Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Veterinary Medicine Sciences

In sheep farming, one of the most crucial economic characteristics is increasing the number of livestock wondering for female newborns. This study aimed to investigate the middle-aged Iraqi sheep breed and determine its correlation with litter size by employing three distinct synchronization methods on the reproductive capabilities of Iraqi ewes grown in mid-southern Iraq. In a randomized block experimental design, eighty local ewes, aged three to four years old, were divided into four groups for the purpose of estrus synchronization: group 1 (n = 20 control animals), group 2 (n = 20 Medroxy Progesterone Acetate (MAP) sponges only), group 3 (n = 20 MAP sponges and GnRH), and group 4 (n = 20 MAP sponge and equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG)). First, an ANOVA was applied to the data on estrus response, insemination, pregnancy, and prolificacy, followed by a chi square test. At (p≤0.05), the results were deemed significant. Over 80% of the ewes tested were response positively for estrus according to the group 2, which showed an intriguing success estrus rate. More than 75% of the ewes examined in Group 3 procedure demonstrated estrus. When the procedures were compared, group 3 outcomes for positive estrus, pregnancy rates, and litter size were superior. Therefore, it can be said that all tested protocols yielded outcomes that were good in terms of prolificacy, or the number of lambs produced per ewe, and estrus manifestation in compared to control group. While other treatments with the presence of the ram effect may improve the lambing rate and raise litter size, the MAP only protocol demonstrated higher findings for positive indicator of female pregnancy 66.6%.

This study aimed to investigate the histological growth and Myoz1 gene expression and evaluated the level of glycogen in the iliofibularis muscle of broiler chickens at 2, 4, and 5 weeks of age. By investigating the structural changes in muscle fibers and the corresponding alterations in Myoz1 gene levels, this research sought to elucidate the relationship between age, muscle growth, and gene expression in the iliofibularis muscle group. Understanding these developmental processes is crucial for optimizing broiler production and potentially providing insights into muscle growth and development in other species. In this study, fifteen broiler chickens were examined to investigate the histological structure and evaluate the level of the Myoz1 gene in the iliofibularis muscles at three different ages: 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 5 weeks. The muscle fibers are cylindrical and multinucleated, with elongated nuclei beneath the sarcolemma. The muscle fibers are surrounded by a very thin layer of endomysium, which is composed of fibroelastic connective tissue. Each fascicle of muscle fibers is surrounded by a dense, irregular connective tissue called the perimysium. A cluster of muscle fascicles is surrounded by a layer of dense, irregular connective tissue called the epimysium. The size and organization of muscle fibers increase with age. At 5 weeks, the muscle fibers become larger and more uniform. The mean areas of muscle fibers at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 5 weeks were 233.1± 0.0099, 492.32± 0.0079, and 1177.56± 0.0098 μm2, respectively. Our results show the muscle fibers in the third group had a highly significant difference from the muscle fibers of the iliofibularis muscle in the first and second groups. The highest average expression was found in the third group (5 weeks old), while the lowest was in the first group (2 weeks old). Our findings indicate statistical analysis confirmed iliofibularis muscle in the third group had a highly significant difference with iliofibularis muscle in the first and second groups (Ƿ=0.0000269) and (Ƿ=0.000025), respectively. Overall, the findings suggested an age-dependent rise in myzo1 gene expression within the iliofibularis muscle in the third group of broiler chickens.

Human diarrhea is caused by the zoonotic protozoan Giardia lamblia. This parasite is very important, so it might serve as a study object. The purpose of the work described below was to identify G. lamblia in human stool samples from Baghdad province, Iraq. 140 fecal samples constituted an experiment. The samples were collected throughout the year. PCR, partial gene sequencing, and microscopic analysis were performed. The microscopic approach identified cysts at the highest rate (14/59, 23.7%) in the month of January, and PCR was able to determine that the percentage of humans certified as sick was 21/21 (99.09%). The phylogenetic tree shows that the strains of isolates are very close to the world strains from Poland and Iran. Overall, the work at hand provides substantial pieces of information on the occurrence of G. lamblia in human stool.

