Labour and Delivery Practices in Selected Primary Health Centres in Jos Metropolis, Plateau State

Every labour and child delivery activity comes with a collateral vicissitude hence the need to be accurate in its handling toward producing positive outcome. This concern has immensely drawn the attention of the global stakeholders which found its expression in Sustainable Goal Development three (Target 1) aimed at reducing the maternal mortality globally. This study was necessitated by the fact that the level of maternal mortality in Nigeria is unacceptable which invariably makes a lot of practitioners and researchers uncomfortable hence the need to further make an inquiry into how delivery and labour activities are conducted. Evidence abounds that the maternal mortality rate in Jos follows the pattern of that of the nation as a whole. The study was carried out in the selected primary health centres within the two main local government areas that constitute Jos metropolis. The setting of the study was picked as it functions as the operational level of primary health care. The level of care sophistication is relatively low in this setting. The study adopted a descriptive, cross sectional and non-experimental research design. The study population comprised nurses and community health workers working in those primary health centres. Multisampling technique was used in selecting the health centres used in the study. The sample size was one hundred and thirty-five. Convenience sampling technique was adopted in accessing the respondents. A total of one hundred and thirty-three inclined thereby creating a response rate of 98.5%. The ethical injunctions guiding research were observed as the respondents’ informed consent was sought. Assurance was given in the aspects of confidentiality and anonymity. The right to withdraw clause was also emphasized. Data was analyzed using percentages and frequency counts. Results reveal the techniques embedded in labour and delivery as these include assessment of patient’s psychological readiness and foetal readiness for continuous maternal support; and use of partograph. Further, results indicate lack of adequately trained health workers, lack of cordial relationships between mothers and health personnel, inadequate facilities, and financial strain as the factors that affect labour and delivery practices in primary health centres in Jos Metropolis. The import of the findings is that efforts should be strengthened toward upgrading the skills of the health workers, and making adequate provision for needed resources. Keywords: Labour, Delivery, Practices, Primary Health Centres DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/102-04 Publication date:September 30th 202

American Journal of Veterinary Research 47 2 429 432 UNITED STATES

Cattle submitted to the University of Minnesota for surgical correction of left displaced abomasum (LDA) were examined for the in vitro phagocytic and bactericidal activities of their polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). The PMN from cattle with LDA with or without concurrent infection had depressed phagocytic function when compared with PMN from healthy animals (controls). Those with concurrent infection had phagocytic activities lower than those in the group of cattle with LDA without any concurrent infection, and the former group was also observed to have depressed intracellular killing. Cattle with LDA complicated by infection were the only group in which phagocytic function was altered during surgical correction of LDA (and recovery). Treatment of PMN from both groups of affected cattle with levamisole in vitro enhanced intracellular killing, but had no effect on phagocytosis

Prevalence of urinary Schistosomiasis in Umuowele, Agulu community, Anambra state, Nigeria

Purpose: To apply molecular techniques in producing a proper data on the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in Umuowele community located around Agulu Dam, Southwest Nigeria. Methods: Urine samples from 108 pupils were screened for schistosomiasis using haematuria and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of schistosome Dra1 repeat. Six snails collected from the human-water contact site in the lake were also screened for schistosome infection by PCR amplification of the Dra1 repeat while PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used for snail species identification. Results: Haematuria revealed 48.1% prevalence rate among the pupils while PCR showed 58.3%. Three snails were also positive for schistosome infection one of which was identified as Bulinus truncatus while the other two belonged to the genus, Physa. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of S. haematobium infection among the participants. PCR was able to detect infection in cases otherwise shown to be negative by haematuria, thereby making it possible for all the infected participants to receive treatment. Bulinus truncatus is one of the snails which may be responsible for the transmission of urinary schistosomiasis in the community. Keywords: Bulinus truncatus, Schistosoma haematobium, PCR-RFLP, schistosome infection

Characterization of freshwater snail intermediate hosts of schistosomes in four communities from Osun State, Southwest Nigeria

Aim: Freshwater snails of the genus Bulinus act as essential intermediate hosts of Schistosoma haematobium, a trematode parasite that causes urogenital schistosomiasis. The snails are widely distributed throughout Nigerian waters. Since species identification of the Bulinus snails is important for appropriate control strategies of urogenital schistosomiasis, this study therefore aimed at identifying the Bulinus species responsible for transmission of the infection in four communities located in an endemic Local Government Area of Nigeria. It also aimed at using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) as a more affordable method than sequencing to characterize Bulinus snails from schistosomiasis endemic regions in Nigeria.Methods: In this study, 100 freshwater snails morphologically identified as Bulinus species were collected from four communities located in a previously reported schistosomiasis endemic Local Government Area (LGA), namely Olorunda LGA in Oshun State, Southwest Nigeria. All snails were screened for schistosome infection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the DraI gene. Molecular identification of the snails was done by PCR amplification of their entire internal transcribed spacer region including the 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and RFLP. Results: Five of the 100 snails were positive for schistosome infection. PCR-RFLP profiles showed bands of different sizes for 26 other snails including the schistosome-infected ones. RFLP analysis showed that 11 of the snails belonged to the freshwater snails of the genus Physa while 13 belonged to the freshwater snails of the genus Bulinus, including Bulinus globosus (8) and B. truncatus (5). The species of the remaining two snails could not be resolved using the reference profiles from our previous studies.Conclusion: This study confirmed previous observations that limited morphological uniqueness within the Bulinus groups hinders their identification, and RFLP is a cheaper alternative method to sequencing that can be used by laboratories with limited resources for Bulinus species identification