Awareness and attitude towards HPV and its vaccines among market women in Bodija Market, Ibadan

Background: Cervical cancer, commonest among cancers of the female genital tract continued to pose major challenge to women of reproductive age in developing countries though infection by its causative agent,human papilloma virus (HPV) is preventable.This study aimed to assess awareness and attitude of market women concerning HPV and its vaccines in prevention of cervical cancer.Materials and methods: A cross sectional study involving 329 market women, using multistage sampling technique. Instrument was an Interviewer--administered questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics,knowledge and awareness of HPV and its vaccine, sexual history and attitude towards HPV vaccines.Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20.0 with statistical significance level set at p<0.05.Results: Mean age of respondents was 29.49±3.65 years.All respondents were sexually active with majority (94.8%) having multiple sexual partners.Awareness of HPV vaccine and Pap smear test was among 1.2% and 9.4% respectively. Attitude towards HPV vaccination was good in 304 (92.4%) with 302 (91.8%) willing to take the HPV vaccines. There was significant association between attitude towards HPV vaccine and willingness to take HPV vaccine x2=111.8, p<0.01).Conclusions: Awareness of HPV and its vaccines is low among market women in our community.Policies and actions to step up information dissemination are urgently needed in order to stem the scourge of cervical cancer in our society.Keywords: Awareness,Market women,Ibadan,HPV vaccine

Sexual Violence Against Female Undergraduates in a nigerian Tertiary Institution

Background: Worldwide, violence against women is becoming an  increasingly recognized pandemic issue necessitating eradication and elimination. It occurs in various forms with resultant physical, sexual orpsychological consequences. However, there is still denial and paucity of literature about the magnitude and pattern of this problem in Nigeria.Objective: This study was designed to determine the patterns of sexual violence among female undergraduates including their perceptions and attitude.Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire based study involving 388 female undergraduates of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique using their halls of residence was used to select participants. The results were analyzed using statistical package for SPSS software version 16.0. The p-value was set at 0.05.Results: The mean age of respondents was 20 years and 382 (98.5%) of them were single. Only 31.2% were sexually exposed and the average age of sexual debut was 18 years. Most (78, 64.1%) cases of the first sexual intercourse occurred voluntarily. Two hundred and sixty two (67.6%) respondents had experienced at least one form of sexual abuse in the past. The commonest coercive sexual behaviour experienced was unwanted touching (53.4%). The perpetrators were mostly casual friends (63.7%) and most reported these incidences to friends. The respondents  demonstrated good knowledge but poor attitude about sexual abuse.Eighteen (10.7%) admitted to prior rape which was mainly perpetrated by strangers with half admitting it adversely affected their relationship with the opposite sex.Conclusion: Sexual violence occurs in this environment but mainly goes unreported. There is good knowledge about the issues of sexual violence but there is need for improved attitude and reporting by victims

Gene frequencies of ABO and Rh(D) blood group alleles in Lagos, South-West Nigeria

Background: It has been well documented that the ABO and Rhesus remain clinically the most significant blood group systems. There is limited information on the gene frequency of the ABO and Rhesus blood groups from Lagos, South-West Nigeria. Data from this study will be of immense use to the geneticists, biologists, blood transfusion services policy maker and clinicians.Aim of this study: This study aims to provide descriptive information on the genetic composition and variation of population in Lagos State, Nigeria, with respect to blood group and Rhesus factor contributing to the existing knowledge.Subjects and methods: This study investigated the gene frequencies for the ABO and Rh(D) alleles in a population consisting of different ages in Lagos, Nigeria, over a period spanning 12 years (1998–2009). The 23,832 and 23,764 individuals were typed for ABO and Rh blood groups, respectively. We analyzed the genotypic and allelic frequencies based on Hardy–Weinberg equations. Chi-square goodness-of-fit statistic was calculated to compare observed and expected frequencies and to investigate heterogeneity between years.Results: 5504 (23.1%), 5072 (21.3%), 647 (2.7%) and 12,609 (52.9%) were blood groups A, B, AB and O, respectively. Over the period of this study, we observed an overall trend of ABO blood group was O> B > A> AB in both males and females. We also observed that blood group O was the most encountered phenotype while group AB was the least phenotype encountered among the studied population in both genders. This distribution differs significantly (p<0.05) from those expected under the Hardy–Weinberg law. With regard to the Rh blood group, individuals with Rh positive (DD and Dd) were 0.69 and 0.28. Rh negative (dd) was 0.03. This also showed that Rh(D) positive was the most phenotype observed in this study. This distribution do not differ significantly (p>0.05) from those expected under the Hardy–Weinberg law.Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that there exist genetic variability and polymorphism as regards ABO and Rh blood group among the population sampled. These findings would be useful to geneticists and clinicians when planning to address future health challenges relating blood transfusion and marriage counseling.Keywords: Blood groups; Gene frequencies; Rhesus; Allele