The purpose of this study, conducted from 01-October-2023 to 28-February-2024, was to determine the prevalence and genetic diversity of Haemonchus contortus Infection from sheep in Al-Diwaniyah slaughterhouse, it was carried out to investigate the level of infection at two levels stages; adult's animal, and human, and also helped us to evaluate the genetic similarities between local isolates from Iraq in comparison with other strains of H. contortus from all over the world. In the slaughterhouse in Al-Diwaniyah City, 250 carcasses were sampled. The samples were divided into two tubes, one of them used for microscopic examination by lacto phenol-solution and the other used for molecular tests by using 70% ethanol. Targeting the β-tubulin region by PCR was done, which was followed with the positive PCR-based sequencing. The findings of this study revealed high prevalence of H. contortus infection rate in sheep which leads to parasite transmission among the animals. In addition, a high level of genetic similarities was seen between local isolates from Iraq and strains from Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, the USA, and the Netherland. Overall, this study concludes that the level of infections by H. contortus. High genetic similarities, with world strains, indicating high diversity and common ancestor.

Mesenchymal stem cells derived from adipose tissue (AD-MSCs) have shown promise in the field of regenerative medicine. This work aimed to evaluate the discovery of pre-committed mesenchymal lineages in cat adipose-derived stem cells that create multipotent stromal cells in response to inductive extracellular signals. A cat's inguinal area yielded three grams of fat subcutaneous tissue, which was carefully extracted to produce mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that would be enlarged by a fourth passage. Active mesenchymal stem cell proliferation was seen in the fourth passage. Additionally, the study showed that cat MSCs had the innate capacity to stimulate AD-MSC identification using immunocytochemistry examination. Cats' AD-MSCs were consistently positive for CD90 and CD44 at passage three, according to immunophenotypic analysis. Nevertheless, it was consistently discovered that MSCs lacked the hematopoietic specific markers CD34 and CD45.In conclusion, mesenchymal stem cells may be extracted from cat adipose tissue using the direct plating technique, which works well. These cells are an important source of stem cells that might be used for the replacement of organs.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder that is characterized by hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes and accounts for approximately 90% of all diabetes cases with insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion. Insulin resistance (IR) is the main pathological feature, as well as hypertension and dyslipidemia. This study aims to evaluate the effect of phlorizin extract in improving the symptoms associated with diabetes compared to metformin. In the present study, T2DM was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) (40 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) in male rats on a high-fat diet. Hence, the needs to develop new methods of treatment, the diabetic rats were assigned to receive two types of treatment: phlorizin (100 mg/kg/day) and metformin (250 mg/kg/day). Random levels of blood glucose, serum insulin, free fatty acids, total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein, were detected in T2DM rats. The main goal of anti-diabetic therapy is to reduce the amount of glucose in the blood and increase the development of immunity. Phlorizin showed promising efficacy comparable to metformin in the management of diabetes and helped improve blood glucose levels, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in mice with T2DM in the treated groups, in addition to reducing fat accumulation.

