A scientific study was conducted at the College of Science at University of Basrah, prepared by Dr. Muslim Abdul-Rahman Al-Tumah, Dr. Adnan Issa Al-Badran, and a doctoral student, Professor Basad Aqrab Maaleh Al-Aboudi, the instructor at the University of Dhi Qar, entitled (First record of ciliophora (orchitophryidae) isolated from CSF samples of patients with meningitis in Thi-Qar province south of Iraq).
The study, which was published in the Al-Safir magazine within Scopus containers, showed that this parasite is the first of its kind in the world, and its importance comes in that it was not previously recorded as a parasite that infects humans, as this parasite lives free in salt and fresh water.
The experimental study on laboratory animals included that this parasite can infect humans through contamination of wounds.
The results of the study concluded that meningitis in humans is not only caused by bacteria or viruses, but can also be caused by a parasite.
