Frequently Encountered Animal Diseases at Animal Hospital Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State - Nigeria

Data from the clinical record of the Animal Hospital Birnin Kebbi was used to determine the frequency of occurrence of various diseases of animals from February 2009 to January 2010. A total of 794 cases were presented. 155 (19.5%) for routine check and vaccination, while the bulk 639 (80.5%)were presented as a result of disease conditions. Diseases diagnosed include; helminthoses 141(22%), followed by fowl pox 65(10.2%), lousiness 61(9.5%), traumatic injuries 46(7.2%), enteritis 32(5.0%), upper respiratory tract infection 29(4.5%), mite/mange 24(3.8%), septicemia22(3.4%), bloat 19(3.0%), and abscess 17(2.7%). Other moderately occurring, disorders included dystocia & post partum complications 14(2.2%) each, mal-directed horn/hooves 12(1.9%), tick infestation 10(1.6%), coccidiosis 9(1.4%), fracture 8(1.3%), hernia, PPR, pregnancy toxemia & castration 7(1.1%) each. Poisoning, infectious coryza, arthritis, rumen impaction & vaginal prolapse were 6(0.9%) each, pneumonia and mastitis 5(0.8%) each. The less occurring disorders included urinarytract infection, Gumboro disease, black leg, abortion, paraphimosis & dog bite 4(0.6%) each. Rhinitis & chronic respiratory diseases 3(0.5%) each, Foot and Mouth disease, New castle disease, cowdriosis, and hygroma numbering 2(0.3%) each. The least occurring disorders were Fowltyphoid, dislocation, trypanasomosis, pyometra, orf, stomatitis, grass tetany, canine distemper, atresia ani and rectal prolapse 1(0.2%) case each. Information generated can be useful to Government agencies involved in formulating policies and guidelines for prevention andcontrol of animal diseases

State–Space Forecasting of Schistosoma haematobium Time-Series in Niono, Mali

Adequate forecasting and early warning systems are based upon observations of human behavior, population, disease time-series, climate, environment, and/or a combination thereof, whichever option best compromises among realism, feasibility, robustness, and parsimony. Fully automatic and user-friendly state–space forecasting frameworks, incorporating myriad options (e.g., expert opinion, univariate, multivariate, and spatial-temporal), could considerably enhance disease control and hazard mitigation efforts in regions where vulnerability to neglected tropical diseases is pervasive and statistical expertise is scarce. The operational simplicity, generality, and flexibility of state–space frameworks, encapsulating multiple methods, could conveniently allow for 1) unsupervised model selection without disease-specific methodological tailoring, 2) on-line adaptation to disease time-series fluctuations, and 3) automatic switches between distinct forecasting methods as new time-series perturbations dictate. In this investigation, a univariate state–space framework with the aforementioned properties was successfully applied to the Schistosoma haematobium time-series for the district of Niono, Mali, to automatically generate contemporaneous on-line forecasts and hence, providing a basis for local re-organization and strengthening public health programs in this and potentially other Sahelian districts

Female Institutional Directors on Boards and Firm Value

The aim of this research is to examine what impact female institutional directors on boards have on corporate performance. Previous research shows that institutional female directors cannot be considered as a homogeneous group since they represent investors who may or may not maintain business relations with the companies on whose corporate boards they sit. Thus, it is not only the effect of female institutional directors as a whole on firm value that has been analysed, but also the impact of pressure-resistant female directors, who represent institutional investors (investment, pension and mutual funds) that only invest in the company, and do not maintain a business relation with the firm. We hypothesize that there is a non-linear association, specifically quadratic, between institutional and pressure-resistant female directors on boards and corporate performance. Our results report that female institutional directors on boards enhance corporate performance, but when they reach a certain threshold on boards (11.72 %), firm value decreases. In line with female institutional directors, pressure-resistant female directors on boards also increase firm value, but only up to a certain figure (12.71 % on boards), above which they have a negative impact on firm performance. These findings are consistent with an inverted U-shaped relationship between female institutional directors and pressure-resistant female directors and firm performance

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

Pre-delivery administration of azithromycin to prevent neonatal sepsis and death: a phase iii double-blind randomized clinical trial (PregnAnZI-2 trial).

BACKGROUND: Despite reduction in the risk of under-5 mortality in the last decade and a half, neonatal deaths have remained stable globally. Gram-positive bacterial infections are leading causes of neonatal sepsis and death. Because the mother is an important source for bacterial transmission to babies during the perinatal period, interventions that lower risk of transmission can potentially reduce invasive bacterial infections. The primary objective of the trial will assess the effect of intrapartum azithromycin on neonatal sepsis and mortality. Secondary objectives include the impact of the intervention on prevalence of carriage and resistance, puerperal infections, and infant growth. METHODS: This is a phase III, double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial in which 12,000 women in labour are randomized to either a single dose of 2 g of oral azithromycin (AZI) or placebo in The Gambia and Burkina Faso. Mother/newborn pairs are followed-up at 28-days post-delivery to assess health and mortality. Passive visits are conducted to collect adverse events including hospitalizations. When clinically indicated, samples are collected for assessment of neonatal and puerperal sepsis. A cohort of 250 mother/newborn pair per country have been included in the carriage sub-study to assess bacterial colonization at day 0, 6, 28 and 4 months. Children of the first 1000 mothers recruited in each country are followed-up at 6 and 12 months for anthropometric assessments. CONCLUSIONS: If successful, this simple implementable intervention has the potential to achieve wide coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where low-cost interventions to reduce neonatal sepsis and mortality and morbidity in mothers are urgently needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT0319954

