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Epidemiological study of the cholera outbreak in the city of Erbil- Kurdistan region / Iraq

Dana Khdr Sabir
Department of Biology, Charmo Centre for Research, Training and Consultancy, Charmo University, Iraq
Karzan Jalal Salih
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Science, Charmo University, 46023 Chamchamal, Iraq
Salar Saadi Hussain
Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq
Sevan Omer Majed
Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Sulaimani, 46001 Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Karzan Ghafoor Khidhir
Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Sulaimani, 46001 Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Hazha Jamal Hidayat
Department of Biology, College of Education, Salahaddin University- Erbil, 44001, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
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Copyright (c) 2025 Dana Khdr Sabir, Karzan Jalal Salih, Salar Saadi Hussain, Sevan Omer Majed, Karzan Ghafoor Khidhir, Hazha Jamal Hidayat (Author)

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Abstract

Background and objective: Cholera is a highly contagious acute diarrheal infection caused by Gram negative Vibro cholerae. A number of disease outbreaks are recorded annually in different countries around the world. The aim of current study is characterization of the 2022 cholera outbreak in the city of Erbil, Kurdistan region/ Iraq.

Methods: The data of2,192 suspected cholera patients who were admitted to the hospital in the period from June 2022 to September 2022.

Results: The results show that 205 (9.4%) of the hospital-admitted patients were identified as cholera positive, and they have complete data. The mean age ±SD of cholera cases was of 35.71 ± 21.9 years old. No association between males and females regarding the age distribution of cholera cases, and the percentage of male-to female-patients were close together (50.2% males to 49.8% females). Moreover, the etiology of the outbreak was identified as V. cholerae O1 serotype Ogawa. The antibiotic sensitivity test of the isolates showed that the strains are sensitive towards meropenem (10µg), Gentamicin (10µg), and Ciprofloxacin (10µg), whereas all the tested bacterial samples shown to be resistant to trimethoprim.

Conclusion: The etiology of the cholera outbreak in the city of Erbil was V. cholerae O1 serotype Ogawa. Around half of the infected people were aged between 20 to 44 years old. This is the first report on the recent outbreak in the Erbil-Iraq.

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How to Cite
Khdr Sabir, D. ., Jalal Salih, K. ., Saadi Hussain, S. ., Omer Majed, S. ., Ghafoor Khidhir, K. ., & Jamal Hidayat, H. . (2025). Epidemiological study of the cholera outbreak in the city of Erbil- Kurdistan region / Iraq. Zanco Journal of Medical Sciences (Zanco J Med Sci), 29(2), 246–254. https://doi.org/10.15218/zjms.2025.025

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