Fungal rhinitis is an important infection in sheep characterized by its chronic status. The study was conducted to clinically and in vitro characterize fungal rhinitis in sheep. The current study was conducted to clinically examine chronic suspected fungal rhinitis in sheep and to isolate fungal species from the lesions and characterize these isolates using molecular techniques. Clinical examination and nasal endoscopy were used first to identify clinical status and nasal lesions in 80 sheep distributed over nine livestock farms in Babylon Province, Iraq. Then, a total of 160 lesion nasal swabs (80 for direct smear and 80 for cultivation) were collected from 80 sheep. The swabs were stained with Grocott's methenamine silver stain (GMS) to identify fungal hyphae. Furthermore, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and partial gene sequencing methods were performed based on the 18S rRNA gene. The results of the clinical examination of each animal revealed slightly increases in the body temperature, emaciation, nasal congestion, nasal mucoid, mucopurulent, or blood-stained discharge, sneezing, nasal itching. Moreover, varied types of nasal lesions were visualized by endoscope. For the cultivation of the swabs, the findings demonstrated the isolation of 55/80(68.75%) isolates. The endoscopy showed various types of chronic lesions, such as nodules and ulcerations. Based on the molecular methods, the results revealed the presence of seven species of fungi; 13(16.25%) Aspergillus terrusre,10(12.5%) A. flavus,11 (13.75) A.niger,9(11.25%)Rhizopus arrhazus,7(8.75%)Alternaria alternate,3(3.75%)A.tenesumma, and 2(2.5%) Penicillumsoppi.The phylogenetic analysis recorded 20 distinct isolates that were similar in their sequence to global isolates from Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, and China. The impact of the study can be emphasized that chronic rhinitis in sheep was primarily caused by Aspergillus species. These isolates were sequencing-based similar to those isolated from different world regions indicating high evolution in the current isolates and more need for improvement of animal health and management. However, the study comes with limitation of the area size sampled, which can be solved with future studies.

This study concerns the genus Sarcocystis representing a group of intracellular mainly tissue parasites of carnivores, but some species are considered responsible for sarcocystosis in humans. These parasites are known to affect domestic and wild animals and can result in meat contamination with considerable economic impact. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of Sarcocystis in camels using microscopic methods and histopathological methods. This study was conducted in Al-Diwaniyah Province in Iraq. A total of 200 camels (male and female) of various age groups were sampled at a slaughterhouse in Al-Diwaniyah Province. Samples of esophagus and tongue tissues were taken from each animal, then subjected to histopathological analyses. Samples were stained histologically using the haematoxylin and eosin stain to determine microscopic structures. The results were examined using a light microscope. They revealed there were no macroscopic abnormalities in the Sarcocystis-infected camels. Histopathological examination of the esophagus and tongue samples revealed tissue lysis and the formation of cysts that clearly indicated a chronic infection. The widespread presence of Sarcocystis in camels in Al-Diwaniyah Province was confirmed, highlighting that any zoonotic potential of the parasite in this area cannot be ignored.

A myiasis infestation occurs when dipterous larvae infest living vertebrates, includeing the humans and animals. Depending on where they live and how they interact with their host, dipterous larvae in mammals can feed on either living tissues or dead tissue, bodily fluids, or food that has been consumed. They can also cause a variety of infestations. The Caliphoridae family is considered the most important family causing myiasis, so the research's goal was to identify the species causing infestation in cows. Methods: Infested animals (50 cattle) were examined and larvae from each one were collected from each animal, then the species firstly studied and identified microscopically based on their the morphological and anatomical characteristics of larvae followed by study the effect of certain risk factors related to the infestation occur, then they were examined using PCR technique through amplifying the small subunit ribosomal RNA of chrysomya pseudolucilia (CPS) gene to confirm the diagnosis, also their genetic sequence and phylogenetic tree were analysis. Results: The results showed that all larval samples isolated from infected cows represented Chrysooma bezziana according to the morphological examination of these larvae. PCR examination and genetic sequence analysis of some samples (10) confirmed the species of fly diagnosed microscopically, and it was noted through studying the genetic tree of these samples that there is a similarity (95-97%) with one of the global isolates. Regarding the risk factors studied, it was noted that there is an effect of the age and sex of the animal on the infestation rate, and it was noted that its rates were affected by the site of infection on the body and the geographical location of the animal, and no significant effect was noted for the year months. Conclusion: From the results obtained in this study, we conclude that most cases of worms found Chrysoma bezziana causes cows, and it seems that it is still endemic in Iraq / Diwaniyah despite the therapeutic attempts, and that the local isolates are of external origin due to the great similarity with the global isolates.

