27 research outputs found
Descriptive epidemiology of cholera outbreak in Nigeria, January-November, 2018: implications for the global roadmap strategy
Background: The cholera outbreak in 2018 in Nigeria reaffirms its public health threat to the country. Evidence on the
current epidemiology of cholera required for the design and implementation of appropriate interventions towards
attaining the global roadmap strategic goals for cholera elimination however seems lacking. Thus, this study aimed at
addressing this gap by describing the epidemiology of the 2018 cholera outbreak in Nigeria.
Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of surveillance data collected between January 1st and November 19th,
2018. A cholera case was defined as an individual aged 2 years or older presenting with acute watery diarrhoea and
severe dehydration or dying from acute watery diarrhoea. Descriptive analyses were performed and presented with
respect to person, time and place using appropriate statistics.
Results: There were 43,996 cholera cases and 836 cholera deaths across 20 states in Nigeria during the outbreak
period, with an attack rate (AR) of 127.43/100,000 population and a case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.90%. Individuals aged
15 years or older (47.76%) were the most affected age group, but the proportion of affected males and females was
about the same (49.00 and 51.00% respectively). The outbreak was characterised by four distinct epidemic waves, with
higher number of deaths recorded in the third and fourth waves. States from the north-west and north-east regions of
the country recorded the highest ARs while those from the north-central recorded the highest CFRs.
Conclusion: The severity and wide-geographical distribution of cholera cases and deaths during the 2018 outbreak are
indicative of an elevated burden, which was more notable in the northern region of the country. Overall, the findings
reaffirm the strategic role of a multi-sectoral approach in the design and implementation of public health interventions
aimed at preventing and controlling cholera in Nigeri
Assessment of the Impact of Oil and Gas Resource Exploration on the Environment of Selected Communities in Delta State, Nigeria
Monopole Ellipse Antenna for Ultra-Wideband Applications
In this paper, an Ultra wideband (UWB) ellipse monopole antenna is presented. The proposed antenna consists of an ellipse patch fed by a coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line. The antenna provides coverage for the UWB spectrum, achieving reflection coefficients ≤−10 dB from 2.83 to 10.66 GHz, thereby yielding a 7.77 GHz impedance bandwidth. The impedance bandwidth is achieved through a variation of the minor axis of the ellipse patch. The antenna gain is slightly enhanced by a center cut at the top ground plane. Simulations show quasi omnidirectional radiation patterns for the proposed antenna at three resonance frequencies of 4.8, 6.7 and 9.35 GHz within the UWB spectrum
ATHEROGENIC POTENTIALS OF SOME NIGERIAN MEALS
The atherogenic potentials of peeled grated cocoyam (Xanthosoma maffafa
scot) "ekpang nkukwo", pounded yam (Discorea spp) with plain soup "afia
efere", and plantain porridge (Musa paradisiaca) "iwuk ukom" meals were
investigated. The three meals were fed to three different groups of
albino rats of Wistar strain for a period of twenty eight days. A
fourth group which served as control was feed with normal rat pellet.
The mean total plasma cholesterol level in the pounded yam with plain
soup fed group was significantly lower (P< 0.05) when compared to
the control and peeled grated cocoyam fed groups. The mean total plasma
triglyceride (MTPTG) level in the pounded yam with plain soup fed group
was significantly lower (P< 0.05) when compared to the control
group. However the MTPTG level in the peeled grated cocoyam and
plantain porridge fed groups were comparable to control. The mean
HDL-cholesterol level in the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain fed
groups were comparable control. The mean LDL-cholesterol level in the
peeled grated cocoyam and plantain porridge fed groups was
significantly lower (P<0.05) than the control group. The
LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol in the pounded yam with plain soup
fed group was significantly lower (P<0.05) when compared to control.
These findings suggest low atherogenic potentials of the pounded yam
with plain soup meal compared to the peeled grated cocoyam and plantain
porridge meals
HAEMATOXIC EFFECTS FOLLOWING INGESTION OF NIGERIAN CRUDE OIL AND CRUDE OIL POLLUTED SHELLFISH BY RATS
The haematological effects following ingestion of shellfish exposed to
crude oil polluted water or the pollutant perse were investigated in
albino Wistar rats. Feeding of four groups of rats for 28 days duration
with two reference casein or shellfish protein control diets (Group A
and B), and two test diets (Group C and D) supplemented at varying
levels with shellfish which had been previously exposed to crude oil
polluted water and the oral gavaging with crude oil at the rate of 3, 6
and 9 ml/kg body weight per day to three groups (groups II, III and IV
respectively) of rats for 7 days duration resulted in changes in packed
cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC)
counts, and haemoglobin concentration (Hb) of rats. Group C and D
respectively fed 10% and 20% polluted shellfish diets recorded
significant (P < 0.05) decreases in PCV and RBC counts while Hb
concentration and WBC counts increased. Groups II, III and IV gavaged
with varying doses of crude oil recorded significant (P < 0.05 -
0.01) dose dependent decrease in PCV and RBC counts when compared to
controls (group 1). Hb and WBC counts also increased for these groups
but the increase was only significant for WBC counts (P < 0.05) when
compared with controls. The results suggest that the ingestion of
shellfish exposed to crude oil polluted water or the polluted perse
results in haematotoxicity
Contribution of indigenous health care givers to the herbal managament of febrile illnesses in Rivers state, South-south, Nigeria
This study was carried out in two rural communities: Kaani and Boue, in Khana Local Government Area (LGA) and, in one urban community, Eleme, in Eleme LGA, all in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria. The investigations involved in-depth interviews conducted with 104 health care givers comprising indigenous healers: herbalists, sellers of herbal remedies and community elders. Information was obtained on types of fevers (febrile illnesses) treated, symptoms and methods of establishing illnesses, and traditional herbs used in the prevention and treatment of febrile illnesses. On types of febrile illnesses treated, respondents presented the following: malaria (78.8%), typhoid (23.1%), yellow fever (21.2%), high fever (19.2 %), convulsion (15.4%), and pregnancy fever (2.9%). Other illnesses treated were yellow eyes (4.8%) headache (11.5%), waist pain (14.4%), and joint pains, (8.7%). Respondents determined whether a person had fever by the following: physical examination (85.4 %), listening to patients' complaints (9.4 %), through divination and inspiration (9.4 %), while others (0.2 %) were not quite explicit on their methods of diagnoses. On the treatment of febrile illnesses, respondents used herb teas (88.5%), herb powders (42.3%), incantation (3.3 %), and performance of sacrifice (4.8%) or use of special fluids (27.9%). Majority of the respondents, in describing the best herbal medicines for the treatment of febrile illnesses, 62.5 % said that dogonyaro (Azadiracta indica) was the best medicine. Other responses were: lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratys, 51.9 %), mango (Mangifera indica) bark (29.8 %); lime (Citrus limetta) juice (30.0 %), paw paw (Carica papaya) leaf/fruit (20.2 %); guava (Psidium guajava) leaf (18.3 %), akpagbogoro (Salacia nitida), 7.7 %, plantain (Musa sapientum) sucker (6.7 %), Lipton tea (3.8 %) and scent leaf (Ocimum gratissimum), 1.9%. Keywords: Malaria, fever, febrile illness, herbal remedies, NigeriaWest African Journal of Pharmacology and Drug Research Vol. 21 (1&2) 2005: pp. 48-5