Iraqi Governorates Research Articles

Determination of Organic Matter by Using Titrimetric and Loss on Ignition Methods for Northern Iraqi Governorates Soils

The study was carried out to determine soil organic matter content (SOM) using loss on ignition (LOI) and titrant methods. Eighty-four composite soil samples were collected from surface soil of randomly different locations in four governorates of northern parts of Iraq. The percent mean values of SOM recorded were 2.34, 2.399 and 1.821, respectively for Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, and Duhok soil samples for the LOI method, while lower values were obtained 1.39, 1.595 and 0.98% respectively by using the titrant method for the same soil samples. A low relationship between two SOM procedures was obtained (r2=0.462, 0.585 and 0.241) respectively for the same governorates soil samples. Current results revealed that the titrant method is more accurate and convenient to be used for SOM determination of soils in our area, and further studies must be done by using other methods to find the more suitable procedure for this purpose.

Car license plate segmentation and recognition system based on deep learning

Artificial intelligence techniques and computer vision techniques dealt with the issue of automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) that has many applications in important research field. In this paper, the method of recognizing the license plates of Iraqi cars was applied based on deep learning techniques convolutional neural network (CNN). The two database built to identifying Iraqi car plates. First database includes 2000 images of Arabic numbers and Arabic letters. Second database conations 1200 images of the Arabic names for Iraqi governorates. This paper used image-processing techniques to segmenting the numbers, letters and words from the car license plate images and then convert them into two databases that used to train the two CNN. These training CNN used to recognizing the vocabulary of the car license plate. The success rate of the numbers, letters and words recognition was 98%. The overall rate of success of this proposed system in all stages was 97%.

Congenital Heart Malformations in Iraq, a Review

Background: Heart malformations are among the commonest indications for admission to hospital and may causes mortality of children. There is a need to highlight this important medical issue as there is no review article on this subject in Iraq.
 Aim: This study aims to focus on this diseases in allover Iraq by reviewing the articles that have been published previously among different Iraqi academic scientific journal (IASJ) and concerned with the congenital heart diseases in various Iraqi governorates.
 Materials and Methods: Reviewing of the publications were conducted in accordance of that already described. Identification of available articles were done via applying search on IASJ (from 1997 to 2022). The keywords of ‘congenital heart disease was used in the search. Comprehensive full text articles in English were enrolled, while those published locally in periodic journals were excluded as there they were difficult to access them. Data extraction from selected publications was done in an independent manner via specialized design including the title of the study, the date of publication, area of research, topic of research, number of cases enrolled, and major results.
 Results: Most cases are diagnosed at infancy. Male predominance was recognized in Ventricular septal defect (VSD), Tetrolgy of Fallot (TOF), stenosis of Aorta, transposition of the great arteries (D), and aorta's coarctation, Female supremacy was recognized in atrio ventricular canal defect, Patent ductus arteriosus-PDA, atrial septal defects-ASD, and stenosis of pulmonary artery. The acyanotic type was more frequent than those accompanied with cyanosis as reported by many studies. A study from Basra Province has registered the highest incidence of CHD throughout analysis of data of patients with CHD which constitutes 57(40%) out of 1414 examined children. The reviewing of data from several articles in IASJ revealed a concern with correlation of CHD with other congenital disorders. Few researches were conducted on the treatment of CHD. Several works in Iraq tried to discuss the issue from other points of views as the nutritional status and feeding problems, the impact on the growth, and even the oral and dental health.
 Conclusions: According to the results of all reviewed Iraqi studies, there is a need for establishing a high standard centers with providing equipments for pediatric surgical operations .A well prepared staff is required for such type of operations. In addition, a well cooperation between the pediatricians and cardiac surgeons to achieve accurate diagnosis, managements, and follow up is needed.

Port Site Consequences After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Using an Open Versus Closed Approach of Pneumoperitoneum.

