The Indigenous Aliens: The Case of the Igbo in Nigeria, 1953 – 2013

There exist commendable great strides in the studies of the Igbo especially since the end of the Nigerian Biafran  War in 1970.  In spite of this plethora of literature on Igbo studies, there exist yet vistas awaiting historical interrogation and or re-interpretations.  Since the end of the ill-fated Biafran experiment, Ndigbo have continued to be seen and treated as indigenous-foreigners in Nigeria especially in some parts of the North.  This brings about the relative deprevation theory where the Igbo successes in business and other endeavours are believed to be occasioned by deprivation suffered by their host community.  The relative deprivation theory has engendered dispossessionist tendency in the psyche of some individuals who forment ethno-religious crises in order to appropriate immovable investments of Ndigbo outside Igboland.   In other words, this feeling of deprivation has characterized the relationship between Ndigbo and their host community; a development which is everything but cordial.  The paper avers that the experiences of Ndigbo in the larger Nigerian society especially in the North have remained more or less the same with those of the pre-war years.  It also affirms that the vicious and unprovoked attacks on the Igbo and their property are but a subtle way of continued persecution of those regarded as indigenous aliens in their fatherland. Keywords: Indigenous Aliens, Deprivation, Citizenship, Domination and Aggressio

From Prejudice to Preference: the Case of Traditional Medicine in Nsukka, Nigeria, 1960-2014

This study attempts to explain why Phyto-medicine referred to as Ogwu Igbo has remained relevant in the health care delivery system of Nsukka Igbo despite its derision following the advent of Western medicine. Nsukka people have had a rich tradition of herbal medicine for their health challenges but much has not been researched, a gap this intends to fill. Primary and secondary data such as journals, books, interviews and Ad-Hoc observations and accounts were analysed qualitatively using historical and self-report technique which revealed the people were depending on traditional medicine increasingly due to several factors. It submits that economic hardships and the efficacy of traditional medicine have promoted its acceptance

Active case finding and evaluation of IL-6 production among household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in a high disease setting

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a top infectious disease killer worldwide and remains a huge public health concern. However, most TB case findings are limited to self-referral (passive case finding), when individuals develop symptoms of TB. Only 15% of disease burden in Nigeria are reported. In view of this, it is important to assess the latent and active disease burden amongst HHC of TB patients suffering from pulmonary TB. In addition, it has been suggested that IL-6 levels could be used as a prognostic marker in exposed individuals. IL-6 levels were assessed in this cohort.Methods: A total of 205 subjects participated in this study, comprising 62 pulmonary TB index cases and 143 of their household contacts. Also, 54 apparently healthy subjects were recruited to serve as controls. Active case finding was performed amongst the HHC, using sputum and blood samples; they were tested for active TB. Blood samples were also collected for measuring IL-6 levels.Results: Findings reveal 6.3% previously undiagnosed active TB among the HHC of the TB patients and a significantly higher number of latently infected TB cases compared to the control population (p=0.0078). There were significant differences when comparing HIV co-infected index group to their HIV negative counterparts (P=0.032). Significantly different IL-6 levels were found among the study groups and sub-groups (p<0.0001), with significantly higher levels in TB mono-infection compared to in TB/HIV co-infection (p=0.031).Conclusions: These results demonstrate the importance of active TB case finding for TB control and the possible role of IL-6 as a diagnostic marker in TB control

Effectiveness of Treatment Outcomes of Public Private Mix Tuberculosis Control Program in Eastern Nigeria

