Prevalence and seasonality of parasites of fish in Agulu Lake, Southeast, Nigeria

A study was undertaken to assess the prevalence, mean intensity, abundance and seasonality of parasites of fish in a natural, freshwater, tropical lake, southeast Nigeria. A total of 1191 fish specimen belonging to four families (Cichlidae, Bagridae, Hepsetidae and Channidae), seven genera and nine species were collected from the lake and examined for parasites. Eleven (11) species of parasites comprising metacercariae of three digenetic trematodes, one cestode, five nematodes and two acanthocephalans were isolated. Clinostomoides sp. showed the highest range of sites of infection, and the operculum carried significantly more worm burden (F = 196.843, d.f. = 5, p = 0.000) than other sites infected by this parasite. Prevalence ranged from 0.7% in Clinostomum tilapiae infection of T. zillii to 71.7% in Neochinorhynchus sp.2 infection of Hepsetidae fasciatus with an overall prevalence of 59.5%. Mean intensity ranged from 1.0 ± 0.0 in Clinostomoides sp. and Proteocephalus sp. infection of P. obscura and Anemone occidentalis, respectively, to 76.5 ± 29.7 in Neoechinorhynchus sp. 2 infection of H. fasciatus. Neoechinorhynchus sp. 2 infection also had the highest mean abundance (54.90 ± 2.74) while the lowest was recorded in the Clinostomoides sp. infection of H. fasciatus. Patterns of infection were significantly different in the prevalence and abundance of Clinostomoides sp; Camallanus sp.3 and Neoechinorhynchus sp.1 while mean intensity was comparable in all cases.Keywords: Natural lake, freshwater, fish parasites, worm burdenAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(3), pp. 502-508, 15 January, 201

Prevalence and predictors of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in a sample of patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Nigeria

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) are growing health challenges worldwide. However, the relation of OSA with type 2 diabetes is not well understood in developing countries. This study described the prevalence and predictors of OSA in type 2 DM patients using a screening questionnaire. Materials and Methods: Patients aged 40years and above with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited into the study consecutively from the outpatient clinics of a university hospital. They were all administered the Berlin questionnaire and the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) to assess the risk of OSA and the tendency to doze off, respectively. Anthropometric details like height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were measured and short-term glycaemic control was determined using fasting blood glucose. Results: A total of 117 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited into the study. The mean (SD) age, height and BMI was 63 years (11), 160 cm (9) and 27.5 kg/m2 (5.7), respectively. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents had a high risk for OSA and 22% had excessive daytime sleepiness denoted by ESS score above 10. In addition, the regression model showed that for every 1 cm increase in neck circumference, there is a 56% independent increase in the likelihood of high risk of OSA after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, waist, hip circumferences and blood glucose. Conclusion: Our study shows a substantial proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes may have OSA, the key predictor being neck circumference after controlling for obesity.Keywords: Diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, slee