Dockovdia cookarum infection and the prosobranch gastropod Lanistes libycus host in Omi Stream, Ago-Iwoye, south-western, Nigeria

Dockovdia cookarum infection was studied in relation to the abundance and size classes of Lanistes libycus from Omi Stream, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria, between September 1997 and June 1998. 57.6% of the 262 L. libycus recorded were collected during periods of heavy rainfall. 17.2% (45) of the L. libycus examined had D. cookarum infection. The water mite prevalences were higher in rainy season than in dry season, and ranged between 3.0% and 44.4% monthly. L. libycus in 21-30 mm size class had the highest prevalence (73.3%). Intensity of infection was higher in rainy season than in dry season, and ranged between 1 and 6 mite(s)/snail. 2.6% of the L. libycus specimens in the 21-30 mm size class had concurrent D. cookarum and Chaetogaster limnaei infections. Key Words: Dockovdia cookarum, water mites, Lanistes libycus, freshwater molluscs, Nigeria African Jnl Biotechnology Vol.3(3) 2004: 202-20

Loa loa and Mansonella perstans: Neglected human infections that need control in Nigeria

Despite the continued endemicity of Loa loa and Mansonella perstans infections in many parts of Nigeria, there has been no meaningful large-scale control program against them. This paper presents the epidemiological status of the infections in Nigeria, evaluates and emphasizes the severity of therecorded clinical symptoms, justifies the need for a control program, and proffers possible control measures. It is shown that, based on available literature, the clinical symptoms of the infections could be seriously debilitating with grave negative socio-economic impacts, especially among the ruralpopulace who contribute immensely to agriculture in Nigeria. We opined that it is inhumane and  deceptive to neglect these infectious diseases and the sufferers if truly the country desires health for all

Epidemiology of Concomitant Infection Due to Loa loa and Mansonella perstans in Gabon

Loa loa and Mansonella perstans are blood filarial parasites, endemic in the central and western African forest block, and transmitted by chrysops and culicoides flies, respectively. Loa loa is pathogenic and represents a major obstacle to the control of co-endemic filariae. Treatment of individuals with >8000 Loa loa microfilariae/ml can result in severe adverse reactions. M. perstans is prevalent in the tropics, with undefined clinical symptoms. We screened 4392 individuals for these infections in 212 Gabonese villages. The overall prevalence rates were 22.4% for Loa loa microfilariae, 10.2% for M. perstans, and 3.2% for mixed infection. These rates varied across the different ecosystems: forest, savannah, Lakeland, river (Ogouée), and equator. A correlation was found between the prevalence and intensity of microfilariae, while a negative relationship was found between clinical symptoms (pruritis, Calabar swelling) and the prevalence of Loa loa microfilaremia. This study confirms the spatial uniformity of the relationship between parasitological indices, and provides a map and baseline data for implementation of mass chemotherapy for these infections

Population, seasonal abundance and infections of Lanitstes libycus from a schistosomiasis-endemic town in Ijebu North, south-west Nigeria

No Abstract. Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 26, 2005: 37-4

Assessment of the awareness of male and female singles on the association between HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease which was declared a .global health emergency. by theWorld Health Organisation. The Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria also declared TB a national emergency and inaugurated the National TB-HIV Working Group in 2006. Every year, 8-10 million people contact the disease and 2 million die from it.Although there are effective antimicrobial agents for the control and cure of TB, there remains an increase which is due to negligence, ignorance, improperapplication of available control measures and inadequate treatment. Nigeria has the fourth highest cases of TB in the world and at least 105,000 people die of TB in Nigeria annually. Many people are still ignorant about how TB is spread, its co-infection with HIV, and how TB is prevented or cured. All these are of public health importance, which contributes to the continuous spread and the stigma of the disease. The main objective of this study is to determine the level of awareness of male and female singles, about the association between tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.Aquestionnaire was prepared for data collection and wasstandardised, using test-retest reliability method. The investigation is being conducted in some universities and this is the result from, Babcock University (BU), one of the institutions. Two hundred questionnaires were administered to male and female singles, volunteer students. The results showed that 98% of the students were aware of HIV/AIDS, while 64% hadheard of TB. The awareness of BU students on TB and its co-infection with HIV/AIDS was poor (31%). Also, 88.5% of the students were not aware of BCG vaccine, which is used for preventing Tuberculosis. Only 39.5% were aware that TB is contagious. The study revealed the need for awareness campaign, on TB and its co-infection with HIV/AIDS. Though the awareness of HIV/AIDS among Babcock University students was high, more efforts needs to be put into creating more awareness on TB, to ensure that individuals take precautions to avoid the spread of both HIV and TB. This will help in the control of HIV/AIDS and TB, within the community.  Keywords: tuberculosis, infectious disease, global health emergency, contagious, public health importance

The Influence of Malaria on Some Haematological Parameters in Pregnancy

Pregnant women and their unborn fetuses are at a high risk of deleterious attacks of malaria infection. Also, standard chemotherapy and prophylaxis are lacking or inadequate in most endemic areas. The main objective of this study was to estimate the number of febrile, pregnant women who had malaria infection, and also to determine the influence of malaria parasites on some haematological parameters, in pregnancy. Venous blood samples were collected, during the second trimester of pregnancy, from one hundred (100) febrile pregnant women, and one hundred (100) nonfebrile pregnant women. The blood films were stained, examined and evaluated for malaria parasites. Haematological parameters like packed cell volume (PCV), reticulocyte count, and total white blood cell counts (WBC) of each samples were determined. Among the febrile women, seventy two percent (72%) were positive for Plasmodium (P) falciparum infection. Parasite densities varied from 5.2-25%. The range of the PCVs among the febrile women was 18% (23 to 41%), while it was 8(36-44) in the non-febrile subjects. The WBC count of the febrile pregnant women had a range of 8.0mm 3(3.0-11.0mm3) while the non-pregnant women had 6.0mm3(5.0-11.0mm3). Reticulocyte counts of the febrile subjects had a range of 5.3% (1.0-6.3%), while the non-febrile ones had 1.0% (0.5-1.5). Reticulocyte counts were significantly higher in febrile women with high parasitaemia (P<0.05), while PCVs were significantly lower, (P<0.05) in the same group of febrile women. Those with high parasite counts had relatively higher, total white blood cell counts and lower PCVs, than others. There were associations between parasitaemia and PCVs, and also between parasitaemia and WBCs. The results highlighted the importance of making adequate prophylaxis and chemotherapy available for pregnant women.Keywords: Deleterious attacks, chemotherapy, febrile, malaria infection and reticulocyteNigerian Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 32 [2] September 2011, pp.187-19