Prevalence of Malaria among Children 1 – 10 Years Old in Communities in Awka North Local Government Area, Anambra State South East Nigeria

Malaria is a major cause of illness and death especially among childrenunder 5years old and pregnant women. It is estimated than more that morethen one million children living in Africa especially in remote areas withpoor access to health services die annually from direct and indirect effects ofmalaria (Fawale and Onadeko, 2001). Fatally affected children often diewithin less than 72h after developing the symptoms. In Nigeria, malariaconsistently ranks among the five most common causes of death in children. As a result of increased mortality and morbidity there is need for proper understanding of the epidemiology of the disease among the most at risk groups. In the study of 1000 children, 1 -10 years old were randomly selected from 20 primary and 31 nursery schools in the four randomly selected communities in Awka North LGA. Two milliliters venous blood was collected from each of the 1000 pupil (600 primary and 400 nursery) and stored in an anticoagulant specimen bottle. Thick and thin films were prepared, stained and examined for malarial parasite under the microscope using the oil immersion objective. Also both 12h human bait collection and pyrethrum knocked down methods were used for identification of types of mosquitoes found in the study communities. Malaria infection is most prevalent among 1- 4 years old, highest being among 3 years old (76.4%), followed by 1 and 4 years old with 71.3 and 71.2% respective, and 62.04% for 2 years old. This decreased as the children get older. There was no significant difference in prevalence among the male and female pupils, with 59. 2 and 57.2%,  respectively. The most prominent specie in the community is plasmodium falciparum (51.8%). Forty-three percent of the pupil positive for malaria had low parasitic diversity below 1000, 12.4% between 1000 and 10,000, 2.3% between 10,000 and 100,000 and 0.2% above 100,000. Malaria is a problem among pupil 1-10 years old especially from age 2 yeas when their immunity from mothers start reducing. There is need to ensure that mothers protect their children from mosquito bite by ensuring that they sleep under ITN

Malaria Infection Among Blood Donors in Onitsha Urban, Southeast Nigeria

Blood safety is a major issue of global concern in transfusion medicine especially in developing countries, where national blood transfusion policies and services as well as financial resources are lacking or inadequate. Transfusion-transmitted malaria is a potential health hazard but is often neglected in many malarious areas. Malaria infection among blood donors in Onitsha urban, Southeast Nigeria was studied between August and October 2008. Venous blood of donors was screened for malaria parasites using Giemsa-stained thick and thin blood films. The ABO and Rhesus phenotypes were classified using a haemaglutination standard test and demographic data of donors documented. Of the 410 blood donors analysed, 304 (74.1%) were infected. Plasmodium falciparium was identified in all positive cases and mixed infection with P. malariae was seen in 5(1.6%) cases. Infection significantly varied with age and not with sex and occupation (

Family Life and HIV/AIDS Education (FLHE) in Schools in Enugu State: Baseline Study of Reproductive Health Issues among In-School Adolescents in Enugu State

We studied the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and practices among junior secondary school grades 1 and 3 students Enugu State, preparatory to incorporating family life and HIV/AIDSeducation (FLHE) into the school curricula in the state. Results show that over 90% of the respondents were regularly involved in sexual activities. More than seventeen per cent (17.5%) indicated that they would definitely have sex in the next two years while 19.2% may have sex in the next two years. The students lacked proper knowledge of protection and knowledge scores on SRH issues was low especially among the urban dwellers (

