Pulmonary tuberculosis and resistance pattern to first line anti-tuberculosis drugs in a city of Western Nigeria

This study determines the distribution of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) among suspected patients and the resistance pattern of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to first line anti-tuberculosis drugs. 609 suspected PTB subjects (based on chest x-ray), attending tuberculosis clinic at Sacred Heart Hospital, Abeokuta, were involved in this study. Their blood  samples were screened for HIV antibody using WHO strategy II, while sputum samples were screened for the presence of acid fast bacilli (AFB) using standard method. All AFB positive samples were cultured and susceptibility tests done using 1% proportion methods. Results showed that of the 609 subjects, 19.7% had PTB. The observed infection, though not statistically significant, was higher among males (21.6%) than in females. However, significant differences were observed for PTB infections amongst various age groups. Susceptibility test revealed that resistance to streptomycin was highest (33.0%) compared to other drugs, while detected multidrugresistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) was 17.5%; being higher among males (19.7%) and in subjects with PTB only (19.3). In addition,  mono-resistant and poly-resistance was found in 16.5% and 9.7% of the isolates respectively. These findings suggest that the control and prevention of PTB, especially MDR-TB, should include measures aimed at identifying the source of infection and proper treatment of infected individuals.Key Words: Gender, Pulmonary tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Susceptibility test

Relationship between some selected Socio Demographic Profiles and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus among Apparently Healthy Residents in Ekpoma, Nigeria

This study assesses the relationship between some selected demographic profiles and methicillin resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) amongst 384 apparently healthy residents in Ekpoma, Edo, Nigeria. Followingstandard protocol, nasal swab samples were subjected to bacteriological investigation and Staphylococcus aureusisolates were identified by mannitol fermentation and coagulase positivity. Antimicrobial susceptibility test wasperformed via Kirby-Bauer’s disc diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar medium. Results showed thatStaphylococcus aureus was present in 136 (35.4%) samples (male: 33.8% and female: 37.0%) among which 27.9%were methicillin-resistant (male; 27.3%; and female; 28.6%). The distribution of nasal colonisation ofStaphylococcus aureus was significantly higher (P< 0.05) among those within the age group of 41–50 years(66.7%) and civil servants (52.9%). Also, MRSA was common among age group 31 – 50 years (50%) and amongstcivil servants (33.3%). The MRSA isolated were resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, cloxacillin (92.1%), tetracycline(68.4%), chloramphenicol (18.4%), streptomycin (18.4%), erythromycin (18.4%) and gentamicin (0%). Judging bythe results, MRSA is prevalent in the study area and the use of gentamicin may be recommended as the drug ofchoice for the treatment of multi-drug resistant MRSA.Keywords: Demographic profile, Antibiotic resistant, Staphylococcus aureus, Ekpoma

Health Condition and Female Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria

The proportion of women’s participation in agriculture differs by regions in developing countries. Nevertheless, this disparity notwithstanding, women actively participate in different nods of agricultural value chain. As at 2011, out of women labour, above 50% were agricultural workers and above 20% were observed to be cultivators. However, only about 13% of the operational holdings were owned by women, which shows gender asymmetry in resource ownership in agriculture. It has been argued that when women are given opportunities in agriculture, such as access to land, credit among others, it will enhance their productivity, which forms the basis of this studies. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of health conditions of female/women on their level of agricultural productivity. Therefore, the study aims to answer the research question ‘what is the impact of women health condition on household agricultural productivity? The study engaged wave 4 (2018/2019) of the Living Stand Measurement Study, Integrated Survey on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). The reason for using wave 4 is because, it is the more recent wave of the LSMS-ISA, at the point of writing this report. The LSMS-ISA data is a general household data by the World Bank in collaboration with National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Nigeria. From the pooled data, we disaggregated female-headed households, using the household identification (hhid). Therefore, this study is based on female-headed households, while the male-headed households were excluded from the analysis. The study engaged the descriptive statistics, t-test to examine the significant difference in productivity between household-heads who are healthy and those who are not, the legit regression to estimate the determinants of health condition, and the propensity score matching (PSM) technique to estimate the impact of health condition on female agricultural productivity. The result from the test of mean difference shows that there is a significant difference in productivity between household heads who are healthy and those who are not. It implies that, those who are healthier have higher level of productivity than their counterparts who are not. From the determinants of health condition, using the logit regression, the result shows that household income, education, ICT adoption, and location are significant determinants. From the impact analysis, using the PSM, the result shows that, access to healthcare by female headed households contributes 28.49% to the level of their productivity. The result informs the need to enhance women access to healthcare, especially, farming households in the rural areas, for higher agricultural productivity. Therefore, the study suggests that policies such as improved healthcare systems, among others, geared towards enhancing female engagement in agriculture and services alongside other concerned sectors should be promoted

Chloroquine prophylaxis associated with high prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum Pfcrt K76T mutation in people with sickle-cell disease in Benin City, Nigeria

