2021-10

Kurdistan Health Summit 2021-Rotan Erbil 2021

Research, Innovation, Development

2019-09

International Conference on Clinical Research and Medical Science (ICCRAMS)

Abstract: Toxoplasma gondii and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) can cause a range of diseases in pregnant women and lead to adverse fetal outcomes. Therefore, the detection of these infections is necessary during pregnancy. The aim of this study was performed to estimate the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma, and Cytomegalovirus infections among the pregnant women with history of abortion in Zakho city, Iraq. Over a period of five years from 2014-2018, blood samples were collected from 500 subjects aged 16-45 years old and tested to identify the presence of specific IgG and IgM to Toxoplasma and CMV infections by Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay (ELFA) method. Of the 500 pregnant women, 145 (29%) and 7 (1.8%) were seropositive for anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM, respectively. IgG seropositivityto T. gondii infection varied significantly between age groups (p=0.05). Additionally, the seroprevalence of IgG and IgM antibodies for CMV was 475 (95%) and 9 (1.8%), respectively. Estimation of age specific subgroups showed high CMV IgG seropositivity rates for all age group with no significant differences between them. Altogether, 145 cases were verified seropositive for specific IgG antibody against both pathogens, and only 2 cases were positive for specific IgM against both agents. In conclusion, anti-Toxoplasma and CMV IgG and IgM antibodies positivity rates among pregnant women determined in the present study are quite similar as compared to other studies reported in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Therefore, it is recommended that all cases with a history of abortion should be routinely screened for these infections in order to avoid undesirable fetal outcomes and other serious complications.

2019-09

ICCRAMS

Primary infection with rubella and herpes virus may lead to serious consequences in pregnant women including abortion, stillbirth and severe birth defect. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of rubella and herpes IgG and IgM antibodies in pregnant women. A total of 200 pregnant women with history of abortion were comprised in the present study and the mean age was between 16-45 years old. Samples were collected between January 2015 and December 2018. All samples were tested by Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay (ELFA) for rubella and herpes specific IgG and IgM classes of antibodies. Of the total study participants, 142 (71%) were seropositive for anti-rubella IgG antibodies, which indicates previous immunization, while 3 (1.5%) were positive for anti-rubella IgM antibodies, which indicates acute/recent infection. In addition, seroprevalence of IgG and IgM antibodies to Herpes simplex virus was 131 (65.5%) and 9 (4.5%) respectively. In terms of age, high seropositivity of specific IgG and IgM antibodies to both infections was found in age less than 30 years old. In conclusion, this study has presented pilot data on Rubella and Herpes viruses infections among pregnant women in Zakho city, Kurdistan, Iraq. Because of the high seropositivity of rubella and herpes virus infections in pregnant women, preventive and other appropriate measures should be taken in the studied area.

2019-06

The first workshop on Integrated System in Medical Education, University of Garmian   in cooperation with the University of Kufa, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

None

2019-06

7th annual Sectra Table Medical Education User Conference at Karolinska Institute, Solna Campus Stockholm, Sweden on June 18th-19th 2019.

None

2019-04

The Third International Medical conference, College of Medicine- University of Sulaimani, Grand Millennium Hotel, Sulaimani, Iraq

None

2019-02

The 2nd International Scientific Conference for Kurdistan Students, University of Nottingham, UK.

Background and Aim: Salmonellosis is one of the most important zoonotic bacterial pathogens in humans and Salmonella infections are often linked with consumption of contaminated pork. Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis represent a major source of food poisoning in humans with the most important reservoirs of infection being contaminated meat and eggs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic diet regimes on antibody based immune responses to Salmonella Typhimurium infection in pigs. Materials and methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in this study to examine the humoral immune response in 24 pigs challenged with S. Typhimurium. Piglets were weaned at 28 days of age and then given one of four different diets: a probiotic diet (Lactobacillus Plantarum B2984 strain, a prebiotic diet (lactulose) or synbiotic diet (both lactulose and Lactobacillus Plantarum) and control group (no addition to the diet) one week before challenge. Results: The data demonstrate that the inclusion of the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum B2984 in the diet of piglets (~1 x 1010cfu/animal/day) enhanced serum IgG (p<0.001), IgM (p<0.001), and IgA (p=0.01) responses to S. Typhimurium. Similarly, inclusion of the prebiotic lactulose at 1% (w/w) of the feed on a daily basis in the diet enhanced serum IgG (p<0.01), IgM (p<0.01) responses to S. Typhimurium. Inclusion of both additives in the synbiotic diet, however, elicited a significant interaction when considering the immune responses to S. Typhimurium (IgM, p=0.004; IgA and IgG, p<0.001 for interaction); the benefits of isolated pre or probiotic administration with respect to immune responses were considerably reduced. Conclusions: The data support the use of Lactobacillus plantarum B2984 or lactulose as strategies to contribute to the protection of weaned piglets from zoonotic bacterial pathogens, but caution must be taken when combining dietary supplements as combinations can interact.

2015-03

Society for General Microbiology (SGM) Annual Conference, International Convention Centre (ICC), Birmingham, UK.