Assessment of the efficacies of anti-malaria drugs (Fansidar and Maloxine) against P. falciparum malaria in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Resistance of Plasmodia species (P.), particularly P. falciparum to most of current antimalaria drugs has emerged as the main technical problem in malaria control. The emergence of resistant malaria parasites has necessitated the development of other line of drugs, of which there is only a limited range. A synergistic combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine initially proved to be highly effective for the treatment and chemoprophylaxis of chloroquine-resistant Falciparum malaria appears to be loosing its efficacy. This study, however, is a survey of the efficacy of the different drug brands of this combination: Fansidar and Maloxine. From the result of the investigation it was however observed that the overall clinical impression of Fansidar on 132 male/female patients studied show for respective age groups: 10-20, clinical successes (CS) of 35.6% against clinical failures (CF) of 12.9%. For age group 21-30: CS=23.5%, CF = 11.4% for age group 31-40: CS = 100%: CF=0.0%. In age group 41-50: CS= 38.0%: CF = 0.0%. for age group 5-60:CS=0.8% CF = 0.0%, for age group 61-70: CS=0.8%, CF = 0.8% while the overall clinical impression of Maloxine on 266 male/female patients studied showed for respective age groups the following: 10-20: CS = 12.8%, CF=8.6%, 2

Social and psychological aspects of onchocercal skin disease in Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Anambra State, Nigeria

No Abstract. The Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 22(1&2) 2001: 11-1

Dermatological problems in rain forest onchocerciasis in Nigeria

No Abstract. The Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 22(1&2) 2001: 23-2

The prevalence of acute glomerulonephritis in 2-5 years in ABUSTH

No Abstract.ABSUMSAJ Vol. 2 (1) 2000: pp. 26-2

Mosquito fauna of a tropical museum and zoological garden complex

The mosquito fauna of Museum and Zoological Garden Complex (JZC), a major tourist attraction inJos Metropolis of Nigeria, was studied The choice of the complex was out of public health curiosity. A total of 627 mosquitoes comprising 4 genera, Aedes, Culex, Coquilletidia and Eretmapodites, and9 species were caught n two dfferent study trips. Five species, namely, Aedes aegypti, A. africanus, A. vittatus, Culex quinquefasciatus and Eretmapodites chrysogaster, caught by human bait method are known variously to be involved in the transmission of yellow fever and other viral diseases. Culex quinquefasciatus had the highest frequency followed by Aedes aegypti. Simpson’s dominance and Shannon-Wiener diversity indices of 0.4942 and 0.4550 were respectvely recorded for the whole mosquitoes sampled by the human bait method. C. quinqefasciatus was the most frequent species with diversity values of 0.4444 (Simpson’s) and 0.1174 (Shannon-Wiener), followed by A. aegypti with 00455 (Simpson’s) and 0.1431 (Shannon-Wiener). Ecological statistics demonstrated a highly significant diference in diversity between samples in March, during the dryseason, and June in the rainy season (P < 0.001). The presence of man-biting mosquitoes in JZC constitutes apparent public health danger and calls for regular surveillance and control operations on such disease vectors in the complex. Keywords: Mosquitoes, Zoo Complex, Public Health, Aedes, Culex, Eretmapodites, Coquilletidi

Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth control in Niger : cost effectiveness of school based and community distributed mass drug administration

BACKGROUND: In 2004 Niger established a large scale schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths control programme targeting children aged 5–14 years and adults. In two years 4.3 million treatments were delivered in 40 districts using school based and community distribution. METHOD AND FINDINGS: Four districts were surveyed in 2006 to estimate the economic cost per district, per treatment and per schistosomiasis infection averted. The study compares the costs of treatment at start up and in a subsequent year, identifies the allocation of costs by activity, input and organisation, and assesses the cost of treatment. The cost of delivery provided by teachers is compared to cost of delivery by community distributers (CDD). The total economic cost of the programme including programmatic, national and local government costs and international support in four study districts, over two years, was US$456,718; an economic cost/treatment of$0.58. The full economic delivery cost of school based treatment in 2005/06 was $0.76, and for community distribution was$0.46. Including only the programme costs the figures are $0.47 and$0.41 respectively. Differences at sub-district are more marked. This is partly explained by the fact that a CDD treats 5.8 people for every one treated in school. The range in cost effectiveness for both direct and direct and indirect treatments is quantified and the need to develop and refine such estimates is emphasised. CONCLUSIONS: The relative cost effectiveness of school and community delivery differs by country according to the composition of the population treated, the numbers targeted and treated at school and in the community, the cost and frequency of training teachers and CDDs. Options analysis of technical and implementation alternatives including a financial analysis should form part of the programme design process