Knowledge gap about HIV/AIDs and stigma associated beliefs in an urban Community in Southwest Nigeria: Implication for social work

Objectives: In Nigeria, over the years, community beliefs regarding HIV strongly influence stigma and discrimination experienced by People Living with HIV (PLHIV). Perception about its transmission has led to loss of income/livelihood, loss of marriage & childbearing options, poor care within the health sector, withdrawal of care-giving in the home, loss of hope & feelings of worthlessness as well as loss of reputation in the society. This study assessed community awareness and perception about HIV/AIDS in Osogbo Local Government, Osun State.Materials and Methods: It is a cross sectional descriptive survey. A total of 449 respondents were selected using multi stage sampling technique.Result: Alittle less than half i.e 208 (46.3%) believed that HIV can be transmitted through kissing, and 114 (25.4%) through hugging. One hundred and eleven (24.7%) believed that it is an act of God's punishment. Some respondents, 140(31.2%) believed that infected individuals should not get married, 67 (14.9%) will not keep friendship with infected individuals, 76 (16.9%) will not employ infected individual while 333(74.2%) believed infected individuals should be secluded from the society. Alittle less than half i.e 209 (46.5%) are yet to do HIV test. A significant association was found between occupation, educational status and the perception about PLHIV(p=0.000)Conclusion: There is high level of awareness about HIV among studied respondents. This pattern was however marred with misconceptions together with discriminating and stigmatizing tendencies, which could affect response to HIV scourge prevention . Therefore, continuous health ducation through health talks and mass media exposure will be helpful to improve misconception about HIV transmission and treatment.Keywords: Community; perception; HIV/AIDS; people living with HIV/AID

The burden of under-nutrition among school aged children in Ilorin north central Nigeria

Background: Nutrition is a major determinant of a child’s overall  development and learning. The new trend of malnutrition, described as  double burden of malnutrition, is one in which under-nutrition is coexisting with over-nutrition and is a major problem facing the world today. Under-nutrition is the most common health disorder among children, linked with  various diseases causing death in developing countries. There is paucity of data on the burden of under-nutrition among school aged children in Ilorin and Nigeria as this is presently not routinely done hence this study.Objective: To determine the prevalence of under-nutrition among school age children in Ilorin.Methods: A cross sectional descriptive studies of school aged children in Ilorin Kwara State using a multi – staged sampling techniques. Sixteen primary schools, eight public and equal number of private school pupils were recruited for the study. The anthropometric measurements were taken to determine the anthropometric indices using the World Health  Organization (WHO) reference 2007.Results: A total number of 480 primary school pupils from Ilorin were recruited. Males were 221 (46.0%) with a M:F of 1:1.2 and a mean age of 9.2 ± 1.8 years. The prevalence of underweight and stunting were 15.4% and 11.5% respectively. There are more underweight and or stunted children among the public school pupils compared with the private school pupilsConclusion: The study brings to the fore the magnitude of under-nutrition among school children in Ilorin Nigeria. Routine nutritional assessment of primary school children is advocated as against the present practice where such an important survey is limited to once and at the point of school entry only. The ongoing pilot school meal programme should also be extended to all states of the federation

Effect of Tamsulosin Use on Plasma Insulin Status in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Patients in Sokoto, Nigeria

The objective of this paper was to determine the effect of tamsulosin use on plasma insulin status in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients in Sokoto, Nigeria. Standard methods and procedures were used. At 2nd and 3rd months of tamsulosin use, there was a significant increase (P<0.05) in plasma insulin values compared to baseline. Likewise, at 4th month of tamsulosin use, a significant increase (P<0.05) in plasma insulin values was revealed compared to baseline and 2nd month values. Other inter-mean values comparisons were not significantly different (P>0.05). Plasma insulin at 4th months of the study in BPH patients (45-54 years) treated with tamsulosin revealed a significant increase (P<0.05) compared to baseline values. Other inter-mean values comparisons were not significantly different (P>0.05). BPH patients (aged 55-64 years) at 3rd month showed a significant increase (P<0.05) in plasma insulin values compared to baseline values. Likewise, at 4th month of tamsulosin use, a significant increase  (P<0.05) in plasma insulin values was seen compared to baseline and 1st month values. Other inter-mean values comparisons were not significantly different (P>0.05). In BPH patients aged 65 and above, there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in plasma insulin values from 1st through 4th month compared to baseline and other inter mean values comparisons. Plasma insulin at 0th , 1st , 2nd , 3rd and 4th months of BPH patients of different age groups treated with tamsulosin revealed no significant differences (P>0.05). This study revealed that tamsulosin use in the patients lead to significant increase in plasma insulin level (hyperinsulinemia). Careful and routine monitoring of BPH patients should be done. Patients need enough exercise activities and some drugs can be administered to alleviate elevated glucose or insulin. Keywords: Tamsulosin, hyperinsulinemia, benign prostatic hyperplasia patients, insulin resistanc

