Haemoglobin Variants, ABO/Rh Blood Groups and their Associa-tions with Levels of Malaria Parasitaemia amongst Infected Subjects at Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The aim of the study was to associate haemoglobin variants, ABO/Rh blood groups with levels of malaria parasitaemia amongst infected subjects at Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. ABO/Rh D blood groups were analyzed using monoclonal antisera, and haemoglobin electrophoresis was analyzed using the alkaline cellulose acetate electrophoresis method, while malaria parasites were identified by microscopic examination of stained blood films. Graph Pad Prism version 8.0 was used to statistically analyze odd ratios, confidence intervals, likelihood ratios and relative risks. All 147 subjects (87 females, 60 males) were positive for malaria (Plasmodium falciparum). For 3+ falciparum malaria, the order of infection for haemoglobin genotype was AA > AS/SS; ABO blood group was B > A > O > AB; Rh blood group was Rh D+ > Rh D-; gender was females > males at p > 0.05. At p > 0.05, for 2+ falciparum malaria: haemoglobin genotype was SS >AA > AS; ABO blood group was B > A > O > AB; Rh blood group was Rh D- > Rh D+; and gender was females > Males. At p > 0.05, for 1+ falciparum malaria infection: haemoglobin genotype was AS >AA > SS; ABO blood group was AB > O > A > B; Rh blood group was Rh D+ > Rh D-; and gender was males > females. Conclusively, 3+ Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection is common amongst individuals with: AA haemoglobin genotype, blood group B, Rh D+, and females; 2+ P. falciparum infection is common amongst individuals with: haemoglobin genotype AA, blood group B, Rh D-, and females; while 1+ P. falciparum malaria infection is common amongst individuals with: AS haemogobin genotype, blood group AB, Rh D+, and amongst males than females

Eliminating mother to child HIV transmission in South Africa

PROBLEM: The World Health Organization has produced clear guidelines for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, ensuring that all PMTCT programme components are implemented to a high quality in all facilities presents challenges. APPROACH: Although South Africa initiated its PMTCT programme in 2002, later than most other countries, political support has increased since 2008. Operational research has received more attention and objective data have been used more effectively. LOCAL SETTING: In 2010, around 30% of all pregnant women in South Africa were HIV-positive and half of all deaths in children younger than 5 years were associated with the virus. RELEVANT CHANGES: Between 2008 and 2011, the estimated proportion of HIV-exposed infants younger than 2 months who underwent routine polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to detect early HIV transmission increased from 36.6% to 70.4%. The estimated HIV transmission rate decreased from 9.6% to 2.8%. Population-based surveys in 2010 and 2011 reported transmission rates of 3.5% and 2.7%, respectively. LESSONS LEARNT: Critical actions for improving programme outcomes included: ensuring rapid implementation of changes in PMTCT policy at the field level through training and guideline dissemination; ensuring good coordination with technical partners, such as international health agencies and international and local nongovernmental organizations; and making use of data and indicators on all aspects of the PMTCT programme. Enabling health-care staff at primary care facilities to initiate antiretroviral therapy and expanding laboratory services for measuring CD4+ T-cell counts and for PCR testing were also helpful.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Mothers' experiences of barriers to the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in South Africa

The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in pregnant South African women is one of the highest in the world. Infants born to these women risk being exposed to and vertically infected with HIV. Since early 2001, the South African National Department of Health has made concerted efforts to prevent this mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV through its programme for the Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), in line with World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS guidelines. The PMTCT program later translated to the elimination of mother-to-child transmission as the UNAIDS and UN bodies push for achieving the targets on ending HIV. (UNAIDS,2019) However, South Africa is yet to achieve the elimination target that the WHO set in 2011. The purpose of this qualitative study was therefore to investigate HIV-positive mothers’ experiences of the EMTCT programme, and the associated barriers, in Ehlanzeni district of Mpumalanga province, South Africa. An exploratory phenomenological research design was used with a purposive sample of 13 participants. The participants were mothers aged 18–35 whose infants had seroconverted before the age of 24 months after a negative birth PCR test. Qualitative data was collected through individual interviews with open ended questions and subjected to a thematic analysis. The study showed that the guidelines are not implemented consistently to provide a comprehensive standardised service to mothers. The findings were grouped into highlighted five thematic areas compared to current policy and guidelines worldwide, namely: access to PMTCT services, experiences with disclosure and support, sexual and reproductive health, knowledge of the risks of MTCT, and proposed improvements to the EMTCT programme. The following recommendations are proposed to strengthen South Africa’s EMTCT programme: Women need to be empowered by giving them the right information and providing quality of sexual and reproductive health care. Healthcare providers should be capacitated to provide family-centered approach where men are included and encouraged to participate constructively in the sexual and reproductive health processes and decisions. More studies, quantitative and mixed method studies, need to be done to understand the subject further.Health Studie