HIV and Hepatitis Infections in Children Resident in Orphanage Homes Located In Anambra State, Nigeria

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis infections are among viral infections transmissible among inmates of orphanage and motherless babies’ homes. Records are scanty on the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis infections in children resident in orphanage homes in Anambra State, Nigeria. This study investigated the prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis infections in children resident in eight orphanages in Anambra State. A total of 300 subjects consisting of 172 orphans, 100 children from community setting serving as controls, 14 female consented care givers in the orphanages and 14 females in community setting served as controls. All the subjects and control groups were investigated for HIV using rapid test and molecular technique. ELISA assay and liver enzyme estimation were used for Hepatitis investigation. The prevalence of 0.6%, 0.0%, 0.6%, and 9.9% were observed in HIV, hepatitis A, B and C respectively. Liver enzymes (serum alanine and aspartate amino transferases) did not show significant increase. The viral load and CD4+ count of the HIV positive child were 373 copies/ml and 28% respectively. Three (21.4%) of the care givers in the orphanages tested positive to HCV infection while none of the females in the community tested positive to the virus. HCV infections were most common in ages 0-5 years. The infection may be at dormant phase in the homes. Thus, continuous monitoring for progression into active hepatitis C infection is necessary for disease management in the orphanage homes

Full Length Research Paper - Characterization and treatment of sludge from the petroleum industry

Samples of sludge from the petroleum industry were collected and characterized for their pollution characteristics. The solids concentration, pH, temperature, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrogen, conductivity, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese, lead and chromium were determined. The analysis revealed that the mean value of total solids (TS) content, total suspended solids (TSS) and total volatile solids (TVS) were 1987, 1050 and 937 mg/l respectively. The dissolved oxygen (DO) content was 3.7 mg/l. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 518 and 1345 mg/l, respectively. The total nitrogen and phosphorus contents were 3.4 and 2.3 mg/l respectively. The total bacteria counts were 7.4 x 108/100 ml. All these values exceed those of the standard as set by World Health Organisation (WHO) for potable water. This shows that the sludge has high pollution potentials and so need treatment before disposal. The COD:BOD ratio was 2.60 which indicated that the sludge can undergo biodegradation and suggests that biological method could be used in effecting treatment to the sludge. The high conductivity also indicated that the sludge can be treated by physicochemical method of coagulation and flocculation

Prevalence of Concomitant Infection of Intestinal Helminthiasis with Malaria Parasitaemia in a typical Nigeria Suburban Areas.

Helminthic infestation and malaria parasitaemia, separately or co- joined, can be present, in a host and still be asymptomatic. It is, therefore, crucial to assess the extent of co-infestation among individuals, particularly children who are most prone to parasitic infestations. Blood and Stool samples were collected from 557 pupils who were examined for intestinal helminths, malaria parasitaemia and anaemia. Formal acetate concentration method was used to analyse the stool specimens after which positive ones were further processed using Stolls method of counting helminths egg to determine the number of parasite per gram of stool. Thick film was used for malaria parasite test and malaria parasite density was calculated for the positive samples while anaemia was screened using cyanmethaemoglobin method. There were 235(42.2%) pupils co-infested with intestinal helminths and malaria parasitaemia Co-infestation of Ascaris lumbricoides and malaria parasitaemia 91(16.3%), and co-infection with hookworm and malaria parasitaemia 72(13.0%) had the highest prevalence. The percentage of pupils co-infested and anaemic were 130(23.3%) and is statistically significant (p > 0.05) across the communities. There was a negative correlation between haemoglobin concentrations (the indicator of anaemia), helminthic count with malaria parasite density count. This study revealed that intestinal helminths and malaria parasitaemia have a resurgence and concomitant infestation which constitutes a public menace. Co-infection increased the risk associated with anaemia and intensify the burden in Nigerian children. Keywords: Co-infestation, malaria parasitaemia, intestinal helminthiasis, anaemia, pupil

Molecular characterization of environmental Cryptococcus neoformans VNII isolates in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria = Caractérisation moléculaire de souches de Cryptococcus neoformans VNII isolés dans l’environnement à Jos, état du Plateau, Nigeria

Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are encapsulated yeasts able to cause fatal neurological infections in both human and other mammals. Cryptococcosis is the most common fungal infection of the central nervous system and has a huge burden in sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Bird excreta are considered an environmental reservoir for C. neoformans in urban areas, therefore a study aimed at isolating and characterizing this yeast is important in disease management. In this study, one hundred samples of pigeon droppings were collected in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. C. neoformans was isolated from three samples and initially identified using standard phenotypic and biochemical tests. Molecular analysis revealed that all three isolates belonged to C. neoformans genotype VNII, mating type \u3b1 and were assigned to the sequence type ST43 by multilocus sequence typing analysis. This study reports, for the first time, the molecular characterization of C. neoformans in Nigeria, where little is still known about the environmental distribution of the genotypes, serotypes and mating types of this important human pathogen.Cryptococcus neoformans et Cryptococcus gattii sont des levures encapsul\ue9es capables de causer des infections neurologiques mortelles chez l\u2019homme et d\u2019autres mammif\ue8res. La cryptococcose est l\u2019infection fongique la plus commune du syst\ue8me nerveux central avec une incidence \ue9lev\ue9e en Afrique subsaharienne et en Asie du Sud-Est. Les excr\ue9ments d\u2019oiseaux sont consid\ue9r\ue9s comme le r\ue9servoir environnemental pour C. neoformans dans les zones urbaines ; par cons\ue9quent, une \ue9tude visant \ue0 isoler et caract\ue9riser cette levure est utile pour la prise en charge de la maladie. Dans cette \ue9tude, une centaine d\u2019\ue9chantillons de fientes de pigeons a \ue9t\ue9 recueillie \ue0 Jos, Plateau State, au Nigeria. C. neoformans a \ue9t\ue9 isol\ue9 \ue0 partir de trois \ue9chantillons et initialement identifi\ue9s \ue0 l\u2019aide de tests ph\ue9notypique et biochimiques. L\u2019analyse mol\ue9culaire, par multilocus sequence typing, a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que les trois souches appartenaient au type mol\ue9culaire VNII, mating type \u3b1 et au g\ue9notype ST43 par analyse multilocus sequence typing. Cette \ue9tude rend compte, pour la premi\ue8re fois au Nigeria, de la caract\ue9risation mol\ue9culaire de souches environnementales de C. neoformans, o\uf9 peu est encore connu \ue0 propos de la diffusion dans l\u2019environnement des g\ue9notypes, s\ue9rotypes et mating types de cet important pathog\ue8ne humain