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The rapid spread of monkeypox (mpox) has been declared as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and worry levels of the general population in the Kurdistan region of Iraq regarding the ongoing mpox multi-country outbreak. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted between 27–30 July 2022, using a convenience sampling method. The questionnaire was adapted from previous studies addressing the same topic. The independent Student's t-test, one-way ANOVA, and logistic regression were used to assess possible factors associated with knowledge, attitude, and worry toward mpox. A total of 510 respondents were included in the final analysis. The participants showed a moderate level of mpox knowledge, a neutral attitude towards mpox, and a relatively moderate worry level. The logistic regression analysis showed that age, gender, marital status, religion, level of education, and place of residence were associated with mpox knowledge; however, the significant variables in the multivariate regression analysis were gender, religion, level of education, and residential area. Gender and residential area were associated with attitudes toward mpox; however, the significant variables in the multivariate regression analysis were gender and residential areas. The worry toward mpox was influenced by gender, marital status, religion, and place of residence, yet the significant variables in the multivariate regression analysis were gender, religion, educational level, and residential area. In conclusion, the Kurdish population had moderate knowledge, a neutral attitude, and a moderate level of worry about mpox. Considering the continuous rapid rise in mpox cases in several countries, and its possible risk as pandemic amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, proactive control measures, adequate disease prevention strategies, and preparedness plans need to be formulated and immediately implemented to tackle the appearance of fears among people, and to safeguard the mental health of the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim: This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of anemia disease among the children of Ranya district (Kurdistan Region, Northern Iraq). Methods: Four hundred and seventy-three children were involved in this study. The samples were collected from both genders, containing preschool and school-aged children (0-10 years). The blood samples were taken from volunteers through venous puncture, collected in EDTA tubes and then analyzed by fully automated hematology analyzer. The anemic samples were further analyzed for detection of Iron-Deficiency Anemia (IDA). Results: The results showed that the overall prevalence of anemia among the children 0-10 years of age was 25.16%. The proportion of mild anemia was the commonest (68.06%), but the moderate was (26.90%) while severe anemia was (5.04%). The prevalence of anemia was relatively the same between preschool and school children, and slightly more amongst girls compared with boys but was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Anemia was significantly associated with age (p<0.05); however, mean Hemoglobin (Hb) had no significant association with age (p>0.05). The highest prevalence was recorded by IDA (57.98%) which significantly differs from other types of anemia (42.02%). Conclusions: It can be concluded that anemia was significantly associated with age. One-fourth of children from Ranya district were suffering from anemia. The most prevalent conditions were moderate and mild types. Children below 2 years of age were more likely to be anemic compared to older children. The highest prevalence of anemia was recorded by iron-deficiency anemia (IDA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]