Informed consent for caesarean section at a Nigerian university teaching hospital: patients' perspective

Background: Caesarean section is one of the commonest obstetrics surgery and has become increasingly safer compared with the early 20th century. The practice of informed consent has also become universally adopted for surgical procedures. However, with increasing knowledge about ethics and rights, issues on consent isone of the frequent grounds for litigation and malpractice claims.Aims and Objectives: To audit the process of informed consent for emergency and elective caesarean section in a Nigerian tertiary health care setting.Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 150 patients who had caesarean delivery at the study site within the study period.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 32±1.8 yearswith 118(79%) of the surgeries being emergency Cesarean sections. The consent for CS were mostly given by the patients (96, 64.0%) and husbands (43, 28.6%). Majority of the respondents 123(81.5%) had the consent obtained in the labour ward with profuse bleeding (86.0%) and blood transfusions (88.7%) being the most commonly discussed risks. Many of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the consent form and felt it was well written (75.3%), attractive (76.0%) and simple to read (75.3%).Conclusion: This study found out that although patients were satisfied with the consent process for caesarean section, only information about major risks was commonly discussed. There is therefore the need for customized and detailed consent formsto be adopted for different surgical procedures.Keywords: Caesarean section, Informed consent, patients' perspective, ris

Social Aspects of Malaria among Students in Two Tertiary Institutions in Lagos, Nigeria

Studies were carried out on the social aspects of malaria among 600 students. Three hundred students (150 male, 150 females) were randomly selected from two tertiary institutions in Lagos, Nigeria. These schools are Lagos State University (LASU) and AOCOED (Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education). A structured questionnaire elicited relevant information on knowledge, perception and social aspects of malaria. Students aged 21-23, from faculty of arts and in their second year participated mostly in the study with no significant difference between the two schools. In LASU, 223(74.3%) and 211(70.3%) in AOCOED knew the cause of malaria (P>0.05). In LASU, 282(94%) and 192(64%) in AOCOED believed that malaria could be prevented (P<0.05). In LASU, 283(96%) and 283(94.3%) in AOCOED believed malaria could be treated (P>0.05). 109 (36.3%) respondents in LASU and 112(37.3%) in AOCOED thought that malaria was contagious (P>0.05). Fever was the most recognised symptom of malaria in both schools and self-medication was more popular in AOCOED. In LASU, 284(94.6%) and AOCOED, 273(91%) had malaria in the past one year (P>0.05). 146(48.7%) of the students who participated in LASU and 206(68.6%) in AOCOED had been admitted for malaria within the past one year (P<0.05). Class absenteeism and low academic performance were significantly higher in AOCOED than LASU. However, our results suggested that the LASU students were more informed about malaria than the AOCOED students because their knowledge and perception was better. The students, despite their academic backgrounds need intensified health education on malaria incorporated into their schools’ curriculum.Keywords: Academic performance, Knowledge and perception, Malaria, Socioeconomic status, Student

Analysis of some selected toxic metals in registered herbal products manufactured in Nigeria

The use of herbal medicine has been on the increase in many developing and industrialized countries and Nigerians in particular has been using herbal medicine for many centuries. The approval of these herbal remedies by regulatory bodies has further encouraged the use of herbal remedies. The safety of these herbal remedies is however poorly understood. This study investigated the concentration of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in twenty registered ready to use herbal products. Twenty brands of herbal remedies were purchased randomly from the Pharmacy shops in Lagos, digested with aquaregia (3:1 HCl: HNO3) and were analysed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (Buck 205 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer). There was no detectable lead in any of the 20 herbal samples; however, all the samples contained a detectable amount of one or more of the other metals of interest. The Oral Component Limit (OCL) for arsenic, cadmium and mercury as stated by USP are 1.5, 0.5 and 1.5 μg/g, respectively. All the samples contained arsenic and mercury below the USP OCL, while sixtyfive percent contained cadmium out of which fifty-five percent were above USP OCL. The results obtained from this study suggest a significant risk to consumers’ health considering the toxicity of these heavy metals.Key words: Herbal remedies, toxic heavy metals, atomic absorption spectrophotometry

