Serospatial epidemiology of zoonotic Coxiella burnetii in a cross section of cattle and small ruminants in northern Nigeria

The persistent and highly transmissible Coxiella burnetii is a neglected infection that negatively affects reproductive parameters of livestock. It is also of zoonotic importance and has been reported to cause devastating human infections globally. Domestic ruminants represent the most frequent source of human infection. Data from Nigeria are very few and outdated. There is a significant gap in up-to-date information on the exposure, spatial distribution and risk factors of infection of this important disease. The exposure to C. burnetii was determined using sensitive serological assays in cattle and small ruminants. A total of 538 animals made up of 268 cattle and 270 small ruminants were sampled from three northern Nigerian states. The proportion of cattle sampled that were seropositive from the study locations were: Kwara 14/90 (15.6%; 95% CI: 8.8–24.7); Plateau 10/106 (9.43%; 95% CI: 4.6–16.7) and Borno 4/72 (5.56%; 95% CI: 1.5–13.6) states. Lower seroprevalence was recorded among the small ruminants sampled, with positives recorded from sheep and goat sampled from only Kwara state 6/184 (3.3%; 95% CI: 1.2–7.0); while none of the small ruminants sampled from Plateau were seropositive. The results of the bivariate analysis showed that none of the tested independent variables (village, age group, sex, breed of cattle, presence of ticks, reproductive status, and management system) were statistically significant factors associated with seropositivity of cattle for antibodies to C. burnetii. Stakeholders involved in animal husbandry should be duly educated on proper disposal of birth products as well as bodily fluids in order to reduce environmental contamination, persistence and human infection

The COVID-19 pandemic and health workforce brain drain in Nigeria

Over the years, the Nigerian healthcare workforce, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists have always been known to emigrate to developed countries to practice. However, the recent dramatic increase in this trend is worrisome. There has been a mass emigration of Nigerian healthcare workers to developed countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the push factors have been found to include the inadequate provision of personal protective equipment, low monthly hazard allowance, and inconsistent payment of COVID-19 inducement allowance on top of worsening insecurity, the pull factors are higher salaries as well as a safe and healthy working environment. We also discuss how healthcare workers can be retained in Nigeria through increment in remunerations and prompt payment of allowances, and how the brain drain can be turned into a brain gain via the use of electronic data collection tools for Nigerian health workers abroad, implementation of the Bhagwati’s tax system, and establishment of a global skill partnership with developed countries

Histologic developmental horizons of the prenatal dromedary tongue

We present a study on the histologic developmental horizons of the dromedary tongue using abattoir samples. The 13 month dromedary gestation period was divided into four quarters, giving the  dromedary four prenatal growth phases. Feotuses were recovered from slaughtered camels and 1 cm2 samples were cut from dorsum and lateral parts of the apex, body and base of tongues of associated foetuses in each growth phase for histological analysis. The dorsal and lateral parts of the apex of the tongue showed variable sizes of underdeveloped filiform and fungiform papillae formed from the  folding of non - keratinized stratified squamous epithelium. The filiform papillae were interspersed with fungiform papillae. A brief glandless propria-submucosa of vascularized connective tissue was  continuous with their lamina epithelialis. The muscularis showed vertical, longitudinal and transverse (X, Y, Z) directions of skeletal muscles. Same arrangement was found at the lingual body. Under- developed lentiform papillae extended from the terminus of the caudal aspect of the lingual body to  the rostral aspect of the lingual base. The lingual base showed underdeveloped fungiform and vallate papillae. The lingual body and base were highly muscularized. The muscularity became more obvious  at the second and third quarters. Unique to the third phase was apical keratinization of filiform  papillae,  marking its full development. The propria-submucosa was highly vascularized. The fourth  growth phase marked the stage for full development of most of parts of the tongue except the mucosa  of the lingual base, where taste buds were not observed in gustatory papillae, eventhough an  earlier study had observed taste buds in gustatory papillae of the adult dromedary. It was  concluded that most of the salient features of the postnatal dromedary tongue, such as gustatory and non-gustatory papillae, were already evident as early as the first growth phase.Keywords: Dromedary, Foetus, Histology, Prenatal development, Tongu