Scopus Research — Younis Abdulridha Ikhewish Alkhafaji

Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is one of the important viruses involved in the progression of autoimmune diseases affecting the gastrointestinal system. Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the immune status of celiac disease (CD) with cytomegalovirus (CMV). Materials and Methods: This study included 68 subjects with suspected CD, which was collected during the period extent from January 2024 to March 2024. The immune status was evaluated using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test to determine anti-Ttg A, anti-Ttg G, anti-gliadin IgA, and anti-gliadin IgG as well as anti-CMV IgM/IgG. Results: The results of the present study showed that 22 cases of CD were confirmed, with significantly higher percentages of positive results (18.2%, 68.2%) for patients compared to the control groups (2.2%, 13%) according to anti-gliadin A/G, respectively. Moreover, the level of anti-HCMV IgG antibodies in the serum samples of patients suffering from CD revealed significant differences of 3.39 ± 1.12 and 2.51 ± 0.835 between the patient and the control groups, respectively. Conclusion: It could be concluded that CMV infection may be involved in CD in terms of factors that stimulate or enhance autoimmunity or in the immunosuppressive state of the disease. Thus, CMV is a major contributor to the increased incidence of CD and likely worsens the prognosis of the disease. © 2025 Medical Journal of Babylon | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow.

Background Evaluating immune responses following COVID-19 vaccination is paramount to understanding vaccine effectiveness and optimizing public health interventions. This study seeks to elucidate individuals’ immune status after administering a second dose of diverse COVID-19 vaccines. By analyzing immune responses through serological markers, we aim to contribute valuable insights into the uniformity of vaccine performance. Methods A total of 80 participants were enrolled in this study, with demographic and COVID-19 infection-related data collected for categorization. Serum samples were acquired within a specified timeframe, and SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG rapid tests were conducted. Moreover, CTLA-4 levels were measured through ELISA assays, allowing us to assess the immune responses comprehensively. The participants were divided into eight groups based on various factors, facilitating a multifaceted analysis. Results The outcomes of our investigation demonstrated consistent immune responses across the diverse types of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Iraq. Statistical analysis revealed no significant distinctions among the vaccine categories. In contrast, significant differences were observed in CTLA-4 among the control group (non-infected/non-vaccinated, infected/ non-vaccinated) and infected/Pfizer, non-infected/Pfizer, and infected/Sinopharm, non-infected/sinopharm (P = 0.001, < 0.001, 0.023, respectively). This suggests that these vaccines exhibit comparable effectiveness in eliciting an immune response among the study participants. Conclusions In conclusion, our study’s results underscore the lack of discriminatory variations between different COVID-19 vaccine types utilized in Iraq. The uniform immune responses observed signify the equitable efficacy and performance of these vaccines. Despite minor quantitative discrepancies, these variations do not hold statistical significance, reaffirming the notion that the various vaccines serve a similar purpose in conferring protection against COVID-19. © 2024 Al-Kaif et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Background: Measles is a highly infectious viral disease as a significant global public health concern, particularly in low-income countries with inadequate healthcare facilities. This study determined the prevalence and risk factors of measles infection, vaccination rates, and surveillance effectiveness in Babylon and Karbala provinces of Iraq from 2020 to 2022. Method: Surveillance data on suspected and confirmed measles cases were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: Results showed that males, children aged 1-10 years, and residents of rural areas, particularly Ain Al-Tammr/Karbala, were more susceptible to measles. 93 confirmed measles cases were reported, with 13 in Babylon and 80 in Karbala. Non-vaccinated individuals had a significantly higher risk of infection. The study found 11 confirmed cases among vaccinated and unknown individuals, while 71 cases were among non-vaccinated individuals. Vaccine efficacy varied, indicating challenges in achieving effective community immunity. Poor vaccination coverage was attributed to administrative issues, inadequate resources, and vaccine hesitancy. Males were disproportionately affected compared to females. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the importance of strengthening vaccination programs, improving surveillance systems, and enhancing public awareness to combat measles outbreaks and reduce morbidity and mortality, especially among vulnerable populations. Improvements in vaccine coverage, proper vaccine handling, and prompt reporting of suspected cases are all necessary to eliminate measles from Iraq, with a special focus on the provinces of Babylon and Karbala. © 2024, Eman Research. All rights reserved.

