Prevalence of Malaria and Predisposing Factors to Antimalarial Drug Resistance in Southwestern Nigeria

High transmission rate and drug resistance have been implicated in the spread and re-emergence of malaria in areas where the disease had been eradicated. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of falciparum malaria and pre-disposing factors to malaria among patients presenting with fever in selected State Hospitals in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. Four thousand and sixty six patients were recruited into this study. Scientific and Ethical clearance was obtained for this study. Blood samples were collected for malaria screening from the subjects. Structured questionnaires were administered to patients and parents of infants to determine the factors that could lead to the development of drug resistance by the parasite in the study population. Out of 4066 subjects screened during the study period, 61.1% were positive for falciparum malaria. Highest prevalence of 70.8% was recorded in children 1-5 years, also the group with highest parasitemia (1080). The study showed that 24.6% of the patient visited hospitals for treatment, 12% use local healers while 25.0% bought antimalarial drugs without prescription. Moreover, some subjects use more than one method in their management of malaria. Those who combined antimalarial drugs with traditional medicine from local healers were 17.4%. Only 18% of the sample population used insecticide treated mosquito nets, 42.3% used window and door nets, while 13% did not employ any mosquito preventive method. Uncontrolled use of drugs and exposure of parasites to the drugs should be monitored in areas where the parasite is still sensitive to the drug

Plasmodium falciparium parasitemia in pregnancy in relation to maternal anaemia

This study was aimed at examining existing relationship between peripheral parasitaemia of Plasmodium falciparum and anemia among pregnant women in a secondary hospital and a tertiary hospital in Osogbo, South-Western, Nigeria. Two hundred and twenty five (225) patients were enrolled into this study, one hundred and fifty (150) from Asubiaro General Hospital, Osogbo and seventy five (75) from LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo. A total of 30 (13.3%) women carrying the first pregnancy (primigravida), and 195 (86.6%) multiparous women (2-5) were enrolled. Mean age of recruited women was 31.511± SD 1.03, mean gestational age was 2.4267 ± SD 0.72 and mean packed cell volume was also 26.889 ± SD 0.43. Overall prevalence of malaria parasitemia was 63.6% while mean malaria parasite density was 461.33 among women infected with malaria parasite. Prevalence of malaria in pregnancy was highest amongst women with first pregnancy and in the age bracket 26 – 30 years (26.7%) and least among women greater than 40 years. Parasitemia decreased as parity increased, as women acquire immunity to malaria progressively with multiple pregnancies. Mild to moderate anaemia was also found to be prevalent among primigravida (11.6%) and this was associated with malaria parasitemia among these women .No correlated relationship was established between malaria parasitemia and age, gravidity, trimester of pregnancy, and Packed cell volume. Malaria chemoprophylaxis and other methods of malaria control should be sustained and advocacy for inclusion of malaria treatment in safe motherhood should be continued because of its beneficial potentials. Key words: Malaria, Pregnancy, anaemia

Prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis Infection among Pregnant Women in Abeokuta, Nigeria

Trichomoniasis caused by Trichomonas vaginalis has emerged as one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. The infection may lead to an important complication in pregnancy, as it has been related with prematurity and low birth weight. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of T. vaginalis among Nigerian women attending ante natal clinic at the State Hospital, Abeokuta. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among two hundred (200) pregnant women attending ante-natal at Ogun State Hospital, Abeokuta. High vaginal swabs (HVS) and urine samples were collected from consenting pregnant women and examined for the presence of T. vaginalis under the microscope. Out of 200 women, a total of 40 (20%) were found to be infected with T. vaginalis. The women between the age group 20-30 had the highest prevalence of 21.3% while age group >20 years had the lowest of 12.5% but the difference was not statistically significant. Women in second trimester had the highest prevalence of 25% while those of first trimester were the lowest with 18%. Results obtained from comparing HVS and urine microscopy in this study showed that HVS had a prevalence of 40% compared to urine microscopy (5.5%) and the difference in their detection was statistically significant p=0.0041. These results may be useful for health authorities, especially for ante-natal care and protection against STDs. The higher recovery rate obtained by using HVS microscopy confirms its advantage over urine microscopy

