Chikungunya virus infection: a review

Chikungunya fever is a self-remitting febrile viral illness that has been associated with frequent outbreaks in tropical countries of Africa and Southeast Asia. The illness has only recently become a concern in Western countries and temperate zones around the world. Chikungunya is an arboviral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, caused by Chikungunya virus (CHIKV). It consists of an acute illness characterized by fever, rash and arthralgia. Over the past decades, the virus has dispersed unexpectedly from tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia, affecting millions of people worldwide. Treatment of acute case is symptomatic; treatment of fever and joint swelling includes the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen, non-aspirin analgesics such as acetaminophen. Currently, in the era of globalization and increased international travel, and due to widespread distribution of the mosquito vector, CHIKV is becoming a substantial threat to human health worldwide, including the industrialized countries. Given the lack of effective vaccine or antiviral drug, the long-term consequences of the infection appear to be even more harmful. Adequate coordinated efforts comprising active surveillance, early detection, vector control and public awareness at local, national and international level need to be adopted in endemic areas for the effective control of CHIKV infection. Keywords: Chikungunya virus; infection; malaria; fever; vaccine; treatmen

INTESTINAL HELMINTHIASIS AMONG CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN SOME HOSPITALS IN KANO METROPOLIS

Infection with parasitic helminthes is often recognized as one of the important public health problems in tropical Africa. The majority of this infection occurs in resource-limited settings like Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminthes among children and adults in some hospitals in Kano metropolis. The study involved a cross-sectional survey of 134 stool samples where 84 were collected from children and 50 from adults. The samples were examined usingdirect wet mount and formol-ether concentration technique. The overall prevalence of intestinal helminth infection observed was 11.2%. In the study, three different parasites were identified. These include Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuristrichura and Hookworm. In terms of isolation rate, Hookworm was the commonest intestinal helminth observed in children 5 (50%) while Ascarislumbricoides was the most isolated 3 (60%) in adults

Bacterial meningitis in pregnancy, neonate and adolescence: A report of five cases

Background: Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the thin covering of the brain and spinal cord.Objective: This case study identifies the aetiology and the antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial agents in suspected samples of acute meningitis.Methods: The bacterial agents were detected by culture, Bactec 9050, Directgen and Gram Techniques from five patients of Makoda and Tudun Wada Primary Health care (PHC) facilities as well as Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital (HBPH) that were presented to Microbiology Laboratory unit of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) – a tertiary hospital located within the meningitis belt of Nigeria. Among the five cases, three werepregnant women all in their second trimesters marked patients 1, 2 and 3 according to the increasing pattern of their ages, an adolescent marked patient 4 and a neonate marked patient 5.Results: The CSF sample of the respective patients was assayed for pus cell, protein, and RBC. The Directgen detected Haemophillus influenzae from patients 1 and same organism was isolated from patient 2. Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from patient 3 and Neisseria meningitidis from patients 4 and 5 respectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing reveals sensitivity to penicillin and gentamicin by H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae and N. meningitidis. N. Meningitidis and S. pneumoniae were sensitive to ceftriazone, ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin. All the three organisms displayed intermediate sensitivity to chloramphenicol, erythromycin and tetracycline according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints.Conclusion: This study demonstrates the relevance of these agents as potential pathogens in the predisposed patients. The antimicrobial sensitivity depicted high sensitivity to the various classes of antibiotics

Prevalence of extended spectrum β-lactamases (esbls) among enterobacteriaceae in murtala mohammed specialist hospital, Kano, Nigeria

Confirmed variants of enterobacteriaceae isolated from 143 patients that attended Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital Kano, were screened for extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) production using Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoint. Suspected ESBLs producers were subjected to confirmation using Disc Replacement Method (DRM). Standard discs of augmentin {AMC 30μg (Oxoid, England)}, ceftriaxone {AUF 30μg (Oxoid, England)} and ceftazidime {RP 30μg (Oxoid, England)} were used in the screening. Of the 143 isolates screened, 114 (79.72%) were Gram negative isolates belonging to the family enterobacteriaceae. Among the enterobacteriaceae isolates screened, the results of CLSI breakpoint test showed that 76 (66.7%) were ESBLs producers viz: Citrobacter spp. (3), Enterobacter spp. (2), E. coli (28), Klebsiella spp. (18), Morganella morganii (7), Proteus spp. (13), Salmonella spp. (1), Serratia spp. (1), Shigella spp. (2) and Yersinia spp (1). On subjecting the CLSI positive isolates to DRM, only 47 (41.2%) were confirmed ESBLs producers. These include; Citrobacter spp. (1), E. coli (20), Klebsiella spp. (12), Morganella morganii (4), Proteus spp. (8), Salmonella spp. (1) and Shigella spp. (1). ESBLs occur at an alarming rate among enterobacteriaceae isolates in Kano which calls for government intervention in the healthcare setting

Phytochemical properties and antibacterial activities of the leaf and latex extracts of calotropis procera (ait.f.) Ait.f.

A comparative preliminary study on the phytochemistry and antibacterial effects of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the leaves and latex of Calotropis procera on four pathogenic clinical bacterial isolates namely Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella species and Pseudomonas species was carried out using paper-disc diffusion and broth dilution techniques. The results obtained revealed that ethanol was the best extractive solvent for a fraction with antibacterial properties of the C. procera leaves and latex. Generally, the aqueous extracts showed no activity on the isolates. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for the leaf ethanolic extract was 1000 – 2000 μg/ml while the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the latex ethanolic extract was 2000 μg/ml. Phytochemical analysis of the leaf and latex extracts showed the presence of tannins, steroids, saponins and flavonoids while alkaloids were absent in both extracts. Generally, the antibacterial effects of the plant parts revealed that the leaf extracts had stronger activity in comparison with those of the latex

Epidemiology and control of soil transmitted helminthiasis and giardiasis in Nigeria- a review

Background: Nigeria is the country with the largest population in Africa. Helminthiasis and giardiasis are endemic in Nigeria, due to poor environmental sanitation, pollution, and contamination of water and soil. However, parasitic infections in Nigeria are not only due to the large number of its population, but also due to its geographic nature which is apt for easy parasitic development and individuals infected are children and they attributed this to the fact that children are very careless of the risk associated with playing in contaminated environments and eating indiscriminately with unwashed hands. Objective: To review the epidemiology of soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) and giardiasis in Nigeria and feasible control measures. Methodology: A wide-ranging search of electronic bibliographic databases was performed on the epidemiology and control of soil-transmitted helminthiasis and giardiasis in Nigeria. Twenty three full-length articles were studied comprehensively in order to gather up the information on epidemiology of giardiasis and STHs in Nigeria. Result: the occurrence of STH due to the triad of Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm and Trichuris trichiura was observed. The paper also showed that the highest and lowest prevalences of helminthiasis are 89.66% and 9.1% while that of giardiasis are 41.45% and 3.10% respectively. Conclusion: This suggests that soil-transmitted helminthiasis and giardiasis are still endemic in Nigeria and majority of those affected are children younger than 10 years living in rural areas and urban slums