Absence of Serological Evidence of West Nile Virus in Blood Donors in South Western Nigeria

Background: West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that circulates among avians, but can also affect other species, particularly humans and horses. The virus is transmissible via blood transfusion. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of the West Nile virus among blood donors in Nigeria.Materials and Methods: Serum samples from 185 blood donors who donated blood at blood bank units of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching hospitals and Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria were screened for WNV IgM antibody.Results: Out of the 185 donors recruited for the study, 175 (94.6%) were males. The age of the participant ranges from 18 – 65 years with the mean age (SD± 20.3). One hundred and sixty five (89.1%) donors are urban dwellers while twenty (10.8%) donors are rural dwellers. Twenty seven donors (15.4%), out of the urban group regularly use insecticides treated or mosquito repellant nets whereas none of the rural dwellers use insecticides or mosquito net. All the 185 donors screened were negative for West Nile virus- specific IgM antibody.Conclusion: This study reveals that there is no serological evidence of WNV infection in Osun state Nigeria. Although this is only a preliminary report, there would be the need for a more elaborate study cutting across different seasons of the year on the prevalence of WNV in Nigeria.Keywords: West Nile virus, blood donors, serological evidence, IgM antibody, Nigeri

Evaluation of immunity against poliovirus serotypes among children in riverine areas of Delta State, Nigeria

Nigeria remains one of the major reservoirs for wild poliovirus transmission despite the reported success in National Immunization Days and acute flaccid paralysis surveillance. Two hundred children aged ≤ 10 years, were enrolled following parental consent from hard-to-reach riverine areas of Delta state of Nigeria to assess the level of protective immunity to poliovirus. Neutralizing antibodies to the three poliovirus serotypes in the serum samples of the children were determined by the beta method of neutralization.Eight (4%) of the children had no detectable antibody, 178 (89%), 180 (90%) and 181 (90.5%) were positive for antibodies to poliovirus types 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Overall, 162 (81%) of the children had antibodies to the three poliovirus serotypes at a titre of at least 1:8. The study shows the need for proper monitoring of vaccination coverage in such hard-to-reach riverine areas to achieve the objective of the global eradication of poliovirus.Keywords: Neutralizing, antibody, poliovirus, serotypes, riverine, Nigeri

Assessment of tobacco smoking status and in luence of health care professionals on tobacco cessation among outpatients in different clinics of the Department of Medicine of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos, Nigeria

Background: As a risk factor for six out of the world's eight leading causes of death, tobacco smoking has been dubbed the single most preventable cause of death. Healthcare professionals have a prominent role to play in tobacco control. Studies have shown that even a brief interven on by a health professional significantly increases the cessa on rate. Purpose: The objec ves of the study were to assess the smoking status and iden fy the influence of health professionals on smoking cessa on of outpa ents in different clinics at the department of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Nigeria

A review of data needed to parameterize a dynamic model of measles in developing countries

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dynamic models of infection transmission can project future disease burden within a population. Few dynamic measles models have been developed for low-income countries, where measles disease burden is highest. Our objective was to review the literature on measles epidemiology in low-income countries, with a particular focus on data that are needed to parameterize dynamic models.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We included age-stratified case reporting and seroprevalence studies with fair to good sample sizes for mostly urban African and Indian populations. We emphasized studies conducted before widespread immunization. We summarized age-stratified attack rates and seroprevalence profiles across these populations. Using the study data, we fitted a "representative" seroprevalence profile for African and Indian settings. We also used a catalytic model to estimate the age-dependent force of infection for individual African and Indian studies where seroprevalence was surveyed. We used these data to quantify the effects of population density on the basic reproductive number <it>R</it>₀.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The peak attack rate usually occurred at age 1 year in Africa, and 1 to 2 years in India, which is earlier than in developed countries before mass vaccination. Approximately 60% of children were seropositive for measles antibody by age 2 in Africa and India, according to the representative seroprevalence profiles. A statistically significant decline in the force of infection with age was found in 4 of 6 Indian seroprevalence studies, but not in 2 African studies. This implies that the classic threshold result describing the critical proportion immune (<it>p</it>_c) required to eradicate an infectious disease, <it>p</it>_c= 1-1/<it>R</it>₀, may overestimate the required proportion immune to eradicate measles in some developing country populations. A possible, though not statistically significant, positive relation between population density and <it>R</it>₀for various Indian and African populations was also found. These populations also showed a similar pattern of waning of maternal antibodies. Attack rates in rural Indian populations show little dependence on vaccine coverage or population density compared to urban Indian populations. Estimated <it>R</it>₀values varied widely across populations which has further implications for measles elimination.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>It is possible to develop a broadly informative dynamic model of measles transmission in low-income country settings based on existing literature, though it may be difficult to develop a model that is closely tailored to any given country. Greater efforts to collect data specific to low-income countries would aid in control efforts by allowing highly population-specific models to be developed.</p

AIDS knowledge, attitude and behavioural patterns among high school students in southwestern Nigeria