The E6 gene is encodes a minor oncoprotein that highly expressed in PV-infected host. Antibodies targeting E6 may have the potential to eliminate PV infection. This study focused on molecular and bioinformatics analysis of the E6 gene, encompassing identification of genetic variations, 3D structure prediction, and epitope prediction. 50 tumor samples were collected from cattle with papilloma like lesions from Al-Qadisiyah, province, Iraq. Samples submitted to PCR based on amplifying the complete E6 gene. Various bioinformatics tools were utilized to analyze physicochemical properties, tertiary structures of deduced protein, and predict immunodominant epitopes for B and T cells. 42 out of 50 (84%) cattle were found to be infected with BPV. Sequence analysis of ten samples identified BPV-1 as the predominant type in the region. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close genetic relationship with Deltapapillomavirus 4. Genetic analysis identified seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including four synonymous mutations at nucleotides residues of 48,303, 210, 345, and three non-synonymous mutations (His38/Arg, Lys99/Gln, and Asp126/Asn). The E6 protein was found to contain at least four continuous B-cell epitopes and four T-cell epitopes, all of which exhibited strong immunogenicity and high sequence conservation. The mutations are located within loop regions of the predicted structure. This study provides valuable insights into the molecular characteristics of the E6 gene of BPV circulating in Al-Qadisiyah, Iraq. The predicted B-cell and T-cell epitopes characterized by high immunogenicity and sequence conservation, offer promising targets for the development of diagnostic tests and potential vaccine candidates.

This study was designed to compare the morphohistological features of the tongue between domestic goose and turkey. Ten tongues of adult healthy both the birds were used. Six tongues of both birds for macroscopic inspections and the four tongues for microscopic examinations were prepared. The gross observations showed that shape of the tongues was fit to the shape of the lower beaks, and they occupied lower beak only small space of rostral region remained. Goose tongue was elongated with rounded tip, but turkey tongue was triangular with pointed tip. Lingual apex carried a lingual nail plays a major role in food collecting. In turkey lingual nail was longer than it in goose. The conical papillae were observed on the body and root in goose and turkey. Filiform papillae only observed in goose located between conical papillae in body. Microscopically, tongues covered by parakeratinized, orthokeratinized and non-keratinized mucosa according to the tongue regions. The lamina propria contained lingual glands that divided into anterior glands in body and posterior glands in root of the tongues. The lingual glands excrete mucous secretion via their opening on the ventrolateral and dorsal surfaces of tongue. The findings in this study conclude that tongue is a modified and essential organ; it has different morphology and performances according to the feeding habit and food type in birds.

Many vertebrate species, including birds, are susceptible to the important protozoan Cryptosporidium. Evaluating the public health risk associated with Cryptosporidium requires a thorough understanding of species diversity and their distribution across populations. Poultry feces samples were obtained from Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq, and the aim of this study was to investigate their molecular identity and phylogenetic patterns for Cryptosporidium species identification, 70 feces samples were collected from birds and molecular identification by Nested PCR Using phylogenetic analysis and sequencing of positive PCR results was used to identify Cryptosporidium spp. The molecular method had a much higher detection rate than microscopic observation, 8 samples (11.42% of total) showed Cryptosporidium oocysts, while 18 samples (25.71% of total) showed positive results from nested PCR in Phylogenetic analysis showed Three Cryptosporidium species: Cryptosporidium baileyi (61.11%), . Cryptosporidium gallii (26.77%), and Cryptosporidium melegridis (11.11%) comparing local Cryptosporidium isolates from the NCBI GenBank database with expression sequences ranging from 97.80% to 99.45%. Up to the genetic homogeneity known Iraq The birds of Al-Diwaniyah have been infected with various Cryptosporidium species, and this study provides the first molecular data on this topic. these results demonstrate the importance of accurate identification of Cryptosporidium species and how this virus can be transmitted from birds to humans in the field using simple genetic methods to date.

