EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HUMAN AND BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY AND KADUNA STATE OF NIGERIA

Merged with duplicate record (10026.1/1976) on 03.01.2017 by CS (TIS)The epidemiology of bovine and human tuberculosis (TB) was studied in the Federal Capital Territory and Kaduna state of Nigeria using four diagnostic methods; tuberculin test, culture and acid-fast stain of milk, animal (cattle) tissue and human sputum. Two PCR-based molecular techniques (Spoligotyping and Variable Number Tandem Repeat) were used to identify the species and strains of the isolates, while IS61 10-RFLP molecular method was optimised and applied on few samples to deten-nine the efficacy of the method. Of the 967 lactating cows from 57 herds tested for TB, 14.6%, 4% and 81.4% were positive, inconclusive and negative reactors respectively. Tuberculin test also showed that mycobacterial infection was prevalent iii the two management systems studied (nomadic and semi-nomadic), but the effect of management on the prevalence of infection was not significant. However, age was found to play a significant role in the prevalence infection where more positive cases were observed among the older age groups. It was also observed that control policy is either not in place or inadequately implemented in the study area. Of the 156 milk samples collected, 12.6% and 23% were culture and acid-fast positive respectively, while out of the 250 tissue samples 17.3% and 20% were culture and acid-fast positivc respectively. Thii s findiInIIg confirmed a definite relationship between the disease in live and slaughtered cattle. Comparing the three diagnostic methods in 4 detecting mycobacterial infection in cattle, the smear method was found to have detected more positive cases than the tuberculin and culture tests. Of the 900 suspected human TB patients investigated, 27% and 21 A% were culture and acid-fast positive respectively. This trend of high prevalence of TB among human patients in the area is similar to the trend observed among cattle populations; thus indicating a relationship between the disease in human and infection in cattle. In addition, a significant difference in the prevalence of the disease was observed between male and female patients with more positive cases observed among male patients. The prevalence of the disease was aslso found to be significantly higher in patients who did not have BCG vaccination in the past than those who had. It was also observed that the disease was higher in patients who consume raw milk and milk products. The supporting questionnaire survey among herdsmen, abattoir managers and patients further points that there is high possibility of transmitting the disease from cattle to humans. By DNA fingerprinting, strains of M. bovis, M. tuberculosis and M. qtýicanum were identified in cattle and humans respectively; thus indicating a typical animal-to-human and human-to-animal transmissions respectively. Combining the two molecular techniques in this study has vastly improved the level of discrimination of the isolates where of the 71 isolates typed, 49 pattems were produced by the two methods combined together, instead of only 23 and 41 types by spoligotyping and VNTR typing respectively. Of the 21 strains of M. mberculosis obtained in this study, only 5 strains have been descnbed previously in the international databases searched, out of which only 2 of them have been descnbed previously in Nigeria. The result in this study has valuable epidemiological and public health significance and calls for prompt and decisive action fron-i the govemment of Nigena towards controlling this deadly discase in both humans and animals

The Extract of Bombax Costatum Bark Improves Depression and Epileptic Seizures in Rats

Background: The plant Bombax costatum (BC) has been used traditionally in Nigeria for the management of various ailments. The chloroform extract of BC bark was investigated for its potential effects against the induced seizures and depression in rats. Methods: Thirty Wistar rats were divided into five groups of six. Group I received normal saline, group II received pentylenetetrazole (PTZ, 35 mg/kg), group III received diazepam (5 mg/kg) plus PTZ at 35 mg/kg, group IV received 250 mg/kg of the BC extract, and group V received 500 mg/kg of the same extract. The above protocol was repeated on alternate days from the first to twenty 5th days.  Results: Tukey’s post hoc test revealed a statistically significant increase in the seizure scores after using PTZ (3.38±0.29, P<0.0001), in contrast to a decrease in the seizures after treatment with the BC extract (250 mg/kg; 2.72±0.25, P=0.0001). The analysis of variance for forced swimming test showed a significant decrease in immobility time if treatment with the extract (250 mg/kg; 125±5.59; P=0.01). The immobility duration increased with the PTZ treatment (163.8±12.03). The brain’s dopamine and serotonin levels under PTZ effect significantly decreased to 140.2±15.66 and 26.38±1.16, respectively, when the rats were treated with the extract at 500 mg/kg.  Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that the BC extract has anticonvulsive and anti-depressive properties, thus it offers neuro-protection against both conditions, induced by PTZ in rats

