Epidemiology of Smear ‐ Negative Tuberculosis in Ibadan, Nigeria

Inadequate case detection has been identified as one of the reasons for high burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the world especially in poor resourced countries of Africa and Asia. This retrospective laboratory study involving the review of specimens processed at the TB laboratory of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria was carried out over a period of five years (January 2006‐December 2010) to access the epidemiology of smear‐ negative TB. Of the 3468 specimens processed, 2,175 (62.7%) were from males while a lower percentage (37.3%)1293 were from females, giving a M:F = 1:0.37. Over half of the specimens, 2,046 (59.0%) were from patients aged 21 to 60 years, 392 (11.3%) from 11 to 20 years, 825 (23.8%) from 60 years and above while 205 (5.9%) were from age 1‐10 years. Most of the 2,663 (76.8%) specimens processed were sputum while 201 (5.8%) were gastric washings. Three hundred and nine (8.9%) were smear positive while 392 (11.3%) out of the 3468 specimens processed were culture positive. However, 83 (2.6%) of the 3159 smearnegative specimens were culture positive (false negative) while 66 (21.4%) of the 309 smear‐ positive specimens were negative for culture (false positive). The majority, 3010 (86.8%) were smear and culture negative while 309 (8.9%) were positive for both tests. Of the 83 false negative specimens, 51 were sputum samples representing (61.4%), 19 (22.9%) were gastric washings while 13 (15.7%) were from extra‐pulmonary sites (CSF, aspirates, ascitic fluids, etc). The findings of 2.6% smear‐negative but culture positive (false negative) specimens in this study reveals that culture of specimens in addition to smear microscopy from suspected cases is necessary as a diagnostic /confirmatory tool for tuberculosis.Keywords: Epidemiology, Smear negative, TB, Ibadan, Nigeri

Plant Antibacterials: The Challenges and Opportunities

Nature possesses an inexhaustible reservoir of agents that could serve as alternatives to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While some of the most effective drugs for treating bacterial infections originate from natural sources, they have predominantly been derived from fungal and bacterial species. However, a substantial body of literature is available on the promising antibacterial properties of plant-derived compounds. In this comprehensive review, we address the major challenges associated with the discovery and development of plant-derived antimicrobial compounds, which have acted as obstacles preventing their clinical use. These challenges encompass limited sourcing, the risk of agent rediscovery, suboptimal drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) properties, as well as a lack of knowledge regarding molecular targets and mechanisms of action, among other pertinent issues. Our review underscores the significance of these challenges and their implications in the quest for the discovery and development of effective plant-derived antimicrobial agents. Through a critical examination of the current state of research, we give valuable insights that will advance our understanding of these classes of compounds, offering potential solutions to the global crisis of AMR

Neglected Tropical Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa: Review of Their Prevalence, Distribution, and Disease Burden

The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are the most common conditions affecting the poorest 500 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and together produce a burden of disease that may be equivalent to up to one-half of SSA's malaria disease burden and more than double that caused by tuberculosis. Approximately 85% of the NTD disease burden results from helminth infections. Hookworm infection occurs in almost half of SSA's poorest people, including 40–50 million school-aged children and 7 million pregnant women in whom it is a leading cause of anemia. Schistosomiasis is the second most prevalent NTD after hookworm (192 million cases), accounting for 93% of the world's number of cases and possibly associated with increased horizontal transmission of HIV/AIDS. Lymphatic filariasis (46–51 million cases) and onchocerciasis (37 million cases) are also widespread in SSA, each disease representing a significant cause of disability and reduction in the region's agricultural productivity. There is a dearth of information on Africa's non-helminth NTDs. The protozoan infections, human African trypanosomiasis and visceral leishmaniasis, affect almost 100,000 people, primarily in areas of conflict in SSA where they cause high mortality, and where trachoma is the most prevalent bacterial NTD (30 million cases). However, there are little or no data on some very important protozoan infections, e.g., amebiasis and toxoplasmosis; bacterial infections, e.g., typhoid fever and non-typhoidal salmonellosis, the tick-borne bacterial zoonoses, and non-tuberculosis mycobaterial infections; and arboviral infections. Thus, the overall burden of Africa's NTDs may be severely underestimated. A full assessment is an important step for disease control priorities, particularly in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the greatest number of NTDs may occur

Autopsy an audit tool: University college hospital, Ibadan experience

No Abstract. NQJHM Vol. 8 (1) 1998: pp. 18-2

Recovery Rate of intestinal parasites using conventional methods in Ibadan, Nigeria

Five different techniques were used to diagnose all the 232 stool specimens that came into the Parasitology Department of University College Hospital, Ibadan for a period of six months. A prevalence of 25.0% was obtained in the study. Brine flotation recovered the highest number of parasites; 40 (69.0%), followed by formol ether concentration; 32 (55.2%), Katokatz recovered a total of 28 (48.3%) parasites, but could not recover any protozoan parasite, stoll technique recovered 22 (37.9%) parasites and wet preparation detected the least number of parasites; 12 (20.7%). There was a significant statistical difference among the techniques (&#9672 = 13. 63, P = 0.008). None of the methods could detect all the cases observed in the study alone, thus no single technique was satisfactory as none was equally applicable for trophozoites and cysts of protozoa, eggs or larvae of helminths. Brine flotation technique should be added to the routine diagnostic method (wet preparation), since it significantly detects both helminths and protozoa more than any of the other techniques.Nigerian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences Vol. 7 (1) 2008 pp. 42-4

К истории журнала "New Worlds" - первого общенационального журнала фантастики Великобритании

Гопман Владимир Львович. К истории журнала "New Worlds" - первого общенационального журнала фантастики Великобритании [Электронный ресурс] / В. Л. Гопман// Вестник РГГУ. - 2014. - № 12. - С. 111-120. - (Серия "Филологические науки. Журналистика. Литературная критика")