Febrile illness diagnostics and the malaria-industrial complex: a socio-environmental perspective

Abstract Background Global prioritization of single-disease eradication programs over improvements to basic diagnostic capacity in the Global South have left the world unprepared for epidemics of chikungunya, Ebola, Zika, and whatever lies on the horizon. The medical establishment is slowly realizing that in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly urban areas, up to a third of patients suffering from acute fever do not receive a correct diagnosis of their infection. Main body Malaria is the most common diagnosis for febrile patients in low-resource health care settings, and malaria misdiagnosis has soared due to the institutionalization of malaria as the primary febrile illness of SSA by international development organizations and national malaria control programs. This has inadvertently created a “malaria-industrial complex” and historically obstructed our complete understanding of the continent’s complex communicable disease epidemiology, which is currently dominated by a mélange of undiagnosed febrile illnesses. We synthesize interdisciplinary literature from Ghana to highlight the complexity of communicable disease care in SSA from biomedical, social, and environmental perspectives, and suggest a way forward. Conclusion A socio-environmental approach to acute febrile illness etiology, diagnostics, and management would lead to substantial health gains in Africa, including more efficient malaria control. Such an approach would also improve global preparedness for future epidemics of emerging pathogens such as chikungunya, Ebola, and Zika, all of which originated in SSA with limited baseline understanding of their epidemiology despite clinical recognition of these viruses for many decades. Impending ACT resistance, new vaccine delays, and climate change all beckon our attention to proper diagnosis of fevers in order to maximize limited health care resources

Thermal properties of an agricultural site in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

This study was conducted to determine the soil thermal properties, including the damping depth, at an agricultural teaching and research farm located inside Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe, Nigeria (7°33'N, 4°33'E). The data were collected during the Nigerian Micrometeorological Experiment (NIMEX1), from February 15 to March 10 2004. Results obtained showed that the damping depth varied between 0.13 m and 0.17 m. The variation of thermal properties with the depth and amount of soil water content has been discussed. Keywords: damping depth, soil thermal properties, soil water content Nigeria Journal of Pure and Applied Physics Vol. 4(1) 2005: 71-7

Chemical composition and cytotoxic effect of Largerstroemia speciosa fruits essential oils

The fruits of Largerstroemia speciosa were collected, dried and grounded. Essential oils of powdered samples were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The essential oils contained mostly hydrocarbons: Methyl cyclohexane (60.9%), methyl benzene (18.2%), o-xylene (3.04%) representing 82.14% of the total essential oil. The cytotoxicity result of LC50 value (ìg/ml) of 1.701 obtained through thebrine shrimp toxicity assay indicated that the oil is toxic

Complement Levels and Haemate-Biochemical Parameters as Indices of Tryanotolerance in Nigerian Goats Experimentally Infected with Trypanosoma congolense

Complement levels and haemato-biochemical parameters in West African Dwarf (WAD) and Borno White (BW) goats experimentally infected with Trypanosoma congolense were investigated.  Parasitaemia was established in both breeds of goats by day 7 post-infection. Peak parasitaemia of 7.5 x 103/µL for WAD goats was attained by day 14 post-infection while, in the BW goats, parasitaemia of 18 x 103/µL was attained by day 19 post-infection. This was characterized by anaemia, leucopoenia, hypocomplementaemia and depletion of C3 level and increased levels of total serum protein and globulin.  There was a significant (p<0.05) decline in packed cell volume (PCV), total haemolytic complement (CH50) values among BW when compared to WAD goats. The perceived relative trypanotolerance of WAD goats when compared to BW goats can be attributed among other things, to higher levels of C3, CH50 units, total proteins and PCV in WAD goats.Keywords: Trypanosomosis, Trypanotolerance, Complement, Haemato-biochemical parameters, Nigerian goats

Human African trypanosomes: challenges posed to the human immune system.

Human infection by either Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (Tbg) or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (Tbr) and the establishment of disease is made possible by the intermittent switching of their variant surfaceglycoprotein (VSG) and expression of serum resistance associated (SRA) protein (by Tbr) which nullifies the lytic action of the normal human serum. The ability to switch expression from one VSG to the other is recognized to be the major mechanism that permits the parasite to evade the otherwise efficient host antibody, hence preventing parasite elimination and allowing the establishment of a chronic infection. These changes were reported to: disable the host’s capacity to mount a protective anti-parasite antibody response and prevent the development of effective B-cell memory against encountered variant antigenic parasite types (VATs). Both B cell-mediated antibody response and the Th1 cell responses leading to the production of interferon-gamma (IFN-ϒ) are required for maximum host resistance to trypanosomes, with IFN-ϒ acting to induce macrophage trypanolytic and trypanostatic activities. High levels of both tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) have been associated with trypanosomal infection. Trypanosomal genetics (including the parasite’s intrinsic characteristics), human immune response polymorphisms and geographical locations are important elements that describe the severity or mildness of HAT. As the parasite devices ways to evade thehuman immune system, and in the absence of a suitable vaccine, surveillance, prompt diagnosis and treatment with available drugs and vector control efforts will go along way in reducing the incidence of HAT.Keywords: African trypanosomes, Variant surface glycoprotein, Serum resistance associated (SRA) protein, Trypanosomal genetic polymorphisms, Immune response polymorphism