Acute Toxicological, Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Methanol Extract of Laggera aurita Linn F (Compositae) in Mice and Rats

Background: The plant Laggera aurita is an annual or biannual plant belonging to the family Compositae that has been used for management of pain related conditions locally.  It reportedly has anti-oxidant as well as antimicrobial properties. Objectives: To conduct LD50 and phytochemical studies, evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of the methanol extract of L. aurita and determine possible mechanism of action. Methodology: Analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of the extract were investigated using acetic acid induced writhing, thermally-induced pain, and formalin induced inflammation in rats and mice. Phytochemical and acute toxicological screenings were also conducted. Results: The LD50 was found to be above 5000 mg/kg with slight changes in histological architecture observed in the kidney, liver, lungs and stomach. The extract at dose 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg significantly (p&lt;0.05) inhibited acetic acid induced writhes in mice and increased mean reaction time in the thermal pain model, both dose dependently. The effect on thermally induced pain was blocked by naloxone, a non-specific opioid antagonist, suggesting opioid receptor involvement in analgesia. The extract also significantly (p&lt;0.05) decreased formalin induced paw edema dose dependently. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the methanol extract of L. aurita possesses analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties that justify its ethnomedicinal use in management of pain and inflammation. Keywords: Laggera aurita, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, acute toxicity

Comparative effects of organic manure sources and rates on performance of groundnut varieties

An experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research farm of the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. The aim was to study effects of different organic manure sources on performance of groundnut varieties. Treatment consisted of three organic manure source, (Poultry manure, (PM) cow dung (CD) and household waste (HW) each at two levels (1 ton and 2 tons), two varieties of groundnut SAMNUT 21 (V1) and SAMNUT 23 (V2) and a control. The treatments were factorially combined and assigned in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. Growth data such as plant height, canopy spread and biomass weight and; yield data including, pod yield per plant, seed yield per plant, 100 seed weight were collected

Influence of Socio-Demographic Characteristics on Feeding Habits of Residents of Katagum LGA, Bauchi State, Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on feeding habits of inhabitants of Katagum local government Area of Bauchi state, Nigeria. The two nominal independent variables used in the descriptive survey are income level, and culture/ethnicity. This study employed the descriptive survey design. The population of the study was drawn from three districts council of Katagum local Government Area in Bauchi State Nigeria. Three hundred and ninety nine (399) respondents was conveniently selected using stratified random sampling and convenient sampling techniques, the instrument used for collecting data for this study was questionnaire named Socio-demographic characteristics data (SDCDQ) and food frequency list (FFL), data collected was statistically analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result revealed that income level was not significantly influenced by the feeding habit of the Katagum inhabitants, which implies that there is no significant difference between feeding habit and income level. The findings further discovered that culture/ethnicity shows there is no significant difference between feeding habit and culture/ethnicity; the study concludes that the inhabitant feeding habit was not influenced by their various cultures. Based on these findings it was recommended among others that the government should ensure food self-sufficiency and provide necessary infrastructure to stimulate economic activities, enhance incomes and improve living conditions of the poor

Tuberculin screening of some selected Fulani lactating cows in north-central Nigeria

The prevalence of mycobacterial infection among lactating Fulani cows was investigated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Kaduna State of Nigeria. Tuberculin testing using single comparative intradermal tuberculin test showed a 14.6 % positive, 4 % doubtful, and 81.4 % negative reactors. Mycobacterial infection was found to be present in the nomadic (constantly moving) and seminomadic (limited movement) management systems studied but management showed no significant effect on the prevalence of the disease. However, the prevalence was significantly higher in older age groups than the younger ones (P < 0.05).Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