Effective tuberculosis treatment has been shown to have significant effect on the control of tuberculosis. Completion of treatment of active cases is therefore the most important priority of tuberculosis control programmes. Descriptive statistics with a retrospective cohort study design used to analyze secondary data set (2007-2010) of patients accessing TB-DOTS treatment in two facilities (Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, NAUTH and Department of Health Services Tuberculosis and Leprosy  Control Unit Nnewi North Local Government Area (L.G.A.) Secretariat, DHSTLCU ) as public health facilities and other two facilities ( Immaculate Heart of Catholic Church Hospital, IHCCH  and Diocesan Anglican Communion Hospital, DACH) as private health facilities in Nnewi North L.G.A., Anambra State. Gender of patients were male: female 54%(1016 patients) : 46% (883 patients) and 53%(63 patients) : 47%(56 patients) in public and private health facilities respectively . Using WHO (1996) standards the health facilities adjudged as efficient were: in 2007, private facilities using the indicator  of treatment failure rate; private facilities using the indicator of death rate;  public facilities and private facilities using  the indicator of transfer-out rate ; public facilities using the indicator of  treatment completion rate. In 2008, effective health facilities were: private health facilities using the indicator of failure rate; public and private health facilities using the indicator of transfer-out rate; private facilities using the indicator of treatment completion rate. In 2009, effective health facilities were public and private health facilities using indicator of treatment failure rate; public and private health facilities using the indicator of death rate; public and private facilities using the indicator of transfer out; public and private facilities using the indicator of treatment completion rate. In 2010, effective health facilities were: private health facilities using the indicator of  cure rate; private facilities using the indicator of death rate ; public and private facilities using the indicator of transfer-out; public facilities using the indicator of treatment completion rate. In conclusion, private health facilities were more effective than public health facilities  by the several indicators over the four year period.  Future research is needful to use primary and secondary data sets in assessment of TB control program effectiveness; technical efficiency assessment using non-parametric statistics will assess the validity of assessing effectiveness using only the WHO standards; identify centre-specific factors associated with poor treatment outcome; institutionalizing a reward system for effective TB-DOTS facilities will engender healthy competition in the Public Private Mix for sustained effectiveness; the Monitoring and Evaluation tools especially the treatment card for data capture should be improved upon for comprehensiveness of patients socio-economic history. Keywords: Tuberculosis, Effectiveness, Treatments Outcomes, Public Private Mi

QUANTIFYING CASSAVA WASTE GENERATION AND BIOGAS PRODUCTION IN EHA-ALUMONA GRINDING MILLS

Garri processing is a major agricultural and food related activity which leads to waste generation and this waste in turn constitute environmental problems in terms of stench smells and poor hygienic conditions that allow microbes and germs to thrive. Rural dwellers are normally poor thus the payment of electricity bills impoverishes them further. Inadequate energy supply and environmental pollution are gargantuan problems confronting Nigeria and many other developing nations of the world. In this research we estimated the cassava waste generation rate associated with processing of cassava for garri production activities and estimation of amount of biogas generation from specific mass of the waste. A simple digester is fabricated for sample digestion process. The result was then used in estimation of biogas generation potential of the garri processing mills. Five different garri processing activities were studied for statistical reliability of results. The results of the five studied garri production activities as described in the methodology were summarized in table 3.1. The quantities ��, ��, �� and ��� were directly measured as described while the ��� and ��� were calculated in each cell of table 3.1 as differences���= ��− �� and ���= ��−��. The sum of waste generated in each of the studied activity � is given in equation (3.1). The counted number of bags for each studied activity was given as. The estimation for daily generation of pressed bags of cassava by the community is ,�����= 44.35 bags.Keywords: Biogas, Energy, Cassava, Waste, Garri

Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Secondary Metabolites of an Endophytic fungus of Azadirachta indica

Background: Recent upsurge in the mortality rate and long hospital stays as a result of antimicrobial resistance caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria is a huge burden to public health sector. Intensive search for more effective and newer agents to deal with these problems. Endophytes are a novel source of potentially useful medicinal compounds. Aim: The study aimed at evaluating the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of an endophytic fungus isolated from Azadirachta indica against multi drug resistant bacteria species. Method: Endophytic fungus was isolated from fresh leaves of Azadirachta indica. The fungus was fermented in rice medium, and the secondary metabolites were extracted. The antimicrobial activity of the extract against laboratory strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger) was determined. The fungal extract was also evaluated for antioxidant activity using the DPPH assay method. Using GC-FID analysis, some constituents of the fungal extracted were identified.&nbsp;Result: At 1 and 0.5 mg/mL, the fungal extract demonstrated antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae but no activity against the other test microbes. However, the fungal extract of A. indica showed excellent antioxidant activity due to possession of bioactive secondary metabolites. Conclusion: The result of GC-FID showed the presence of Rutin, Lunamarin, Anthocyanin, Catechin, Naringenin, Flavan 3 ol, Sapogernin, Tannin, Spartein, Naringin, Flavonones, Steroids, Kaemferol, Cyanogenic glycoside, Phytate, Epicatechin, Reseveratol, Cardic glycoside and Epihedrine at different concentrations. This study reveals the dynamic potentials of the endophytic fungus of A. indica as the bedrock of naturally occurring bioactive agent.&nbsp; Keywords: Azadirachta indica, endophytes, GC-FID, secondary metabolites, medicinal plants, phytochemicals