A Comparison of the Quality of Informed Consent for Clinical Trials of an Experimental Hookworm Vaccine Conducted in Developed and Developing Countries

<div><p>Informed consent is one of the principal ethical requirements of conducting clinical research, regardless of the study setting. Breaches in the quality of the informed consent process are frequently described in reference to clinical trials conducted in developing countries, due to low levels of formal education, a lack of familiarity with biomedical research, and limited access to health services in these countries. However, few studies have directly compared the quality of the informed consent process in developed and developing countries using the same tool and in similar clinical trials. This study was conducted to compare the quality of the informed consent process of a series of clinical trials of an investigational hookworm vaccine that were performed in Brazil and the United States. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess the ethical quality of the informed consent process in a series of Phase 1 clinical trials of the <i>Na</i>-GST-1/Alhydrogel hookworm vaccine that were conducted in healthy adults in Brazil and the United States. In Brazil, the trial was conducted at two sites, one in the hookworm non-endemic urban area of Belo Horizonte, Minas, and one in the rural, resource-limited town of Americaninhas, both in the state of Minas Gerais; the American trial was conducted in Washington, DC. A 32-question survey was administered after the informed consent document was signed at each of the three trial sites; it assessed participants’ understanding of information about the study presented in the document as well as the voluntariness of their decision to participate. 105 participants completed the questionnaire: 63 in Americaninhas, 18 in Belo Horizonte, and 24 in Washington, DC. Overall knowledge about the trial was suboptimal: the mean number of correct answers to questions about study objectives, methods, duration, rights, and potential risks and benefits, was 45.6% in Americaninhas, 65.2% in Belo Horizonte, and 59.1% in Washington, DC. Although there was no difference in the rate of correct answers between participants in Belo Horizonte and Washington, DC, there was a significant gap between participants at these two locations compared to Americaninhas (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0001, respectively), which had a lower percentage of correct answers. Attitudes towards participating in the clinical trial also differed by site: while approximately 40% had doubts about participating in Washington, DC and Belo Horizonte, only 1.5% had concerns in Americaninhas. Finally, in Belo Horizonte and Washington, high percentages cited a desire to help others as motivation for participating, whereas in Americaninhas, the most common reason for participating was personal interest (p = 0.001). Understanding of information about a Phase 1 clinical trial of an experimental hookworm vaccine following informed consent was suboptimal, regardless of study site. Although overall there were no differences in knowledge between Brazil and the US, a lower level of understanding about the trial was seen in participants at the rural, resource-limited Brazilian site. These findings demonstrate the need for educational interventions directed at potential clinical trial participants, both in developing and developed countries, in order to improve understanding of the informed consent document.</p></div

Accuracy of urine circulating cathodic antigen test for the diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni in preschool-aged children before and after treatment

The Kato-Katz technique is widely used for the diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni, but shows low sensitivity in light-intensity infections. We assessed the accuracy of a commercially available point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) cassette test for the diagnosis of S. mansoni in preschool-aged children before and after praziquantel administration.; A 3-week longitudinal survey with a treatment intervention was conducted in Azaguié, south Côte d'Ivoire. Overall, 242 preschoolers (age range: 2 months to 5.5 years) submitted two stool and two urine samples before praziquantel administration, and 86 individuals were followed-up posttreatment. Stool samples were examined with duplicate Kato-Katz thick smears for S. mansoni. Urine samples were subjected to POC-CCA cassette test for S. mansoni, and a filtration method for S. haematobium diagnosis.; Before treatment, the prevalence of S. mansoni, as determined by quadruplicate Kato-Katz, single CCA considering 'trace' as negative (t-), and single CCA with 'trace' as positive (t+), was 23.1%, 34.3% and 64.5%, respectively. Using the combined results (i.e., four Kato-Katz and duplicate CCA(t-)) as diagnostic 'gold' standard, the sensitivity of a single Kato-Katz, a single CCA(t-) or CCA(t+) was 28.3%, 69.7% and 89.1%, respectively. Three weeks posttreatment, the sensitivity of a single Kato-Katz, single CCA(t-) and CCA(t+) was 4.0%, 80.0% and 84.0%, respectively. The intensity of the POC-CCA test band reaction was correlated with S. mansoni egg burden (odds ratio = 1.2, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONSSIGNIFICANCE: A single POC-CCA cassette test appears to be more sensitive than multiple Kato-Katz thick smears for the diagnosis of S. mansoni in preschool-aged children before and after praziquantel administration. The POC-CCA cassette test can be recommended for the rapid identification of S. mansoni infections before treatment. Additional studies are warranted to determine the usefulness of POC-CCA for assessing drug efficacy and monitoring the impact of control interventions