15 research outputs found
HIV Point Of Care Diagnostics: Meeting The Special Needs Of Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 70% of the 35 million people living with HIV worldwide, obviously carries the heaviest burden of the HIV epidemic. Moreover, the region’s poor health system occasioned by limited resources and inadequate skilled clinical personnel usually makes decentralization of HIV care difficult. Therefore, quality diagnostics that are easy to use, inexpensive, and amenable for use at point of care (POC) are a dire necessity. Clearly, such diagnostics will significantly lessen the pressure on the existing over-stretched centralized HIV laboratory services. Thankfully, some POC diagnostics are already being validated, while others are in the pipeline. As POC test kits emerge, implementation hurdles should be envisaged and planned for. This review examines emerging HIV diagnostic platforms, HIV POC product pipelines, gaps, perceived POC implementation challenges, and general recommendations for quality care.</jats:p
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics in Nigeria
Over the past few decades, major advances in the field of molecular biology, coupled with advances in genomic technologies, have led to an explosive growth in the biological data generated by the scientific community. The critical need to process and analyze such a deluge of data and turn it into useful knowledge has caused bioinformatics to gain prominence and importance. Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary research area that applies techniques, methodologies, and tools in computer and information science to solve biological problems. In Nigeria, bioinformatics has recently played a vital role in the advancement of biological sciences. As a developing country, the importance of bioinformatics is rapidly gaining acceptance, and bioinformatics groups comprised of biologists, computer scientists, and computer engineers are being constituted at Nigerian universities and research institutes. In this article, we present an overview of bioinformatics education and research in Nigeria. We also discuss professional societies and academic and research institutions that play central roles in advancing the discipline in Nigeria. Finally, we propose strategies that can bolster bioinformatics education and support from policy makers in Nigeria, with potential positive implications for other developing countries. © 2014 Fatumo et al.SAF was supported by H3ABioNet NABDA Node, Abuja, Nigeria with NIH Common Fund Award/NHGRI Grant Number U41HG006941 and Genetic Epidemiology Group at Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.Published versio
H3Africa: A tipping point for a revolution in bioinformatics, genomics and health research in Africa
Parvovirus B19 antibodies and correlates of infection in pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in central Nigeria
Human parvovirus B19 infection is associated with spontaneous abortion,
hydrops foetalis, intrauterine foetal death, erythema infectiosum (5th
disease), aplastic crisis and acute symmetric polyarthropathy. However,
data concerning Nigerian patients with B19 infection have not been
published yet. The purpose of this study was to establish the
prevalence of B19 IgG and IgM antibodies, including correlates of
infection, among pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in
Nigeria. Subsequent to clearance from an ethical committee, blood
samples were collected between August-November 2008 from 273 pregnant
women between the ages of 15-40 years who have given their informed
consent and completed self-administered questionnaires. Recombinant IgG
and IgM enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits (Demeditec Diagnostics,
Germany) were used for the assays. Out of the 273 participants, 111
(40.7%) had either IgG or IgM antibodies. Out of these, 75 (27.5%) had
IgG antibodies whereas 36 (13.2%) had IgM antibodies, and those aged
36-40 years had the highest prevalence of IgG antibodies. Significant
determinants of infection (p < 0.05) included the receipt of a blood
transfusion, occupation and the presence of a large number of children
in the household. Our findings have important implications for
transfusion and foeto-maternal health policy in Nigeria. Routine
screening for B19 IgM antibodies and accompanying clinical management
of positive cases should be made mandatory for all Nigerian blood
donors and women of childbearing age
Absence of routine molecular testing and prevalence of HIV-2 infection in regions hardest-hit by HIV infection
Original Article
Human immunonodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus: sero-prevalence, co-infection and risk factors among prison inmates i