Background & objectives: High mortality and morbidity in sickle-cell disease has been associated with malaria infection especially in countries where chloroquine is used. Chloroquine resistance has been associated with the emergence of Pfcrt mutant genes. This study aimed at comparing the prevalence rate of Pfcrt T76 mutation in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from infected individuals with sickle-cell disease and sickle-cell trait. This study was carried out in Benin City between the months of April and June 2006. This period is marked with high transmission rate of malaria. Methods: The genotype of the subjects was screened using haemoglobin electrophoresis system and the P. falciparum. Pfcrt genotyping was carried out using PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).Results: Four hundred and twenty-four subjects comprising of 207 haemoglobin AA, 136 haemoglobin AS and 81 haemoglobin SS typed individuals were enrolled for this study. No significant difference existed in the prevalence rate of malaria in the three groups (p >0.05). However, the prevalence rate of Pfcrt K76T mutant gene was higher in the haemoglobin SS genotyped individuals than the haemoglobin AA and AS subjects (p<0.05).Interpretation & conclusion: An uncontrolled use of chloroquine has been incriminated as the major cause of chloroquine resistance in Nigeria. Therefore, rapid intervention measures are needed as a matter of urgency to curb the up rise in the prevalence of the chloroquine resistant genes in our environment

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among HIV patients in Benin City, Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine the presence of intestinal parasites and their correlation with CD4+ T-cell counts and demographics among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients in Benin City, Nigeria. Stool specimens from 2,000 HIV-positive patients and 500 controls (HIV-negative individuals) were examined for ova, cysts, or parasites, using standard procedures. In addition, patient's blood samples were analyzed for CD4 counts by flow cytometry. An overall prevalence rate of 15.3% was observed among HIV-positive patients while 6.2% was noted among non-HIV subjects. HIV status was a significant (P<0.0001) risk factor for acquiring intestinal parasitic infections. Male gender, CD4 count <200cell/µl, and diarrhea were significantly associated with an increased prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among HIV-positive patients. The level of education, occupation, and source of water among HIV patients significantly (P<0.0001) affected the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections. Ascaris lumbricoides was the most predominant parasite in both HIV-positive patients and controls. A CD4 count <200 cells/µl was significantly associated with only Isospora belli and Cryptosporidium infections. The presence of pathogenic intestinal parasites such as A. lumbricoides, hookworm, Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba histolytica, Trichuris trichiura, and Taenia species among HIV-infected persons should not be neglected. Cryptosporidium species and I. belli were the opportunistic parasites observed in this study. Routine screening for intestinal parasites in HIV-positive patients is advocated

Access to Healthcare through Renewable Energy on Female Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria

In low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria, agriculture is a vital component of development and poverty reduction. The native population of Nigeria suffers a slew of challenges that stymie agricultural productivity. One aspect is the low level of female agricultural productivity, which is likewise dependent on other factors. The present level of agricultural output in the Nigerian economy in line with the level of demand necessary to meet the desired expectation of the Nigerian populace will continually pose a threat to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially, SDG-2 (achieve food security through agricultural productivity). This reflects the possible relationship that renewable energy especially in the area of healthcare can have on female agricultural productivity, as considered in this study, which can be a major component of the total agricultural productivity of the Nigerian economy. Therefore, an improvement in female access to healthcare through the input of renewable energy is a possible determinant for an increase in total female agricultural productivity. Using wave 4 (2018/2019) of the Living Standard Measurement Studies, Integrated Survey on Agriculture, the impact of female access to healthcare on female agricultural output in Nigeria was investigated in this study (LSMS-ISA). In addition to other tactics, the study employs the propensity score matching technique for the other specified aims. The estimation result reveals that in Nigeria, there is a significant and positive association between female healthcare access made possible by renewable energy provision and female agricultural productio

Male and Female Employment in Agriculture and Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria

The contribution of women to labour in African agriculture is quoted regularly in the range of 60–80%. Using available statistical data, to compare the level of employment and productivity of both male and female on an individual basis, and consequently proffer ways of improve that with a lower turn-out is the one major aim of the study. The contribution of females in the agricultural sector is substantially lower in Nigeria (37%), and some other developing countries. In order to get appropriate estimation of the model, the Augmented Dicky-Fuller and the Phillips-Perron test are used to check the variables level of stationarity. This also helps to explain the existing relationship between and among the following variable: employment in agriculture, male, employment in agriculture, female, trade and inflation. The result informs the need to enhance the employment of female in the Nigerian economy for higher agricultural productivity. Therefore the study suggests that policies geared towards female empowerment in agriculture and services alongside other concerned sectors should be promoted

CD4 count, viral load and parasite density of HIV positive individuals undergoing malaria treatment with dihydroartemisinin in Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria

Background & objectives: A prospective study on 72 HIV infected and 33 HIV negative individualsundergoing malaria treatment with dihydroartemisinin (Cotecxin) was undertaken to compare CD4cells count, viral load and parasite density at two time-points, a baseline visit and a 9-day posttreatmentvisit.Methods: CD4 count and viral load of the subjects were estimated using Dynabeads T4–T8Quantification Protocol (Dyneal Biotech, Norway) and Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Test respectively(Roche, United Kingdom).Results: There was a significant decrease in CD4 count at 9-day post-treatment when compared withbaseline value (p 200 cells/μl, a marked significant increase was obtained when the mean viral loadat baseline was compared to the 9-day post-treatment visit value (p <0.05). The mean parasite densityin HIV positive subjects was statistically higher when compared to that of HIV negative individualsat baseline and 9-day post-treatment (p <0.05).Interpretation & conclusion: The study as such may not confirm the impact of malaria infection onprogression to AIDS, incorporating effective malaria control in HIV management programmes mayimprove tremendously the quality of life of HIV infected individuals