External eye infections and personal hygiene practices among patients attending optometry teaching Clinic Federal University of Technology, Owerri

External eye infections occur when harmful microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, protozoan and viruses invade any part of the anterior outer part of the eyeball. This study was carried out to between January 2016 and December 2016 to investigate the external eye infections and personal hygiene practices among patients attending Optometry Teaching Clinic at Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. A total of 217 patients with external eye infections who came to the clinic during this period were used for this study. A well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on their personal hygiene practices. Swabs collected from the infected eyes were taken to the laboratory for isolation and identification of causative organisms. Ocular examination results showed that bacterial conjunctivitis was the most prevalent external eye infection and was seen in146 (67.28%) patients. Information on hygiene practices showed that 29 (13.36%) of the patients wash their hands with soap and water before eating and 42 (19.35%) wash their hands with soap and water after toilet use. Laboratory results showed that the major causative organism was Staphylococcus aureus, isolated in 91 (41.94%) samples. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference in both the gender variations (P > 0.05) and age variations (P > 0.05) of pathogenic organisms implicated in the external eye infections. Optometrists should educate their patients on the need for good personal hygiene as this will help in preventing external eye infections which can occur from contaminated fingers that come in contact with the eyes.Keywords: External eye infections, Personal hygiene, Microorganisms, Hand washin

Lactose intolerance among under five children with malaria in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

This study assessed the occurrence of lactose intolerance among children under five years of age with malaria in Port Harcourt, south-southern Nigeria. One hundred and twenty-four (124) under five children attending paediatric clinics in Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt, were selected for the study through purposive and systematic random sampling. Blood samples were collected from heel or thumb prick of the children to determine malaria parasite status while stool samples were collected for stool acidity test to determine lactose intolerance in the children. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 20.0. Results show that among the study children, there were more females (56.5%) and mostly those 2 years of age (26.6%) of which 54.8% were nourished. All the children tested positive for malaria with 53.3% having parasite density of 9000-50000 Å–. About 69.4% of these children had acidic stool pH (< 5.5) indicative of lactose intolerance. The study found a significant relationship between malaria parasite density and lactose intolerance (p<0.05). A significant relationship (p<0.05) was also found between nutritional status and lactose intolerance among children with malaria. Malaria infection could predispose to lactose intolerance in children as observed in this study. It is therefore very important that prevention or early diagnosis and treatment of malaria among under-five children should be greatly encouraged to prevent lactose intolerance and its deleterious outcome in children.Keywords: Lactose Intolerance; malaria; under five children, Nigeria

Exploring the potential use of whole plant therapies, Cymbopogon citratus, as alternatives/complements to antimalarial pharmaceuticals: A preliminary report

Parasite resistance, toxicity/adverse reactions, adulteration as well as limited affordability and accessibity to common antimalarial drugs necessitate continuous search for better options. We evaluated the antimalarial potential of Whole Plant (WP) Cymbopo gencitratus (Lemon grass)as well as its combination with the old antimalarial chloroquine in a rodent malaria model, Plamodium chabaudi CR. WP C. citratus exhibited delayed but significant (p<0.001) and sustained activity against established infection compared with controls and chloroquine respectively. Significant increase in heamoglobin concentration (p<0.01) and maintenance of normal body temperature (p<0.01) in the WP treatment group coincided with the period of antimalarial activity of the Whole Plant. Contrary to our expectations but interestingly, the WP C. citratus and chloroquine combination did not yield significantanti malarial activity. These preliminary results suggest that WP C. citrates may be more effective as a prophylactic agent with useful implications for intermittent preventive treatments and requires further investigation. The outcome of the WP/Chloroquine combination on the other hand suggests the induction of a redox environment that may have reduced the potency of both treatments when combined. This however requires further investigation as it may have some implications for antimalarial treatment protocols, origins of antimalarial resistance and future antimalarial options in endemic areas.Keywords: Cymbopo gencitratus; prophylactic agent; safe herb.

Retracted: Influence of phenotypes on immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria among women in parts of the Imo River Basin, Nigeria.

This article has been retracted by the editor of African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology on 10/02/2014. For further information please contact the editor: [email protected]