Introduction: Laparoscopic surgery is the standard method for cholecystectomy, and pneumoperitoneum is performed either in a closed or open technique. However, exposure to the consequences of the port site may increase the patient's morbidity. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare both approaches in terms of complications at the port site of each procedure and potential risk factors.Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the department of surgery, in hospitals affiliated with Kirkuk and Diyala governorates in Iraq, from January 2019 to March 2022. The participating patients (200) were electively divided into two groups, each group comprising 100 patients. The pneumoperitoneum was established in the first group by an open technique (Hasson) while in the second group it was by using a closed technique (Veress needle). A comparison was made between the two techniques for intraoperative and postoperative complications that may have occurred due to port insertion up to 18 weeks.Results: According to the results, the highest percentage was for the following: females (84.0%), ages between 50 and 59 years (43.5%), and body mass index (BMI) range 25-30 kg/m2 (49.0%). No significant difference was observed between those variables for the two surgical techniques (p-value > 0.05). No death was recorded in the study. Consequences at the port site were observed in 10.5% of patients, the majority reported in the open approach (8.5%) as follows: bleeding (3.0%), hematoma (2.0%), wound infection (1.5%), hernia (1.5%), and vascular injury (0.5%).Conclusions: Thus, we concluded that port site complications are lowest in closed laparoscopic surgery which was not shown to be statistically significant but values showed less complications. Furthermore, samples could be used to gain a good statistical significance.

Environmental Pollution Caused by Heavy Metals and Radioactivity in Two Governorates in Iraq

This study focused on knowing the levels of pollution caused by heavy metals (iron, lead) and gamma rays in the governorates of Maysan and Basra. The highest value of gamma rays was in Maysan governorate, there is a rise in these rates, according to the comparison conducted with international research, but these values do not represent a significant danger. The samples in this study are normal and free of pollution. It was found that the highest value of gamma rays in Maysan is 0.7 μSv/h at S5 and S9. The lowest value was 0.11 μSv/h in S3. As for the heavy elements, the highest value of iron was found at 0.2811 mg/l in Karama village (S2), and the lowest value was 0.2203 mg/l in S3 and the highest value for lead was 0.2632 mg/l in Kameet and the lowest value was 0.0033 In the village of Al-Huda, the highest value of gamma rays was observed at 0.8 uSv/h in S6 and S7, and the lowest value was 0.11 μSv/h in S2. The highest value for iron Fe was 0.3452 mg/l at the site S4 Al-Burjisiya Road 17, and the lowest value was 0.2232/ml for S9 Safwan Street, while pb had the highest value of 0.2817 mg/L in S7 of Zubair farms, and the lowest value was 0.0319 mm/L in S9 of Safwan Street.

Technical efficiency of Iraq's labour market

The assessment of the Iraqi employment market is highly required since the high level of unemployment rate which achieves 13.74% in 2019 and the economic crisis from which Iraq suffers. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the technical efficiency levels of the Iraqi Labor market by referring to a set of Stochastic Frontier Analysis models (namely time-invariant models and time-variant models developed by Greene (2005)). The sample is decomposed from fifteen regions for the years extended from 2010 to 2013 and 2019 to 2020. The results provide interesting insights such as the low level of efficiency across Iraqi governorates. The results are explained by the geopolitical circumstances and socioeconomic crisis which have a tremendous impact on Iraqi market employment. After assessing the levels of technical efficiency, we turn our attention to panel data analysis of the employment market in which we proceed to Fixed Effect and Random Effect Models. The main results reveal a significant impact of work supply on the employment rate whereas unemployment does not have a significant effect.

Medication Dispensing Errors in Liquid Dosage Form in Some Iraqi Governorates

Domestic measures such as a tea spoon (tsp) and a table spoon (tbsp) may be confusing and result in drug dispensing errors that may eventually lead to adverse consequences, especially with drugs with a small therapeutic window. This study investigates the relationship between the unit of measure used, dispensing errors, and whether household devices mediate this relationship. The results manifested that 95% of error was made by parents when measuring the dose intended by the physician. Moreover, 99.4% made an error in measuring the prescribed dose approved by the standards of USP and BP, and 69% used a nonstandard instrument. It is best to provide standard measures with each liquid drug and avoid using terms like “tablespoon or teaspoon” in patient education as they are confusing terms.