Comparative Study on the Nutritional Properties of Citrullus colocynthis, Irvingia gabonensis and I. wombolu Seeds

Background: The effects of malnutrition due to food insecurity demand continuous and urgent efforts to salvage the situations. There are needs to compare the nutritional and anti-nutritional status of edible plant materials commonly used to help consumers make a scientific-based informed decision.Objective: to determine and compare the nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of three seeds - Citrullus colocynthis, Irvingia gabonensis and I. wombolu.Materials and methods: The seeds sourced from Nsukka Market and were analyzed for mineral, proximate, vitamin and anti-nutrient compositions using standard protocols.Results: The concentration of sodium, copper, magnesium, zinc and phosphorous were higher in C. colocynthis seed compared to Irvingia species. I. wombolu had the highest calcium, and potassium contents. I. gabonensis had the highest iron content. C. colocynthis had the highest protein content, while the two Irvingia seeds had higher total fats, fatty acids, and calorific values compared to C. colocynthis seed. Vitamin C, in C. colocynthis was the least total vitamin content and the least antinutrient.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that seeds of Citrullus colocynthis, Irvingia gabonensis and I. wombolu are rich in nutritive factors, in varying proportions, and are low in antinutrient contents. With the results of this comparative study, consumers are therefore encouraged to make evidence-based decision on the choice of the seed to consume in line with their nutritional and health needs

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOME EPIDEMIOLOGICAL FACTORS AND ACUTE PYELONEPHRITIS IN AFIKPO AND ABAKALIKI, EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA.

A study of the relationship between some epidemiological factors and acute pyelonephritis was conducted in Afikpo and Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. Mater Miscericodeae Hospital, Afikpo and Federal Medical Centre, Abakaliki were used for the work. Patients’ data and the clinical examinations were employed in this study. The highest age relationship was seen in ages 71-80 years in both areas wither a percentage occurrence of 85.0% in Afikpo and 82.5% in Abakaliki and the least in ages 11-20 with 62.5% prevalence in both areas. Females had higher relationship than males in both areas with Afikpo showing 91.1% prevalence in females and 63.9% in males. However, Abakaliki had 86.8% prevalence in females and 60.0% in males. The highest occupational occurrence in Afikpo was 84.0% among those not working and in Abakalik 92.0% among drivers; but the least was observed among quarry workers in both areas with Afikpo and Abakaliki showing 30.0% and 40.0% prevalence respectively. Comparison of educational status and the disease showed un-educated presenting the highest relationship in both areas with the prevalence of 90.0% in Afikpo and 72.0% in Abakaliki. But the least was observed among those of tertiary status with the prevalence of 50.0% in each of the two areas. Among pathological factors assessed, the highest occurrence of acute pyelonephritis was observed in people with urinary incontinence who had 92.0% prevalence in Afikpo and people with bladder infection that had 90.0% prevalence in Abakaliki; while the least occurrence was observed in persons with sickle cell disease 45.0% in Afikpo 44.0% in Abakaliki. Pregnancy showed 73.5% and 68.0% prevalence in Afikpo and Abakaliki respectively; while previous history of family UTI showed 40.0% prevalence in Afikpo and 41.0% in Abakaliki. This research work reveals that relationship exists between age, sex, educational status, occupation, diabetes mellitus, bladder infection, urinary incontinence, HIV pregnancy, bladder surgery, use of catheters and prostate enlargement and acute pyelonephritis. Keywords: Epidemology, Acute pyelonephritis, Afikpo and Abakaliki