Assessment of Work Practices and Health Problems Among Filling Station Attendants in Ile Ife

Background: Filling Station Attendants are exposed to hazards in their workplaces, which could be physical, chemical, ergonomic, biological, mechanical, or psychosocial. The study aimed to assess the work practices and health problems among filling station attendants in Ile-Ife. Methods:  This study was conducted in Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria using a descriptive cross-sectional study design. There are 218 filling stations in Ile Ife. The total sampling method was used for selection and a sample size of 200 was obtained. Data was collected via Interviewer administered questionnaires with sections assessing sociodemographic characteristics, work practices, occupational hazards, and health problems using close-ended questions. An observational Checklist assessing the safety measures put in place by the management was also obtained. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and a p-value of 0.5 was found to be statistically significant. Results: Majority of the filling station attendants (74%) were not aware of workplace safety practices. Of those that were aware, 78% were aware of PPE while the commonest available PPE was working clothes (36%). One hundred and twelve attendants (56%) indicated that the PPEs available for them were not adequate. Concerning training, about 62.5% had prior safety training of which only 66% and 56% of them could use fire extinguishers and spill kits respectively. Regarding occupational hazards,74.5% of the attendants were aware of the various hazards, the commonest being fire outbreak (69.5). The commonest work-related problem was musculoskeletal disorders (60.5%) while the least common was gastro-intestinal tract problems (8%). There was a significant association between age, working durations of the respondents, and skin problems with p-values of 0.021 and 0.035 respectively. There was also a significant association between BMI and respiratory problems with a p-value of 0.029.  Conclusion: This study assessed work practices and health problems among filling station attendants. There was poor availability of PPE, inadequate use of PPE as well as poor work safety practices among filling station attendants. Regarding health problems, neurological and eye problems were found to be the commonest among filling station attendants in Ile Ife. There were also significant associations between some sociodemographic characteristics and some health         &nbsp

A landscape review of malaria vaccine candidates in the pipeline

Abstract Background Globally, malaria continues to pose a major health challenge, with approximately 247 million cases of the illness and 627,000 deaths reported in 2021. However, the threat is particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan African countries, where pregnant women and children under the age of five face heightened vulnerability to the disease. As a result, the imperative to develop malaria vaccines especially for these vulnerable populations, remains crucial in the pursuit of malaria eradication. However, despite decades of research, effective vaccine development faces technical challenges, including the rapid spread of drug-resistant parasite strains, the complex parasite lifecycle, the development of liver hypnozoites with potential for relapse, and evasion of the host immune system. This review aims to discuss the different malaria vaccine candidates in the pipeline, highlighting different approaches used for adjuvating these candidates, their benefits, and outcomes, and summarizing the progress of these vaccine candidates under development. Method A comprehensive web-based search for peer-reviewed journal articles published in SCOPUS, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Science Direct, WHO, and Advanced Google Scholar databases was conducted from 1990 to May 2022. Context-specific keywords such as “Malaria”, “Malaria Vaccine”, “Malaria Vaccine Candidates”, “Vaccine Development”, “Vaccine Safety”, “Clinical Trials”, “mRNA Vaccines”, “Viral Vector Vaccines”, “Protein-based Vaccines”, “Subunit Vaccines”, “Vaccine Adjuvants”, “Vaccine-induced Immune Responses”, and “Immunogenicity” were emphatically considered. Articles not directly related to malaria vaccine candidates in preclinical and clinical stages of development were excluded. Results Various approaches have been studied for malaria vaccine development, targeting different parasite lifecycle stages, including the pre-erythrocytic, erythrocytic, and sexual stages. The RTS, S/AS01 vaccine, the first human parasite vaccine reaching WHO-listed authority maturity level 4, has demonstrated efficacy in preventing clinical malaria in African children. However, progress was slow in introducing other safe, and feasible malaria vaccines through clinical trials . Recent studies highlight the potential effectiveness of combining pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage vaccines, along with the advantages of mRNA vaccines for prophylaxis and treatment, and nonstructural vaccines for large-scale production. Conclusion Malaria vaccine candidates targeting different lifecycle stages of the parasite range from chemoprophylaxis vaccination to cross-species immune protection. The use of a multi-antigen, multi-stage combinational vaccine is therefore essential in the context of global health. This demands careful understanding and critical consideration of the long-term multi-faceted interplay of immune interference, co-dominance, complementary immune response, molecular targets, and adjuvants affecting the overall vaccine-induced immune response. Despite challenges, advancements in clinical trials and vaccination technology offer promising possibilities for novel approaches in malaria vaccine development