Evaluation of structural properties of Baghdad-Baquba road pavements

Structural evaluation of the road pavements is an essential concept to ensure their efficiency to carry traffic loads and to archive the data for future usage especially in major highways. Baghdad-Baquba is an important interstate highway as it connects the capital of Iraq with Diyala governorate which is one of the biggest governorates in Iraq. In addition, this highway connects Baghdad city with several governorates in the north of Iraq. However, this highway exhibits low serviceability due to poor condition of its pavements. Therefore, the structure of the pavements must be evaluated to specify the causes those lead to the decrease in its serviceability and to propose the suitable rehabilitation methods. This study aims to adopt a field survey to extract a number of samples from selected section in this highway to evaluate the structural properties of the pavements based on laboratory testing. Four cores and one pit with 1×1 m dimensions were extracted from the pavements in the field. Several tests were implemented on these tests based on standard methods. The results of the tests were adopted to evaluate the capacity of the pavement based on AASHTO 1993 method. The results exhibited that the estimated applied traffic load exceeded the calculated allowable traffic load by more than 12 times which reflect the disastrous situation. Therefore, the study proposed to rehabilitate the pavements by reconstruction. The study proposed to construct three layers: asphaltic layer with thickness of 240 mm, granular base with thickness of 250 mm, and granular subbase with a thickness of 250 mm. The study stated that all layers must have superior quality with high elastic modulus to resist the predicated traffic load.

Characterization of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes and extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica isolated from broiler chickens.

Background and Aim:Antibiotic-resistant Salmonella is a public health concern. Fluoroquinolones and extended-spectrum beta-lactams are widely used for the treatment of Salmonella infections. This study focused on the detection of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) genes among multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica isolated from broilers.Materials and Methods:A total of 40 non-typhoidal S. enterica isolates were collected from 28 broiler chicken farms in four Iraqi Governorates. These isolates were examined for their susceptibility to 10 antimicrobial agents by disk-diffusion method followed by polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of PMQR determinants and ESBLs genes.Results:Salmonella strains revealed high levels of resistance to the following antibiotics: Nalidixic acid 100%, levofloxacin (LEV) 97.5%, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 95.0%, tetracycline 92.5%, and nitrofurantoin 80.0%. Otherwise, all isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime and ceftriaxone. All isolates were MDR, with 15 different profiles observed. Among 38 amoxicillin/clavulanic acid-resistant Salmonella isolates, 20 (52.6%) had the blaTEM gene, while blaSHV, blaCTX-M, and blaOXA genes were not detected. Only 5 (12.8%) out of 39 LEV-resistant isolates were positive for qnrB, three of which had blaTEM. No qnrC or qnrD, qnrS, aac(6`)-Ib-cr, qunA, and oqxAB genes were found in any of the tested isolates.Conclusion:This study demonstrates that broiler chickens may be considered a potential source for spreading MDR non-typhoidal Salmonella and ESBL traits in poultry production. Therefore, it is important to continuously monitor ESBL and PMQR genes to avoid the spread of resistant strains in the food chain and impact public health.

Predict the Risk Level in Iraqi Governorates According to the Spread of COVID-19 Using Data Mining

The massive spread of COVID-19 made it one of the biggest current pandemics in the world. Predicting the extent of the virus' spread is critical to containing the threat, because it helps to take appropriate measures and decisions at the state level as well as at the personal level, where it is possible to avoid travel to the places of spread and take the necessary measures to limit the spread of the virus. In this research, an intelligent model has been built to predict the extent of the spread of Covid-19 disease in the Iraqi governorates. COVID-19 data for Iraq's governorates was obtained from a website affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Health. The data was reconstructed according to a certain structure to be used in training the prediction model. The LSTM deep learning algorithm was adopted for its effective performance in predicting the direction of the recorded cases in the future. The results showed a high accuracy in the performance of the model.

Development of an urban planning information system for settlements located in oil production areas: the case of Al-Zubair district in Basra governorate