PREVALENCE AND MANAGEMENT OF FALCIPARIUM MALARIA AMONG INFANTS AND CHILDREN IN OTA, OGUN STATE, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Studies were carried out to determine the prevalence of malaria parasite infection among infants and children (0-12yrs) in Ota, Southwestern Nigeria between April and December 2008. The two hospitals used were Ota General Hospital and Covenant University Health Centre, Canaanland, Ota. Thick and thin films were made and stained using standard parasitological procedures. Structured Questionnaires were distributed to ascertain the age, sex, drugs or insecticides used and state of health of the subjects before recruiting them into the study. Overall, 215 (80.5%) of the 267 children investigated were found to have malaria infection. Age group (0-5 years) had the highest frequency rate of 84.7% with mean parasite density of 900 and the difference between the age groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). Children of illiterates from suburb villages had the highest mean parasite density of 850 with 78.1% prevalence rate. 20% of the children were given local herbs and 22% used orthodox medicine as prophylaxis. Only 18% used insecticide treated mosquito nets while 24% of the parents spray insecticides to prevent mosquito bites. There is therefore need for more awareness on effective use of drugs and Insecticide Treated bed nets in malaria hyperendemic regions

Detection of Molecular Markers of Antimalarial Drug Resistance in Plasmodium Falciparum from South-Western Nigeria

The widespread of drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum has led to a rise in malaria- associated mortality most especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Falciparum malaria was confirmed by microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained blood samples of patients who presented with fever in selected State Hospitals in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. Molecular methods were employed to detect the markers of resistance of P. falciparum to Chloroquine, sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine,and artesunate in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. DNA was extracted from patient blood using the QiaAmp DNA Blood Minikit extraction method. Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction followed by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (PCR/RFLP) were used for the detection of P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (Pfcrt), P. falciparum multidrug resistance 1 (pfmdr1), P. falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (Pfdhfr), P. falciparum dihydropteroate synthase (Pfdhps) and P. falciparum sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium-dependent ATPase (SERCA) PfATPase6 genes. Pfcrt (K76T ) Pfmdr1 (mdr 1 ) Pfdhfr (S108N), and Pfdhps (K540E) resistant genes were detected among the isolates while resistant SERCAPfATPase6 gene which codes for artemisinin resistance was not detected in the population

Intestinal Helminthiasis among School Children in Ilie, Osun State, Southwest, Nigeria

A cross sectional study of intestinal helminthiasis among school pupils was undertaken in three primary schools in Ilie in Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun state in order to determine the prevalence and intensity of helminthic infections. The relationship between intestinal helminths and anthropometric indices and the factors that could favour the infection were also studied. Faecal samples from three hundred and four (304) randomly selected out of the four hundred and seven (407) school children in the study area were collected and analysed with the semi-quantitative Kato Katz technique and concentrated method. The intensity of infection was classified into light, moderate or high according to World Health Organisation (WHO) thresholds. The overall prevalence rate was 52.0% while five species of intestinal helminths were identified. Ascaris lumbricoides (36.2%) was the most common, followed by Hookworm (10.5%), Schistosoma mansoni (4%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.7%) and Hymenolepis nana (0.7%). Multiple helminthic infection were recorded with Ascaris –Hookworm (6.58%) having the highest prevalence among the children. Female (56.6%) were more infected than male (46.4%) and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.0019). Seventeen percent (17%) of the children were below the third percentile for weight (wasted) while fourteen percent (14%) were below the third percentile for height (stunted). There was a relationship between intensity of infection and wasting since there were fewer underweight pupils (13%) with normal stool than those moderately infected (35%) (

In vitro studies on the sensitivity pattern of Plasmodium falciparum to anti-malarial drugs and local herbal extracts