Pattern of alcohol use among drivers of commercial vehicles in Calabar, Nigeria

Objective: Hazardous use of alcohol is a public health problem which accounts for 4.0% of global burden of disease. We investigated the pattern and reasons for alcohol use among drivers of commercial vehicles in Calabar, Nigeria.Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study.Setting: The study was carried out in 18 of 32 clusters of motor parks in Calabar, Nigeria.Subjects: Three hundred and sixty drivers of commercial vehicles participated in the study.Result: The mean age of respondents was 38.5 ± 9.5 years. All respondents were male. More than four-fifth (84.4%) of respondents were alcohol users. About a quarter of respondents were hazardous alcohol users. Beer (76.6%) was the most patronised alcoholic beverage. Most (90.8%) alcohol users drank after work, usually (48.7%) in company of friends. The most commonly mentioned reason for alcohol use was forpleasure (59.2%).Conclusion: Market-related interventions and sport-friendly motor parks could be useful in alcohol control

Evaluation of microbial systems for bioremediation of petroleum refinery effluents in Nigeria

The potential of various organisms to catabolize and metabolize organic compounds has been recognized as potentially effective means of disposing of hazardous wastes. Phenolic compounds has long been recognized as one of the most recalcitrant and persistent substance in petroleum refinery effluents. This is a cause of some concern because of the high toxicity and of this compound. Bioremediation of phenolic compounds has been recognized as a potential solution for the disposal of phenolic compounds due to its scale ability, cost effectiveness and simplicity. The two species of Pseudomonas, P. aeruginosa and P. fluorescence were studied for their bioremediation potential on Refinery effluent with respect to phenol biodegradation in a batch reactor. Phenol was degraded completely by the two species. While P. aeruginosa completely mineralize phenol at the 60th hour of cultivation, only 75% (23 mg/l) of phenol was degraded by P. fluorescence; complete degradation was achieved at the 84th hour of fermentation. There was highly positive correlation between phenol biodegradation and the microbial growth. (r = +0.994 and r = +0.980 at

Inhibition of paracetamol-induced oxidative stress in rats by extracts of lemongrass (Cymbropogon citratus) and green tea (Camellia sinensis) in rats

The water extract of green tea and lemongrass were investigated for their antioxidant effects in Wistar albino rats. Control and Test groups of rats were administered with paracetamol (2 g/kg) on the 10th dayof the experiment while the test groups were pre-treated with 100 mg/kg body weight of green tea and lemongrass for 10 days. The effect of the extracts on serum levels of malondialdehyde, catalase activityand vitamin C were measured in paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Further, the effects of the extract on cholesterol and phospholipids were estimated. Cholesterol/phospholipids ratio was computed. The extracts of green tea and lemongrass produced significant (

Awareness and Perception of Androgen Deficiency of Aging Males (ADAM) among Men in Osogbo, Nigeria.

Background: A clinical and biochemical syndrome associated with deficiency of androgen with ageing. Increased longevity of people has rekindled interest in hormonal alterations in the aged. Awareness of the entity is still low among men especially men of African descent.Objective: To evaluate the awareness and perception about ADAM so as to provide basis for evidence based interventions addressing the subject in our environment.Methods:  A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted in Olorunda LGA , one of the LGAs that constitute Osogbo metropolis, the capital city of Osun State, Nigeria. A pre-tested, semi structured, interviewer administered questionnaire was applied to 400 men that had been selected using a multistage sampling technique. The sample size was calculated using fischer's formula for cross sectional descriptive surveys and the data was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 .Results:  The mean age of respondents was 42.3±14.8 years. Majority (95.5 %) of the respondents had formal education though up to variable levels. Many (43%) of them have never heard about andropause and 54.7% do not know anything about the symptoms. The commonest source of information about andropause among those who are aware is from friends (43.8%), none heard from health workers. Less than half (44.2%) of them believe it is due to aging, while majority (52%) have misconceptions like excessive sexual activity, or diabolical sources. Knowledge about andropause is better among older men (p<0.05) but educational status did not statistically affect it. (p>0.05).Conclusion:  Many men in this environment still have low levels of awareness about andropause . Among those that are aware, there are large knowledge gaps and wrong perceptions of it. Hence the need for more aggressive public education (irrespective of their educational status) about the existence, aetiology and possible negative health effects of andropause.Keywords: Andropause,Hypogonadism, Androgen, Ageing