Background: Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that can lead to severe complications. Vaccination has successfully reduced measles cases; however, the immune response to booster doses of the measles vaccine is not fully understood. This follow-up study aimed to investigate the levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and IL-17 in the sera of vaccinated subjects after receiving a booster dose of the measles virus. Objectives: This follow-up study evaluated the levels of IL-8 and IL-17 in the sera of volunteers who received a second booster dose of the measles virus vaccine compared to a control group. Materials and Methods: Forty volunteers were included in the study, with 20 volunteers receiving a second booster dose of the vaccine and the remaining volunteers serving as the control group. The levels of IL-8 and IL-17 were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at various time intervals. Results: The results revealed significant differences in IL-8 levels, whereas IL-17 levels showed non-significant differences among the tested subjects at different time intervals (P ≤ 0.05). In the vaccinated group, the mean IL-8 level after one week was 192.04 ± 31.44 pg/mL, whereas it decreased to 30.89 ± 4.44 pg/mL after 7 weeks, showing a significant difference between these two periods. The control group had an IL-8 level of 367.95 ± 32.61 pg/mL. Regarding IL-17, there was no significant difference between the 3-week measurement (415.63 ± 61.12 pg/mL) and the 7-week measurement (848.61 ± 54.29 pg/mL) in the vaccinated group, as well as the control group (819.46 ± 75.33 pg/mL). Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that the levels of IL-8 decreased, whereas there was variation in IL-17 levels after administering a second booster dose of the measles vaccine compared to normal subjects. These results contribute to our understanding of the immune response following a booster dose of the measles vaccine and highlight potential differences in the immune profile of vaccinated individuals compared to the control group. © 2023 Authors

Background & Objectives: The study was conducted to find out the relationship between viral infection and bradykinin level in sera of human suffering from virally infected, respiratory, renal transplant or renal failure diseases. Therefore, this study includes the evaluation of the immune status in the sera of patient suffering from renal failure, renal transplant and respiratory infected whose were virally infected with healthy subjects. Methods: The immune response was evaluated by means of ELISA test for bradykinin level in the sera of 80 specimens included in this study: eight renal transplant, twenty renal failure, thirty-seven respiratory infected, and fifteen healthy subjects’ that were collected during the period extending from October 2018 to March 2019. Data about individuals were collected aseptically in sterile containers, after getting all data in special formula including, name, gender, age, disease. Results: The results of the present study showed that there were very high significant difference of bradykinin level in sera of patients with a healthy group at p<0.05. Conclusions: It could be concluded that Bradykinin secretion inhibited in viral diseases. © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.

Background: The outbreaks of the wild mumps virus continues in certain parts of the world despite the wide application of immunization programs. Objectives: The goal of the study to determine the factors that cause an outbreak of mumps and low averages of vaccination, to assess effectiveness and failure of a vaccine surveillance program in Babylon governorate / Iraq during the year 2017. Method: This study was performed in all health centers of the Public Health Directorate in the governorate, through mumps cases recorded and reported by the Directorate during the period January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, After that has been statistic and evaluate the performance of monitoring the vaccination program in accordance with the principles of the WHO in Iraq and the world. The findings: Of the 3176 suspected cases, 1864 (58.69%) confirmed cases of mumps. The results showed that people aged <1-10 years were the most vulnerable about 612 (80.74%). Mumps incidence in rural areas was higher than urban areas in the Babylon province {954 (63.68%), 910 (54.23)} respectively, male casualty percentage 1375 (64.40%) topmost of the female 489 (46.97%), and also, people immunized with one dose of the vaccine at least were less susceptible to mumps compared to people who did not vaccinate, which was 968 (54.57%) and 661 (64.43%), respectively. Conclusions: Mumps remain an important cause of the disease in the Babylon province / Iraq. Proper vaccination coverage as recommended by WHO, as well as rapid reporting on all cases of suspected are all important factors for the elimination of infection in Iraq and the Babylon province in particular. © 2019, Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology. All rights reserved.