Abstract Background and aim: Salmonella enterica is an intracellular Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae that causes a diverse range of diseases and infects different hosts. Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis represent a major source of food poisoning in human with the most important reservoirs of infection being contaminated meat and eggs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic diets on the levels of serum antibody responses (IgG, IgM and IgA) of pigs challenged orally with Salmonella Typhimurium SL1344nalr. Materials and methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in this study to examine the humoral immune response in 24 pigs challenged with S. Typhimurium. Piglets were weaned at 28 days of age and then given one of four different diets: a probiotic diet (Lactobacillus Plantarum B2984 strain, a prebiotic diet (lactulose) or synbiotic diet (both lactulose and Lactobacillus Plantarum) and control group (no addition to the diet) one week before challenge. Results: The results of our study indicate that probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum (B2984) treatment resulted significantly increased (p<0.05) levels of IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies against S. Typhimurium. These outcomes suggest that lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus plantarum which can occur in the gastro-intestinal tract and act as adjuvants to the humoral antibody response. Again, total serum IgG, and IgM levels of pigs were also significantly higher (p<0.05) in the group receiving the probiotic lactulose compared to animals receiving a control diet animals. However, no significant differences in the IgA levels between the two groups were observed. Data also indicated that the levels of IgG antibody were significantly greater (p<0.05) in animals fed a diet synbiotic compared to control diet group, but no difference were seen in the levels of IgM and IgA antibody response. Conclusions: The data clearly indicate that probiotic; prebiotic and synbiotic diets enhance the humoral antibody responses to S. Typhimurium

2015-01

Postgraduate Research Conference in Medicine and Science, Nottingham University/UK

Serological surveillance and vaccination are important strategies for controlling infectious diseases of food production animals. However, the compatibility of these strategies is limited by a lack of assays capable of differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA tests) for established killed or attenuated vaccines. Here, we used next generation phage-display (NGPD) and a 2-proportion Z score analysis to identify peptides that were preferentially bound by IgY from chickens infected with Salmonella Typhimurium or S. Enteritidis compared to IgY from vaccinates, for both an attenuated and an inactivated commercial vaccine. Peptides that were highly enriched against IgY from at least 4 out of 10 infected chickens were selected: 18 and 12 peptides for the killed and attenuated vaccines, respectively. The ten most discriminatory peptides for each vaccine were identified in an ELISA using a training set of IgY samples. These peptides were then used in multi-peptide assays that, when analysing a wider set of samples from infected and vaccinated animals, diagnosed infection with 100% sensitivity and specificity. The data describes a method for the development of DIVA assays for conventional attenuated and killed vaccines.

2014-09

Spring Animal Infection and Immunity Meeting Conference, Nottingham University/ UK

The mapping of polyclonal antibody responses to infectious diseases to identify individual epitopes has the potential to underpin the development of both novel serological assays and vaccines. Here, phage-peptide library panning coupled with screening using Next Generation Sequencing was applied to the mapping of antibody responses to bacterial infections. Sera from twelve pigs infected with Salmonella Typhimurium were probed in parallel and compared to the equivalent sera from pre-infection. Sixty-nine peptides were enriched against sera from multiple infected animals, thirty-one peptides were tested in ELISA and twenty-four were highly discriminatory for sera from infected pigs (P<0.05). Eleven of these peptides were further tested against IgY from chickens infected with S. Typhimurium and seven were highly discriminatory (p<0.05). The B-cell responses in chickens upon infection with different Salmonella serovars were then probed in order to isolate mimotopes specific for S. Enteritidis infection. Forty-eight peptides were enriched against IgY from multiple infected animals. Thirteen of the twenty-six peptides tested in ELISA were highly discriminatory for IgY following S. Enteritidis infections (p<0.05). The described next generation phage display method identifies panels of mimotopes recognised by multiple individuals with a particular infection, providing a highly efficient method for mapping polyclonal immune responses.

2014-07

Innate Immunity Summit, Euroscicon Small Conference, London, UK

Salmonellosis causes significant economic losses to the pig industry and contaminated pork products are an important source of Salmonella for humans. The EU ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters in pig production, and the emergence of antibiotic resistance has meant there is a pressing need for alternative control strategies for pathogenic bacteria such as S. Typhimurium in pigs. Here, we determined the effects of prebiotic, probiotic and synbiotic diet regimes on antibody responses to oral Salmonella challenge of pigs. The data demonstrate that the inclusion of the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum B2984 in the diet of piglets (~1 x 1010cfu/animal/day) enhanced serum IgM (p<0.001), IgG (p<0.001) and IgA (p=0.018) responses to S. Typhimurium infection including cross-reacting antibodies to S. Enteritidis (p=0.001 and 0.006 for enhancement of IgG and IgM levels respectively). Similarly, inclusion of the prebiotic lactulose at 1% (w/w) of the feed on a daily basis in the diet enhanced serum IgM (p=0.007), and IgG (p=0.003) responses to S. Typhimurium infection and also cross-reacting IgG antibodies to S. Enteritidis (p=0.031). Inclusion of both additives in the synbiotic diet, however, elicited a significant interaction when considering the immune responses to S. Typhimurium (IgM, p=0.004; IgA and IgG, p<0.001 for interaction); the benefits of isolated pre or probiotic administration with respect to immune responses were considerably reduced. The data support the use of Lactobacillus plantarum B2984 or lactulose as strategies to contribute to the protection of weaned piglets from zoonotic bacterial pathogens, but caution must be taken when combining dietary supplements as combinations can interact antagonistically.