Treatment Outcomes among Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Tuberculosis Co-Infected Pregnant Women in Resource Poor Settings of South-western Nigeria

The complex interactions between Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis (TB) infections may be magnified, in the presence of another potentially stressful condition like pregnancy. Though co-infection among pregnant women is rare, treatment outcomes may depend on accessibility to comprehensive treatment modalities. The objective of this study is to determine treatment outcomes among pregnant HIV and TB co-infected pregnant women in Lagos, South-western Nigeria. This retrospective, analytical study was carried out among ninety four (94) eligible pregnant women co-infected with HIV and TB at selected health-care facilities in Lagos state between January, 2008 and December, 2009. A standard checklist for data collection was used and analysis was carried out using the EPI info software. Mean age of respondents was 30.8 (±3.9) years. Sixteen (17.1%) TB cases were clinically diagnosed for tuberculosis. Among tuberculosis cases identified through sputum microscopy, 60(63.8%) were acid fast bacilli (AFB) positive and 21(22.3%) were identified in the first trimester. The mean percentage adherence to anti-retroviral drugs was 95.9% (±5.3). None of the participant smoked cigarette. Seventy three {73 (77.7%)} had contact with TB infected or suspected person in the last three months. Treatment outcome in mother showed that 74(78.7%) were cured, 8(8.5%) relapsed while 12 (12.8%) had treatment failures. Among the babies, 83(88.3%) were born alive. Women with both poor adherence (<90%) and with positive TB contact, but neither factor alone, were half-fold less likely to be cured compared with women with both good adherence (>95%) and no TB contact (OR=0.59, CI=0.45-0.95 and p=0.014). Cure rate was substantially lower in this study. This calls for extra strategies such as routine TB screening in antenatal clinics, strict adherence to national guidelines in the treatment of HIV/TB co-infections, focused antenatal care and comprehensive Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) care and treatment

Survey of meat preference within the working class of Oyo state, Nigeria: a case-study of Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo

The study considered the meat preference within the working class of Oyo state using Emmanuel Alayande College of Education as a case study. The survey covered the three campuses of the College namely, Erelu, Isokun and Lanlate. A total of 50 structured questionnaires were administered in each of the three campuses, making 150 in all. Random sampling of the respondents was carried out covering both the senior and the junior staff. The result obtained shows a general preference for beef (31.33%), bush meat (24.66%), chevon (15.33%), chicken (13.33%), pork (10%) and mutton (5.33%) in reducing order of importance. Also, in terms of meat texture, 55.33% and 35.33% of the respondents preferred medium and soft meat respectively. The respondents also preferred fish (60.67%) to meat (39.33%) as their animal protein source. Frying (50%) was the preferred processing method, followed by boiling (36.66%) and smoking (13.33%). The meat cuts of preference to the respondents are thigh (37.33%), offals (18%), and, cow leg and skin (16.66%). However, majority (62%) of the respondents in the College surveyed had no knowledge of cholesterol.Keywords: Meat preference, working class, Oyo stat