Introduction. Oil production areas are highly damaged in Al-Zubair district. However, they border residential and industrial zones, water areas, and farmlands. The local transport infrastructure demonstrates rapid growth. Al-Zubair district is also home to a largest oilfield in Basra governorate. The oilfield is an important factor of the country’s economic development and an employer for the residents of Basra and other Iraqi governorates. The programme, focused on the development of an urban planning information system, proposed by the authors for oil production areas, encompasses information gathe­ring and processing, database provisioning, data analyzing and processing. The ArcGIS cartographic system will be used to make base maps of urban environments. Field studies have been conducted in the areas of environmental degradation, intervention and imbalance. The preparatory work included information gathering, photographing, and using GPS to determine the location of the areas under research. The purpose of the study is to identify the areas, that are potentially fit for human habitation, and analyze alternative inventory accounting models of oil production areas using three project proposals.
 Materials and methods. Standard measuring instruments and navigation devices, such as Garmin GPS controller, were used to collect the information to be further added to the database and processed using statistical methods. GIS systems (Arc Map 10.3) and Microsoft excel were used to make digital maps; the remote sensing method and open data were also employed. A camera was used to make photos of particular objects. Firstly, the information was collected and added to the controller database, then it was forwarded to a computer system as vector data to make a digital map and develop design solutions.
 Results. The purpose of the new urban planning information system is to assess the local living conditions and ensure the sustainable development of populated areas in the Al-Zubair district of Basra Governorate, the Republic of Iraq.
 Conclusions. The proposed method of using an ecological mapping system to identify the areas potentially fit for human habitation will improve the quality of urban planning, enhance the environment in oil production areas and ensure their sustainable development. These areas need area development plans, that comply with the standards for residential areas located in oil production neighbourhoods.

Communication Problems Facing Agricultural Employees Working in Agricultural Extension in Extension Centers in the Central and Northern Governorates of Iraq and their Relationship to Some Variables

Survey to identify the size of the problems, solving them in solving them, solving their problems, solving them in solving them, solving their problems, solving their problems, solving them in solving them, solving their problems in solving them, solving their problems in solving them, solving their problems in solving communication, solving translation problems in Work environment) educational seminar, seminar, seminar, seminar, educational seminar, upbringing, participation in extension activities). The research included all the agricultural workers working in agricultural extension in extension centers in the governorates of central and northern Iraq, and their number was (103). The exploratory sample consisting of (30) employees was excluded from the final procedures of the research, and thus the final research community became (73) employees. A questionnaire form was prepared to collect data for the research. It consisted of two parts. The first part included the factors related to the employees, while the second part included (63) phrases, each of which represented a communication problem, divided into five areas. SPSS program has been used for the social and psychological sciences and some other statistical methods to analyze the data and achieve the research objectives. The results showed that more than half of the respondents suffer from medium communication problems, as it was found that the area of problems related to the counsellor ranked first. The results showed a significant correlation between the size of the problems and a number of the studied factors. The researchers concluded that a large number of respondents suffer from communication problems that limit them from carrying out counseling activities with high efficiency. The two researchers recommend solving the communication problems of the employees and taking into consideration the factors that had a significant correlation with the size of the communication problems when assigning the employees to implement the extension activities.

Comparison of Hand Eczema in Iraq Before and During SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Using Frequentist Statistics and Polynomial Models

Introduction. SARS-CoV-2 pandemic spread around the world exponentially. People use disinfectants excessively to protect themselves from the novel coronavirus, which may cause contact eczema; local health authorities can monitor these. Our study explores the internet to detect significant changes in online information search (seeking) behaviors connected with eczema in Iraq during the pandemic. Material and Methods. We searched the internet, via Google Trends, using five search terms; "اكزيما", "الاكزيما", "اكزيما اليد", "كحول", and "مطهر"; these are the Arabic translation for "eczema", "the eczema", "hand eczema", "alcohol", and "disinfectant". We explored the internet covering two years, one before and one during the pandemic. Results. Spatial mapping conveyed data from six governorates in Iraq, including Ninawa, Babil, Al-Najaf, Baghdad, Basrah, and Erbil. Basrah governorate had the highest score (interest) for the search term "the eczema" (الاكزيما), while Al-Najaf had the highest score for the search term "disinfectant" (مطهر). Temporal mapping exhibited high variability, the highest of which was for the search terms "the eczema" (الاكزيما) and "alcohol" (كحول). Exploring the temporal variabilities, using polynomial models showed weak predictive power over the two years. However, during the pandemic year, the predictive models for each search term possessed a moderate power. Conclusions. Changes in human behavior during pandemic events are of prime importance for pharmacovigilance experts. Pandemics can influence medical conditions, including hand eczema, as a manifestation of disinfectants' overuse. Combining data analytics and artificial intelligence facilitates screening, detecting, and collecting pharmacovigilance and safety data.

