immunological and biochemical glimpses of giardiasis in thalassemic patients

Aims: the present work seeks to ascertain immunological and biochemical characteristics in thalassemic individuals who have contracted giardiasis. materials & methods: this experimental study was conducted at the thalassemia center in thi-qar province, iraq, in 2022. fifty patients (21 males and 29 females) and 20 healthy controls were investigated. of the patients’ group, twenty-five were thalassemic and had giardiasis. the other 14 patients were thalassemic and free of giardia infection, and the remaining 11 patients were non-thalassemic but had giardia infection. five ml of venous blood from each participant was withdrawn to determine wbcs, neutrophil activity, and levels of il-6, iron, ferritin, and transferrin. findings: the levels of interleukin-6 in the three patient groups (28.20, 23.29, and 30.94pg/ml) were considerably higher than those in healthy controls (16.09pg/ml). in patient groups, there was a notable rise in wbcs but a notable fall in neutrophil activity. additionally, a substantial increase in iron and ferritin was found, although transferrin was lower in the patients than in the control group.conclusion: the thalassemia and giardia patients have greater iron and ferritin levels but much lower transferrin levels than the healthy individuals.