Analysis of spatio-temporal emissions from road transport in Kaduna Metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the spatial and temporal concentrations of road transport the spatial variation in the concentrations of road transport emissions at specific periods (off peak and peak periods of traffic). ToxiRAE monitor was used to measure the amount of carbon-monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Ammonia (NH3) while the MultiRAE plus monitor was used to measure volatile organic Compounds (VOCs) at different times and locations. These devices were used to ascertain the ambient concentration of selected gas emissions at road junction’s corridors in the study area. Sample sizes of 10% of road junctions in the study area (Kawo, Ahmadu Bello Way, Yakubu Gowon Way, Sabo Junction and NNPC Junction) were selected for emission measurement. The result showed that carbon monoxide is above the 20ppm stipulated by FEPA (Federal Environmental Protection Agency) base line while the remaining gases (NH3 .889ppm, SO2 .0836ppm, VOCs 1.628ppm, NO2 .203ppm) has not gone beyond the local and international safe limits. The study concluded that it is pertinent to emphasize that, continuous exposure of urban residents to these emissions could have cumulative negative impacts on the health of urban residents and calls for concerted effort to be put in place to ensure that carbon monoxides from various road transport modes are within acceptable safe limit

Hepatitis B Co-Infection is Associated with Poorer Survival of HIV-Infected Patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in West Africa

Background: Hepatitis B has been reported to be high in HIV-infected African populations. However, the impact of this co-infection on the survival of HIV-infected Africans on long-term highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) remains poorly characterised. We investigated the impact of HBV/HIV co-infection on survival of HIV infected patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy in a West African population. Methods: This was a clinic-based cohort study of HIV-infected adults enrolled in Nigeria, West Africa. Study subjects (9,758) were screened for hepatitis B and hepatitis C at HAART initiation. Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate probability of survival and to identify predictors of mortality respectively, based on hepatitis B surface antigen status. All patients had signed an informed written consent before enrolment into the study; and we additionally obtained permission for secondary use of data from the Harvard institutional review board. Results: Patients were followed up for a median of 41 months (interquartile range: 30–62 months) during which, 181 (1.9%) patients died. Most of the deaths; 143 (79.0%) occurred prior to availability of Tenofovir. Among those that were on antiretroviral therapy, hepatitis B co-infected patients experienced a significantly lower survival than HIV mono-infected patients at 74 months of follow up (94% vs. 97%; p=0.0097). Generally, hepatitis B co-infection: HBsAg-positive/HIV-positive (Hazards Rate [HR]; 1.5: 95% CI 1.09–2.11), co-morbid tuberculosis (HR; 2.2: 95% CI 1.57–2.96) and male gender (HR; 1.5: 95% CI 1.08–2.00) were significantly predictive of mortality. Categorising the patients based on use of Tenofovir, HBV infection failed to become a predictor of mortality among those on Tenofovir-containing HAART. Conclusions: HBsAg-positive status was associated with reduced survival and was an independent predictor of mortality in this African HIV cohort on HAART. However, Tenofovir annulled the impact of HBV on mortality of HIV patients in the present study cohort