology and Seismology. The total rate of ectoparasites was 81.2% (45% for scabies and 36.2% for head lice). Ages from 1–10, 21–30, and 31–40 years showed the highest rates with scabies (48.1%, 46.7% and 46.1%, respectively), while the highest rates of head pediculosis were at ages from 1–10 and 11–20 years (40% and 36.6%, respectively). Scabies rate was slightly higher in males than females (46.6% vs. 43.4%), while the rate of head pediculosis was significantly higher in females than males (58.2% vs. 13.9%). Families with more than ten people showed the highest rates of scabies and head pediculosis (49.5% and 74.5%). Scabies was more common in cold months than in summer while head pediculosis was more common in hot months. The number of scabies and head pediculosis cases increased by 123 and 85 cases, respectively, in 2019. It is inferred that the effects of scabies and head pediculosis in IDPs will be considerable, with a higher carriage rate than other studies in Iraq.

No abstract

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.