Social Risks and Development Gaps in Iraq: A Social Study in the City of Baghdad Mais Mohammed Kadhum

Social risks posed a great challenge to the development path in Iraq, which resulted in widening the development gaps, whether these gaps were between rural and embargoed areas, or between Iraqi governorates, and the gender gap. Besides, the nature of the reciprocal relationship between the social risks and the development process requires the adoption of development trends that are sensitive to the risks that take upon themselves the prompt and correct response to these risks, away from randomness and confusion that Iraq suffered from for decades. However, currently, the situation has differed a great deal. This is because the size and types of such gaps have widened and become more complicated than before; a matter which has led to have clear development gaps due to the differences and distances ensued among the Iraqi governments, the areas of rural and urban, in addition to the gender gap. The research has adopted the social sampling method by building a scale consisting of (21) paragraphs and four-way answer alternatives (agree completely, agree, do not agree, do not agree at all). The scale has been applied to a sample of (100) sociology specialist respondents. The research reached several conclusions, the most important of which are: The nature of the rapid and continuous social changes imposed new forms of social risks that are not familiar before and which are difficult to deal with. The problem of persistent inequality at the level of societies and individuals is one of the most serious challenges that can generate new opportunities for more deadly social risks.

Evaluation of uranium concentration in the blood breast cancer women with CR-39 detector

Some governorates of Iraq are considered as uranium-contaminated areas. The spread of cancerous tumors injuries was recorded in different parts of Iraq at very high rates. As cancer is closely related to high level of uranium in the blood, this study was conducted on women with breast cancer to evaluate the uranium concentrations in their blood. The aim of the study is to assess the concentration of uranium in the blood Iraqi breast cancer women to establish reference values for the levels of toxic uranium in their blood and the possibility of getting breast cancer. A total of 39 blood samples were collected from breast cancer women and a control group. CR-39 track detector has been used to evaluate the uranium concentration in blood samples by placing a drop of blood on the detectors and calculating the uranium concentrations by irradiating the detectors with a neutron source. Statistical analysis is achieved utilizing SPSS programme. The outcomes show elevated levels of uranium concentration in the blood of women with breast cancer, which was found to be 92±0.6 ngL−1 compared to the control group (40 ±0.4 ngL−1), and internationally published data. The results show that the uranium concentration in the blood of breast cancer women is higher than those in the control group and some of the globally published data. This indicated that there is a relationship between the elevated concentrations of uranium in blood and the risk of getting breast cancer.

THE METHODS OF PERSUASION USED IN EMARKETING ADVERTISEMENTS AND THEIR REFLECTION ON THE PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR OF IRAQI YOUTH: A FIELD STUDY

Scientists consider that the appeal to the mind is the mental criterion for persuasion, which is the strongest and most influential, followed by the appeal to the heart, which represents the symbol of emotion, in the persuasive process. The Iraqi (field study) with several sub-questions, to achieve several research goals, based on the theory oriented to the research, which is (the theory of media persuasion), which we see as the most appropriate theory for the problem of this research, its questions and objectives, based on the intellectual heritage represented by the methods of persuasion in electronic advertisements and their reflection on young consumers. The method used is the survey method, as it is one of the most appropriate approaches to media studies, and is consistent with the topic, problem and objectives of the research based on the analytical descriptive approach, as well as the questionnaire tool for all data and information related to the field study of the research sample represented by the Iraqi youth in the Iraqi governorates (Baghdad, Nineveh and Basra) and the adult Their number is (668) researched. The study reached several results, including the following: Determining goals was one of the most important methods of persuasion used in electronic advertisements in Iraqi commercial sites. The polarization model occupied the forefront of the persuasion models used in electronic advertisements, because this model plays a positive role in persuading young consumers and urging them to make a purchase decision. Among the most important principles of persuasive design in electronic advertising is simplicity and clarity The most important recommendations that came out of this study are as follows: Highlighting the characteristics and advantages of the product in terms of quality and efficiency, as well as focusing on the commercial relationship, facility, price and warranty in order to urge young people to make a purchase decision. The electronic advertisements in the Iraqi commercial sites focused on advertising communication, but they neglected electronic sales, and the delivery service, which is among the pillars of delivery. The necessity of paying attention to persuasive methods in electronic