Assessment of heavy metal pollution in drinking water due to mining and smelting activities in Ajaokuta, Nigeria

Mining and smelting activities are the main causes for the increasing pollution of heavy metals from water sources. The toxicity of these heavy metals from the mining, milling and smelting companies can cause harmful and even lethal effects on the human health. The objective of this study was to investigate the level of As, Cr, Zn, Mg, Fe, Pb, Cd, Cu, Ag and Mn in well and tap water and assess the degree of pollution in the study area. Atomic Absorption Spectrometry investigation was carried out on 60 samples of water (Well and Tap) collected within and outside the mining and smelting area of Ajaokuta to determine the extent of these heavy metals contamination in their drinking water. The data of heavy metal concentrations reveal that the area has been slightly contaminated with the heavy metals, with As and Cr having the highest level of contamination. Correlation analysis between the selected heavy metals was conducted to further investigate the relationship between the metals. The result shows that these selected metals have common pollution sources related to the mining and smelting activities in the area.Keywords: Heavy metals, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), smelting, pollution, well wate

Pediatric Blood Culture Isolates and Antibiotic Sensitivity Pattern in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Introduction: There is a significant variation in the bacterial pathogens implicated in childhood septicemia and their antibiotic sensitivity patternfrom place to place. Sustained monitoring of this dynamics is therefore critical to rational antibiotic use. Materials and Methods: This study was thus conducted to determine the etiology of childhood septicemia and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Blood culture results (contaminants excluded), age, and sex of all pediatric patients with suspected septicemia between January 2013 and December 2014 were retrieved. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Over a 2‑year period, a total of 3680 blood samples were processed. Pathogenic bacteria were isolated in 701 samples (19%).    Staphylococcus aureus was the most common isolate (41.4%) and was most sensitive to ampicillin‑sulbactam (89%). Klebsiella species (21.7%),  coagulase‑negative Staphylococcus (14.7%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11%) were other common organisms isolated. Virtually, all the isolates demonstrated a reliable susceptibility to ciprofloxacin except for S. aureus and Klebsiella species which were most sensitive to ampicillin‑sulbactam and imipenem, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusions, S. aureus is the leading cause of childhood septicemia in this locale. The significant rate of isolation of the supposedly less virulent organisms calls for an urgent review of potential risk factors and an appraisal of the hospital infection control policies and structures. Keywords: Antibiotics, isolates, paediatri

Outcomes of tuberculosis treatment in a tertiary health facility in north-central Nigeria

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health concern despite being a curable and preventable disease. The treatment of TB using a cocktail of drugs over a period of six months under the directly observed treatment short-course strategy has led to a reduction in cases but is plagued by some challenges that leads to unsuccessful or poor outcomes, which can ultimately result in spread of infections, development of drug resistance and increase in morbidity and mortality. The objectives of this study are to determine outcomes of TB treatment in Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria and the factors that may be associated with the outcomes. Methodology: This was a retrospective study using the medical records of patients who were registered for TB treatment over a five-year period between 2016 to 2020. Data from TB registers including demographic and relevant clinical information, and treatment outcomes, were extracted into a structured data extraction format, and analysed with SPSS version 21.0 software package. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted, and Chi square test was used to determine association between TB outcomes and independent variables at 95% confidence interval and p<0.05 was considered as the significant value. Results: Records of 1,313 patients were studied, 744 (56.7%) were males while 569 (43.3%) were females. The age range of the patients was ≤ 1 year - 96 years, with a mean age of 30±16.7 years. Most were pulmonary TB cases (88.8%, n=1,166), newly diagnosed (95.5%, n=1254), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative at the time of TB diagnosis (63.7%, n=837). Eight hundred and seven (61.5%) patients had successful treatment, and 34% (n=446) had unsuccessful outcomes made of ‘loss to follow-up’ 25.8% (n=339), deaths 7.8% (n=102) and treatment failure 0.4% (n=5), while 2.3% (n=30) were transferred out and 2.3% (n=30) removed from TB register. Treatment success rate was significantly higher in patients with pulmonary TB (p=0.0024), residents in Lafia LGA (p=0.0005), those treated in 2016 (p=0.0006) and bacteriologically confirmed cases (p<0.0001), while death rate was significantly lower among patients who were HIV-negative at the time of TB diagnosis (p<0.0001). Conclusion: TB treatment success rate in this study fell short of the WHO average rate. High rates of ‘loss to followup’ and deaths in this study is a wake-up call to all stakeholders in the facility and the State to put in place measures to reduce poor outcomes of TB treatment