Background: The resistance of human malaria parasites to anti-malarial compounds has become considerable concern, particularly in view of the shortage of novel classes of anti-malarial drugs. One way to prevent resistance is by using new compounds that are not based on existing synthetic antimicrobial agents. Results: Sensitivity of 100 Plasmodium falciparum isolates to chloroquine, quinine, amodiaquine, mefloquine, sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine, artemisinin, Momordica charantia (‘Ejirin’) Diospyros monbuttensis (‘Egun eja’) and Morinda lucida (‘Oruwo’) was determined using the in vitro microtest (Mark III) technique to determine the IC50 of the drugs. All the isolates tested were sensitive to quinine, mefloquine and artesunate. Fifty-one percent of the isolates were resistant to chloroquine, 13% to amodiaquine and 5% to sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine. Highest resistance to chloroquine (68.9%) was recorded among isolates from Yewa zone while highest resistance to amodiaquine (30%) was observed in Ijebu zone. Highest resistance to sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine was recorded in Yewa and Egba zones, respectively. A positive correlation was observed between the responses to artemisinin and mefloquine (P<0.05), artemisinin and quinine (P<0.05) and quinine and mefloquine (P<0.05). A negative correlation was observed between the responses to chloroquine and mefloquine (P>0.05). Highest anti-plasmodial activity was obtained with the ethanolic extract of D. monbuttensis (IC50 = 3.2nM) while the lowest was obtained from M. lucida (IC50 =25nM). Conclusions: Natural products isolated from plants used in traditional medicine, which have potent anti-plasmodial action in vitro, represent potential sources of new anti-malarial drugs

Genetic Diversity of Plasmodium falciparum Field Isolates from South Western Nigeria

Background: Plasmodium falciparum the main causative agent of malaria is an important public health vector. With the use of PCR, its genetic diversity has been extensively studied with dearth information from Nigeria. Methods: In this study, 100 P. falciparum strains merozoite surface protein 1( msp-1), merozoite surface protein 2 (msp-2) and Glutamate rich protein (Glurp) from Ogun State General Hospitals were characterized. The genetic diversity of P. falciparum isolates was analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism following gel electrophoresis of DNA products from nested polymerase chain reactions (PCR) of their respective allelic families KI, MAD 20, RO33 (MSP-1);FC27, 3D7 (MSP-2) and Glutamate rich protein respectively. Results: Majority of the patients showed monoclonal infections while multiplicity of the infection for msp-1 and msp-2 were 1.1 and 1.2 respectively. The estimated number of genotypes was 8 msp-1 (4 KI; 3 MAD; 1 RO33) and 6 msp-2 (3 FC27; 3 3D7). 80% of the isolates coded for Glurp with allelic size ranged between 700 and 900 bp. Conclusion: The allelic distributions however were similar to those previously reported in other endemic malaria countries. Future studies will be designed to include other malaria endemic regions of Nigeria such as the oil exploration region

Agricultural education for youth empowerment in Nigeria: a brief review.

This study was carried out to review agricultural education for youth empowerment in Nigeria. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and existing studies on related studies were sourced online. The major findings of the study disclosed that motivational strategies for effective implementation of youth empowerment programmes in Nigeria include: adequate remuneration of trainers, disbursement of long and short term loans, bursary scheme for youth educational empowerment, sharing of sewing machines, among others. Supervisory strategies for effective implementation of youth empowerment programmes in Nigeria include, provision of adequate supervision task force for youth empowerment programmes and preparation of guidelines for reporting youth empowerment training activities. Managerial strategies for effective implementation of youth empowerment programmes in Nigeria among others include: development of scopes and sequence of the training programmes, provision of a curriculum for youth empowerment programmes and proper adherence to the curriculum contents. The policy strategies for effective implementation of youth empowerment programmes in Nigeria include, promulgation of decree for compulsory youth empowerment training programmes and centres, adoption of youth oriented policies in the States and formulation of decrees for formal entrepreneurship training programmes in institutions. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made: youth empowerment programmes should be introduced in the curriculum of institutions of higher learning. Tertiary institutions should put in efforts in teaching vocational education and agricultural skills acquisition programmes to enable every Nigerian to be self-reliant, self-developed and creative