High mortality among tuberculosis patients on treatment in Nigeria: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of death in much of sub-Saharan Africa despite available effective treatment. Prompt initiation of TB treatment and access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains vital to the success of TB control. We assessed time to mortality after treatment onset using data from a large treatment centre in Nigeria. METHODS: We analysed a retrospective cohort of TB patients that commenced treatment between January 2010 and December 2014 in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. We estimated mortality rates per person-months at risk (pm). Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine risk factors for mortality. RESULTS: Among 1,424 patients with a median age of 36.6 years, 237 patients (16.6%) died after commencing TB treatment giving a mortality rate of 3.68 per 100 pm of treatment in this cohort. Most deaths occurred soon after treatment onset with a mortality rate of 37.6 per 100 pm in the 1st week of treatment. Risk factors for death were being HIV-positive but not on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) (aHR 1.39(1 · 04-1 · 85)), residence outside the city (aHR 3 · 18(2.28-4.45)), previous TB treatment (aHR 3.48(2.54-4.77)), no microbiological confirmation (aHR 4.96(2.69-9.17)), having both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB (aHR 1.45(1.03-2.02), and referral from a non-programme linked clinic/centre (aHR 3.02(2.01-4.53)). CONCLUSIONS: We attribute early deaths in this relatively young cohort to delay in diagnosis and treatment of TB, inadequate treatment of drug-resistant TB, and poor ART access. Considerable expansion and improvement in quality of diagnosis and treatment services for TB and HIV are needed to achieve the sustainable development goal of reducing TB deaths by 95% by 2035

The impact of rural residence and HIV infection on poor tuberculosis treatment outcomes in a large urban hospital: a retrospective cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: Successful tuberculosis (TB) treatment is essential to effective TB control. TB-HIV coinfection, social determinants and access to services influenced by rural residence can affect treatment outcome. We examined the separate and joint effects of rural residence and HIV infection on poor treatment outcome among patients enrolled in a large TB treatment centre in Kano, Nigeria. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed a cohort of patients with TB enrolled in a large urban TB clinic in northern Nigeria, from January 2010 to December 2014. Poor treatment outcome was defined as death, default or treatment failure. We used Poisson regression to model rates and determine the relative risks (and 95% confidence intervals, CI) of poor treatment outcomes. RESULTS: Among 1381 patients included in the analysis, 28.4% were rural residents; 39.8% were HIV-positive; and 46.1% had a poor treatment outcome. Approximately 65 and 38% of rural and urban residents, respectively, had a poor treatment outcome. Rural residents had 2.74 times (95% CI: 2.27-3.29) the risk of having a poor treatment outcome compared to urban residents. HIV-positive patients had 1.4 times (95% CI: 1.16-1.69) the risk of poor treatment outcome compared to HIV-negative patients. The proportion of poor treatment outcome attributable to rural residence (population attributable fraction, PAF) was 25.6%. The PAF for HIV infection was 11.9%. The effect of rural residence on poor treatment outcome among HIV-negative patients (aRR:4.07; 95%CI:3.15-5.25) was more than twice that among HIV-positive patients (aRR:1.99; 95%CI:1.49-2.64). CONCLUSION: Rural residents attending a large Nigerian TB clinic are at increased risk of having poor treatment outcomes, and this risk is amplified among those that are HIV-negative. Our findings indicate that rural coverage of HIV services may be better than TB services. These findings highlight the importance of expanding coverage of TB services to ensure prompt diagnosis and commencement of treatment, especially among rural-dwellers in resource-limited settings

Deaths during tuberculosis treatment among paediatric patients in a large tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Despite availability of effective cure, tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of death in children. In many high-burden countries, childhood TB is underdiagnosed and underreported, and care is often accessed too late, resulting in adverse treatment outcomes. In this study, we examined the time to death and its associated factors among a cohort of children that commenced TB treatment in a large treatment centre in northern Nigeria. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of children that started TB treatment between 2010 and 2014. We determined mortality rates per 100 person-months of treatment, as well as across treatment and calendar periods. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to determine adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) for factors associated with mortality. RESULTS: Among 299 children with a median age 4 years and HIV prevalence of 33.4%; 85 (28.4%) died after 1,383 months of follow-up. Overall mortality rate was 6.1 per 100 person-months. Deaths occurred early during treatment and declined from 42.4 per 100 person-months in the 1st week of treatment to 2.2 per 100 person-months after at the 3rd month of treatment. Mortality was highest between October to December period (9.1 per 100 pm) and lowest between July and September (2.8 per 100 pm). Risk factors for mortality included previous TB treatment (aHR 2.04:95%CI;1.09-3.84); HIV infection (aHR 1.66:95%CI;1.02-2.71), having either extra-pulmonary disease (aHR 2.21:95%CI;1.26-3.89) or both pulmonary and extrapulmonary disease (aHR 3.03:95%CI;1.70-5.40). CONCLUSIONS: Mortality was high and occurred early during treatment in this cohort, likely indicative of poor access to prompt TB diagnosis and treatment. A redoubling of efforts at improving universal health coverage are required to achieve the End TB Strategy target of zero deaths from TB