Assessing genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of duck (Anas platyrhynchos) in Nigeria using mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequences

In this study, the maternal genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship of Nigerian duck populations were assessed. A total of 591 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region of 87 indigenous ducks from two populations in Nigeria were analyzed. Seven haplotypes and 70 polymorphic sites were identified. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.381±0.058 and 0.315±0.155 respectively. The phylogeny revealed two divergent haplotype clades, suggesting two possible maternal lineage in Nigerian duck population, with the most commonly shared haplotype belonging to Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos). Genetic variation within and between populations accounted for 63.32% and 36.68% of the total genetic variation respectively. This study concluded that there was relatively high genetic diversity and differentiation, thus, this information will probably pave way for further evaluation studies, preservation and improvement of Nigerian ducks as genetic resources.Keywords: Genetic Diversity, MtDNA, Nigerian duck, phylogen

Body Mass Index Profile of School Children aged 6 – 12 Years in Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria.

Body mass index (BMI), defined as weight in kilograms divided by height in meter square, is a reliable indicator of body fat and is sex and age dependent in children. It is a measure of nutritional assessment, useful in the demonstration of the pattern of nutritional transition being experienced around the world today. Under-nutrition (underweight/stunting) and over-nutrition (overweight/obesity) are now seen to be co-existing in developing parts of the world despite the prevailing poor socioeconomic situations.BMI growth chart percentiles categorize underweight as BMI less than the 5th percentile, healthy weight as BMI between 5th and 84th percentile, overweight as BMI of 85th percentile to < 95th percentile and obesity as BMI of ≥ 95th percentile.This was aimed at determining the Body Mass Index of school – aged children in Ilorin.Cross sectional descriptive study of school – aged children in Ilorin Kwara State using a multi – staged sampling techniques was conducted. Sixteen primary schools, eight public and eight private school pupils were recruited. The anthropometric measurements were taken to determine the anthropometric indices using the World Health Organization reference 2007.A total number of 480 primary school pupils from Ilorin were recruited. Males were 221 (46.0%) with a M:F of 1:1.2 and a mean age of 9.2 ± 1.8 years. The mean BMI of the study population was 15.7 ± 2.4 kg/m². The prevalence of underweight and stunting was 15.4% and 11.5%, while the prevalence of overweight and obesity were 7.3% and 3.1% respectively.The study affirms the existent of double burden of malnutrition among school children in Ilorin. Routine nutritional assessment of primary school children and the implementation of school meal program is advocated.Key Words: Under-Nutrition, Over-Nutrition, School Age, Body Mass Index, Malnutritio

Evaluation of efficacy and effects of daily dosing of diminazene aceturate in dogs experimentally infected with Trypanosoma congolense

Resistance to trypanocidal drugs or relapse of infection poses a big challenge to the effective treatment of trypanosomosis. This study investigated the efficacy and effect of multiple daily doses of diminazene aceturate (DA) in Nigerian indigenous dogs (NID) experimentally infected with Trypanosoma congolense (2.5 x 105). Fifteen NID of both sexes and mean weight of 9.4 0.98 kg were randomly divided into 3 equal groups. Group A dogs were infected but not treated. Groups B and C were infected with T. congolense, and treated with single and four multiple daily divided doses of 3.5 mg/kg of DA, respectively. Parasitaemia was detected in the infected dogs on day 10 post infection (pi) and treatment was instituted in Groups B and C dogs on day 17 pi. Parasitaemia was cleared on days 10 and 8 post-treatment in Groups B and C respectively. There was an increase in urea, creatinine, aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels in all the groups while, alkaline phosphatase, Packed Cell Volume and Red Blood Cells count decreased. There was relapse of infection in treated groups on day 25 post-treatment. We concluded that four multiple daily divided doses of DA (3.5 mg/kg) were not effective in preventing relapse of T. congolense infection in NID.Keywords: Diminazene aceturate multiple doses; trypanosomosis; biochemical changes; dog