A household survey was conducted in 1982-83 in a sample of 324 households served by five health centres in two different areas of Southern Iraq. Information from each household was collected on socioeconomic factors, access to curative health services, sickness within the previous four weeks and the subsequent use of health services. Thirty seven per cent of people reported some sickness during the four-week recall period, giving an average of 40 episodes per 100 people per four weeks. The average consultation rate was 33 per 100 people and the annual estimated rate was 4.3 consultations per person per year. There was an average of 82 consultations per 100 sickness episodes with the highest rates for infectious and parasitic diseases (111) and hypertension and heart diseases (108), and the lowest for eye and ear diseases (52). The most important factors affecting utilization were level of perceived sickness in the household and the distance to the nearest health centre. Household income did not appear to be an important factor except for attendance at private clinics. The study suggests that the overall rate of utilization is sufficient for curative services but that now it is the quality of this care that needs to be examined.
Background: Cancer is a major health problem at global level. It is increasingly registered in Iraq and Basrah but the epidemiological situation, though becoming better documented, is still questionable regarding the adequacy of data. Objective: The study aimed to measure the incidence of cancer in Basrah. Materials and Methods: The results presented in this paper are part of a large household survey carried out in Basrah governorate-southern Iraq over a 12 month period (January to December 2013). It involved a detailed interview with adult respondents from each and every household enrolled in the study during a three-year recall period about the incidence of cancer. A total of 6,999 households were covered yielding 40,684 persons. Results: The total number of new cancer cases reported over the three-year recall period (2010-2012) was 112. The average annual incidence rate of all cancers was 91.8 per 100,000 population with a higher rate for females (109.7) compared to males (74.3) The overall age standardized rate was 150.7 per 100,000. The highest incidence rate was recorded for the Southern part of the governorate (Abul-Khasib and Fao ) at 138.8 per 100,000 and the lowest was for East of Basrah (Shatt-Arab District) at 78.0 per 100,000. With respect to cancer types, the main cancers were those of breast, lung, larynx-pharynx, leukaemia, colon-rectum and urinary bladder. These six cancers accounted for 51.5% of all reported cases. Other important cancers were those of brain, bones, pancreas and liver, accounting for a further 17.9%. Conclusions: The pattern of cancer in Basrah is generally similar to the pattern at the national level in terms of age, sex and topography but the incidence rate according to the present household survey is higher than any previously reported figures. Household surveys for cancer seem feasible albeit difficult and costly.
Background: COVID-19 expanded from an outbreak in China to a devastating pandemic across the world. So the aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Basrah Province-Southern Iraq Methods: Data were obtained from the Department of Public Health in Basrah and the daily communique of the Ministry of Health. Data on population were obtained from the Ministry of Planning. For all provinces the total number of cases and their fate in terms of being under treatment, cured or died was obtained. For cases in Basrah, data on age, sex, residence, fate, travel history and presence of co-morbidity for 152 cases. Results: In Basrah, The mean age was 46 years (Median 45 years) and the range was 13-98 years. No difference in the risk of COVID-19 was related to sex. Geographical variation was inconclusive The time trend of the epidemic is modest in both new daily cases and in cumulative numbers. At one point in time (April 10) the incidence rate was 56.28 per million, which was at intermediate level among other provinces. The total cases used for Iraq was 1279. The highest numbers were reported in Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil, Basrah and Sulaymaniyah. The lowest incidence rate was in Salah Al-Din (0.61 per million) and the highest was in Najaf (170.16 per million). The case fatality ratio for closed cases and for all cases was variable among provinces. Conclusions: COVID-19 in Basrah and Iraq is modest until today the 10th of April 2020
This study aimed at determining the burden of cancer as a cause of death in Basrah over three selected years; namely 1989, 1997 and 2005. All death registries in Basrah city, Districts and sub districts were used as sources of information for data compiling. Every death recorded in the three years was checked for cause of death and all cases for which any type of cancer written as the cause of death were identified. Data related to age, sex, place of residence, type of cancer, place where death was certified and year of death were obtained. In addition, the numbers of total deaths due to all causes in each year were also recorded. The results indicate a total of 297 deaths in 1989, 499 deaths in 1997 and 649 deaths in 2005 could be attributed to cancer. Regarding sex distribution of deaths, slightly more deaths occurred in males (53.8%) than in females (46.2%) with significant rise of cancer in females in 2005. Cancer as a cause of death represents about 5% of all deaths with some degree of increase in 1997 and 2005 as compared to 1989, but no major change in the cancer specific death rates among different years. Geographically, the distribution shows significant but not substantial variation with years. The mean age of dead persons was similar in the three years. The leading cancer deaths were those of lung, urinary bladder, blood, breast, lymphomas and CNS. The overall risk of death is not much different in different years except for a slight increase in 1997 and 2005 in comparison to 1989. Most cancers show stable or slightly fluctuating level of risk of death with time. Slight rise in the risk of death may be noticed in cancers of CNS, blood (leukemia), Bones, lymphomas and Colon-rectum. The researchers suggest that the stable level of mortality could reflect some improvement in treatment based on early diagnosis of many cancers. A study covering at least ten years is highly recommended to establish more sound time trend in cancer mortality.
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