Quality assessment of water quality in Iraqi cities

The quality of drinking water directly affects human health and life. This study is concerned with the assessment of the drinking water quality in the main cities of 14 Iraqi governorates for the years 2011 and 2017 based on the Iraqi Central Statistical Organization statistical data for nine parameters. The Canadian method was used to calculate the Water Quality Index. The results showed a slight difference with the preference for water quality for the year 2011. The water quality is ranked excellent depending on the minimum values of statistical data, good based on the average value of statistical data, and poor depending on the maximum values of statistical data. The most influential parameters for the deviation of the water quality index values are sulphate and turbidity, and the lowest are the pH and electrical conductivity. The study showed that the water quality index does not give a consistent trend of the water quality change during the years 2011 and 2017. Therefore, the study recommends the use of other advanced statistical methods for this purpose. The study showed that the statistical data give less accurate results than the results of the tests, but it gives a clear initial picture for the decision-makers when the study area is wide and the research team is not available and the time period is long.

أثر مناطق إنتاج العسل المحلي في محتواه من بعض المعادن الثقيلة

This study was conducted to estimate some heavy metals cadmium, lead, nickel and iron in 15 samples of Iraqi honey with 3 replicates for each sample which were collected from apiaries near potential contamination areas in five Iraqi governorates, including Baghdad, Karbala, Babylon, Diyala and Salah al-Din. The atomic absorption technique was used to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals, the results showed that there were significant differences at (P≤0.05) between the concentrations of these elements in the honey samples, the highest concentrations of cadmium 0.123 mg/kg were recorded in Baghdad, near the petrochemical production complex, lead 4.657 mg/kg and nickel 0.023 mg/kg in Babylon near the power plant, iron was 1.863 mg/kg in Karbala near the waste collection and incineration plant, and all the concentrations of cadmium and lead in the studied honey samples were higher than the acceptable limits set by the European Commission Regulation.

أثر مناطق إنتاج العسل المحلي في محتواه من بعض المعادن الثقيلة

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to estimate some heavy metals cadmium, lead, nickel and iron in 15 samples of Iraqi honey with 3 replicates for each sample which were collected from apiaries near potential contamination areas in five Iraqi governorates, including Baghdad, Karbala, Babylon, Diyala and Salah al-Din. The atomic absorption technique was used to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals, the results showed that there were significant differences at (P≤0.05) between the concentrations of these elements in the honey samples, the highest concentrations of cadmium 0.123 mg/kg were recorded in Baghdad, near the petrochemical production complex, lead 4.657 mg/kg and nickel 0.023 mg/kg in Babylon near the power plant, iron was 1.863 mg/kg in Karbala near the waste collection and incineration plant, and all the concentrations of cadmium and lead in the studied honey samples were higher than the acceptable limits set by the European Commission Regulation.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma Gondii in Parkinson’s Disease Iraqi Patients

Background Several studies have addressed the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), among Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients in different countries, and the potential association between the infection and PD; the results of these studies were conflicting. The study aims to investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection among sample of Iraqi PD patients. Also, to examine the potential association of age, PD duration, gender, smoking habit, zone of residence and family history of PD, with the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in PD patients.
 Patients and Methods Seventy-four PD patients attaining Dr. Saad Al-Witry Neuroscience Hospital in Baghdad/ Iraq for routine follow up, from different Iraqi governorates, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Detection of T. gondii was performed by detection of anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies in serum by ELISA method.
 Results The frequency rate of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies in Iraqi PD patients was 43.2% (32/74); while, none of the participants was seropositive for anti-Toxoplasma IgM antibody. Age, PD duration, smoking habit and zone of residences were not shown to be risk factors for Toxoplasma infection in PD patients (P>0.05); meanwhile, female gender and positive family history of PD were shown to have a protective effect ((OR, 0.309; 95% CI, 0.099-0.966; P= 0.043) and (OR, 0.162; 95% CI, 0.037-0.705; P=0.015); respectively).
 Conclusions
 The prevalence rate of Toxoplasma infection in Iraqi PD patients is 43.2%, female gender and positive family history of PD might protect against Toxoplasma infection in PD patients.
 Key words: Iraq, Neurodegeneration, Parkinson’s disease, Prevalence, Toxoplasma gondii