Integrated epidemiological investigation of the 2024 cholera outbreak in Sulaymaniyah Governorate- Iraq

Clicks: 1
ID: 317388
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal

Ranked #155 of 174 articles by views in Journal of applied microbiology

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 174 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
AIMS: Cholera outbreaks continue intermittently in Iraq. Recent outbreaks have highlighted the need for investigations. This study aimed to conduct an integrated epidemiological investigation of a cholera outbreak in Iraq using microbiological, molecular, immunological, and environmental approaches. METHODS: This descriptive epidemiological study investigated the surveillance of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) and environmental screening for Vibrio cholerae in 2024-2025. The microbiological and molecular characterisations, including virulence profiling, antimicrobial susceptibility, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and herd immunity, were explored. RESULTS: A total of 136 cholera cases were identified in 2024, corresponding to an attack rate of 6.0 per 100 000 population. The outbreak was moderate in size, temporally restricted to August-November period, urban-centred, and affected both sexes of adults. All clinical isolates were toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor Ogawa and belonged to the distributed pandemic sequence type (ST) 69. Environmental detection was rare (2/103, 1.9%) and confined to non-toxigenic, genetically distinct isolates of sequence type (ST) 1994. Multidrug resistance was detected in 77.4% of clinical isolates, which predominantly exhibited moderate biofilm formation and were eliminated at low chlorine concentration (2 mg l⁻¹), whereas environmental isolates exhibited stronger biofilm formation and higher chlorine tolerance. Serological analysis indicated low population immunity (2.2%). No cholera cases were recorded in 2025. CONCLUSIONS: This cholera outbreak was moderate in size and showed predominantly human-mediated transmission in a low-immunity urban population. The clinical isolates were Vibrio cholerae ST69 and exhibited antibacterial resistance and biofilm production. These findings provided insights for early detection and control of future outbreaks.
Reference Key
openalex_W7164750312 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Rafee Habib Askandar, Karzan R. Sidiq, Karzan A M Hawrami
Journal Journal of applied microbiology
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/jambio/lxag146
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/jambio/lxag146
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.