The Faculty of Medicine at Wasit University discusses a Master’s thesis examining the molecular detection and immunological characterisation of the Cryptosporidium parasite in thalassaemia patients
The Faculty of Medicine at Wasit University examined the Master’s thesis by student Walaa Razak Dian Obaid, entitled:
‘Genotyping, Detection and Immunological Characterisation of Cryptosporidium in Transfusion-Dependent Thalassaemia Patients in Wasit Province’
The thesis addressed the molecular detection and immunological characterisation of the Cryptosporidium parasite in transfusion-dependent thalassaemia patients in Wasit Governorate, with the aim of determining the prevalence of the parasite and evaluating the efficacy of laboratory diagnostic methods by comparing microscopy with the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, as well as examining the levels of the immune and inflammatory markers IL-18 and TNF-α and their relationship to the immune response in patients.
The study’s results highlighted the importance of molecular diagnosis in detecting infection with the parasite and identifying its genetic types; the researcher was able to record and document 15 local genetic sequences of the Cryptosporidium parvum parasite for the 18S rRNA gene, and deposited them in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI GenBank) database under the international accession numbers LC930610–LC930624 in the name of Wasit University, in a scientific achievement that contributes to enriching genetic databases and enhancing epidemiological studies related to the parasite.
The examination committee was chaired by Professor Dr Hayam Khalis Al-Masoudi of the University of Babylon, with membership comprising Professor Dr Mai Naji Kazim, Assistant Professor Dr Ghusq Jabr Shamkhi, Prof. Dr Baraa Abdulsalam Harija as supervisor, and Prof. Dr Safaa Abd al-Ilah Faraj as second supervisor.
The defence took place on Monday, 9 November 2026, in the defence hall.
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