An evaluation of knowledge, attitude and behavioural patterns of high school students in Oyo and Osun States, Southwestern Nigeria, towards HIV/AIDS was undertaken. A structured questionnaire was administered to respondents from six secondary schools that were selected by systematic random sampling method from the two States. The questionnaire focused on specific aspects of knowledge, attitude and behavioural patterns related to HIV/AIDS, its mode of transmission and preventive measures. Results from the study showed that 362 (73%) of the 496 respondents had correct knowledge of the causative agent of AIDS, 69% had correct knowledge of the mode of transmission, 83.2% had correct knowledge of the people at risk and 80.2% had good knowledge of methods of prevention. Attitude toward AIDS victims was however relatively poor with 21% believing that AIDS patients should be isolated and avoided and additional 7% believing that people should not eat or share utensils with AIDS patients. Only 57.7% believed that people should relate freely with AIDS patients. This study showed an improvement in the knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS over a previous one carried out over a decade ago in the same locality, highlighting the importance of mass media campaign programme embarked upon by the States over the years. However, there is need to further increase the awareness campaign especially as it relates to attitude towards AIDS patients and also on information dissemination, which should be more detailed and formal. Incorporating sex education into the curriculum of secondary schools will be a welcome development in stemming the tide of this dreaded disease.Keywords: knowledge, attitude, sexual behaviour, HIV, AIDS African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 6 (3) 2005: 247-25

Prevalence of hepatitis- B virus infection among HIV patients in Ikole Ekiti, South – Western, Nigeria

Infections from HIV, Hepatitis B virus constitute a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are evidences to suggest that there is faster progression of HIV in those co-infected with either HBV. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBV infections among HIV-infected patients, and describe the sociodemographic features and correlates of HIV and HBV co-infected patients at Specialists Hospital, Ekiti, Nigeria. One hundred and fifty eight (158) HIV individuals who consented to the study were tested for HBV using Diaspot HBsAg kit (Screening test) and Biorex Diagnostic ELISA kit (Confirmatory test) between November 2012 and April, 2013. CD4 counts were also analysed with Aldrich Sigma kit and flow cytometery respectively. P value &lt; 0.05 was considered to be significant. Prevalence rates of Hepatitis B infections among HIV obtained were 5.7%. Individuals who were 51 years or younger were the most affected HBV co-infection was more common among females than males (3.8%: 1.8%, res, P = 0.0004). Out of 9 patients, 8 patients (88.9%) fell within the age range 30- 49 years which implies the high prevalence of HIV among labour force while 1 patient (11.1%) fell within the range of 50-60 years .Mean serum ALT and AST among participants with HIV alone were (42.0, 38.3) International Units (IU), but were significantly higher (57.6, 43.7) International Units (IU) for those with HIV/HBV co-infection, P = (0.048, 0.032).Mean CD 4 count for HIV/HBV co-infected participants (389 cell/mm 3 ) was significantly higher than that for participants with HIV alone (230 cell/mm 3 ), P = 0.024 Conclusion: Co-infection with hepatitis B virus is common among HIV-infected patients in our setting and this further reaffirms the need for routine baseline screening for this marker, as it is a major consideration in the initiation and choice of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Furthermore, those found to be negative should be immunized with HBV vaccine to improve the prognosis of their HIV status

Prevalence of measles neutralizing antibody in children under 15 years in Southwestern Nigeria

The immune status of children under 15 years in the Southwestern region of Nigeria against measles virus was determined using the neutralization test with a view to assessing the herd immunity to the virus in these communities. A total of 256 serum samples collected from children were tested by the beta method of neutralization. Forty (15.6%) of these samples were found to be positive at a titre of 1:256, 35 (13.7%) at 1:128, 36(14.1%) at 1:64, 37(14.5%) at 1:32, 38 (14.8%) at 1:16, 27 (10.5%) at 1:8 and 16 (6.3%) at 1:4. Twenty-seven (10.5%) of the 256 samples had no detectable antibody to the measles virus. There was no significant relationship between the antibody titre to measles virus and the gender of the children (p > 0.05). Also, there was no significant difference using Chi square analysis between the neutralizing antibody titres and the age of the children (p > 0.05). All the children whose samples were tested were vaccinated against measles as attested to by their parents. However, the vaccination does not seem to protect all the children, for some of them had no detectable neutralizing antibody while some had low neutralizing antibody titre. In Nigeria, where only a single dose of measles vaccine is given at 9 month, measles may remain a serious threat to the children population with its attendant high morbidity and mortality. Key Words: Prevalence, Neutralizing antibodies, Children < 15years Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. Vol.6(1) 2005: 60-6

Screening for Schistosoma haematobium infection in a rural cohort of pregnant women in Nigeria

Studies were conducted to investigate the occurrence of Schistosoma haematobium infection among 37 pregnant Nigerian women in llie, Osun state, Nigeria and to determine the effects on haemoglobin concentration and clinical symptoms. Out of the 37 pregnant women seen over a period of nine months, 14 (37%) had urinary schistosomiasis, with a mean egg count of 82.5 eggs/10 mls of urine. The mean haemoglobin values in women with schistosomiasis mothers were lower than in women negative for the parasite but the differences were not stastically significant (P>0.05). Abdominal pain was the predominant complaint among the women seen in with 71% of the infected women while other complaints were dizziness, fever and headache. This study shows that schistosomiasis is prevalent among pregnant women in rural area and could contribute to anaemia and abdominal pain commonly seen in pregnant women in our environment. Keywords: schistosomiasis, pregnant women, abdominal pain, haemoglobin values, Nigeria African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 6 (3) 2005: 199-20