Leishmaniasis is a major mosquito-borne disease due to protozoa of Leishmania genus which spread by sand flies' bites. This study was conducted to detect Leishmaniasis in domestic and stray cats by using serological test (Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay -ELISA) and to determine the effects of sex, age and months on the infection rate in Al-Qadisiyah Province. A total of 142 samples were collected during the period from the first of July to the end of December/ 2024. Leishmaniasis IgG antibodies were detected rate 20.42% (29/142) of the cats by indirect ELISA. High infection rate was recorded in stray cats 28.37% (21/73), compared to domestic cats 11.76% (8/68), with significant difference at P<0.05. the prevalence rate was in males 23.28% (17/73) and in females 17.39% (12/69) without significant difference at P≥0.05. Moreover, the highest infection rate in domestic cats was observed in the adult was 15.55% (7/45) while the lowest in kittens 4.34% (1/23), without significant difference at P<0.05. The prevalence was altered during various months studied where the highest and lowest rate was recorded (34.61%) and (4.54%) in September and July respectively, without significant difference at P≥0.05. For the first time, Leishmaniasis was recorded to infected stray and domestic cats in Iraq

Inclusion body hepatitis outbreaks and hydropericardium hepatitis syndrome, particularly in commercial broiler flocks, have been detected in various geographic regions of Iraq over the past five years, indicating the widespread distribution of FAdVs throughout our nation from the north to the south. The Basrah governorate in Iraq has seen significant economic losses as a result of elevated mortality rates and poor performance in chicken farms. 180 cases of sick and fresh dead birds, ages 17 to 28 days, were removed from broiler chicken farms located throughout the Basrah province between 2023 and 2024. The goal of this study was to examine the postmortem lesions and clinical findings of suspected IBH, as well as to obtain histopathological sections of the affected tissues (liver, kidney, and heart). Acute symptoms included ruffled feathers, anorexia, depression, low body weight, inconsistent flock size, and a high mortality rate (10–25%). pale and straw-colored fluids in the pericardial sac, enlarged and hemorrhagic kidneys, and an expanded, congested spleen are other symptoms of an enlarged, friable liver with yellow mucoid dropping as a result of excess bile acids and lesions identified during the postmortem investigation. Furthermore, according to a histopathological examination, the infected chicken's damaged kidneys showed evidence of renal tubular epithelium vacuolation, interstitial tissue hemorrhage, infiltration of inflammatory cells, and severe hepatitis with intranuclear inclusion bodies and degenerative changes. The macrophage was particularly well-represented among these cells. The study concluded that loss of biosecurity and vaccination programs against IBH infection in poultry populations particularly in Basra governorate make them more prone to infection

Shilajit is one of a traditional Ayurvedic remedy to determine its potential effects on male reproductive health. The research investigated how shilajit exposure influenced semen quality and reproductive performance in male rats that had reached puberty. In this study forty mature male Wistar rats aged 60 days old were split into four groups (10 each) for 60 days, which consisted of a control group who received distilled water and three treatment groups which received shilajit at 100 mg/kg/day, cadmium chloride at 5 mg/kg/day, and a combination of both 100 mg/kg/day shilajit and 5 mg/kg/day cadmium chloride at respectively. Treatments were administered orally for 60 days. The evaluation of semen quality parameters such as sperm motility and count along with sperm viability and abnormalities was performed using collected epididymal tail samples. Rats treated with shilajit showed substantial enhancements in sperm viability, motility, and count while experiencing fewer sperm abnormalities when compared to the control group. The administration of cadmium chloride reduced semen quality parameters. The last treatment group receiving both shilajit and cadmium chloride experienced some reduction in cadmium toxicity yet did not reach the levels of improvement seen in the group treated with shilajit alone. Supplementation with shilajit leads to better semen quality and reproductive performance in male rats because of its antioxidant and adaptogenic properties. This indicates that shilajit holds potential as a therapeutic agent for male fertility enhancement under environmental and chemical stress conditions.