IMPACT OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND MONITORING ON THE USE OF LONG LASTING INSECTICIDE NETS FOR MALARIA PREVENTION AMONG CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS IN A RURAL COMMUNITY IN ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

The female Anopheles mosquito is the vector for human malaria and bites man mostly from 5pm to 7am, with maximum intensity between 10pm and 4am. This provides the basis for the use of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN). A study to assess the impact of enlightenment, advocacy and monitoring on LLIN use for children under five years was conducted in Olugbo. A total of two hundred (200) children under five years were recruited into the study. Ethical clearance was received from the Ogun State Ministry of Health. Pre-tested questionnaires were administered to the respondents and blood samples were collected for malaria test before and after provision(Pre and Post intervention) of LLIN. The blood samples were analyzed at the laboratory using the QBC Malaria Test and ParaLens system. The subjects were divided into two groups of study (group that received LLIN, enlightenment on the importance of LLIN and assisted with LLIN hanging) and Control (group that merely received the LLIN without enlightenment or assistance). The subjects in the study group were monitored between 1600hrs to 2000hrs thrice a week. The pre intervention study result shows that the prevalence of malaria infection was 70% and 56% amongst the study and Control group respectively. The post intervention blood samples screening reveals that the prevalence of infection in the study group was 13% with low parasite density. In the Control group, however, the prevalence of infection was 60% and 38.33% of those infected had high parasite density. There is a significant difference (P<0.05) in malaria parasitaemia between both groups post intervention. This study shows that distribution of LLINs alone is not sufficient to reduce malaria morbidity and recommends that enlightenment and assistance with hanging of LLINs should form an integral part of mass distribution of LLINs by government and donor agencies

HIGH-DIMENSIONAL JOINT MODEL FOR LONGITUDINAL BINARY OUTCOME

Binary outcomes are often collected in clinical and epidemiological studies to investigate the evolution of some outcomes over time. In studies with two or more binary outcomes, research questions often revolve around the joint evolution of the binary outcomes over time. However, independently modelling the evolution of each outcome variable ignores the correlation among the variables. Although generalized mixed models have been proposed to model the joint evolution of binary outcome variables over time, the estimation of the corresponding regression coefficients and covariance parameters may be computationally difficult as the number of outcome variables increases. In this study, we investigate the use of a pairwise generalized mixed models approach based pseudo-likelihood theory, in which all possible bivariate models are fitted, to estimate the parameters of a multivariate longitudinal binary data and compared it with univariate models.  This methodology is illustrated using data from a longitudinal study of the prevalence of four ailments in 200 children in the south-western part of Nigeria. This methodology is shown to be computationally easy and beneficial over the conventional multivariate generalized mixed-model methods. It is also advantageous over univariate generalized mixed-effects models as it incorporates the modeling. This research provides applied researchers with alternative tools to investigate the joint evolution of binary outcomes over time.Â

RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORHIC DNA TYPING OF MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT CLINICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL Pseudomonas aeruginosa STRAINS FROM ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a multidrug-resistant organism is responsible for most opportunistic infections. Genetic relatedness between clinical and environmental strains has always been limited to hospital settings.ª¤? This study utilized RAPD-PCR typing method to evaluate genetic relatedness between multidrug-resistantª¤? P. aeruginosa strains from diverse water samples (bottled water, tap water, sachet water, well water, hospital storage tank, and swimming pool water) and clinical strains (wound, blood, urine, eye and ear swab) collected from different locations in Abeokuta, Nigeria.ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Polymorphic DNA bands with sizes ranging between 250 and 3000bp were generated from both clinical and environmental strains.ª¤? Within each population, both clinical and environmental strains were divided phylogenetically into two groups of Pc1 and Pc2 at 55% and Ps1 and Ps2 at 70% respectively.ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Genetic similarities between clinical and environmental strains yielded a total of 7 unique fingerprints.ª¤?ª¤? Cluster 2 (51.2%) had the largest number of strains in which strains from wound, blood and ear, clustered with strains from hospital storage tank, tap water, swimming pool water, sachet water and well water.ª¤? ª¤?ª¤?These fingerprints proof genetic relatedness between clinical and environmental strains in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria which is of public health significance, particularly, for immunocompromisedª¤?individuals.ª¤?ª¤

RISK SURVEILLANCE OF MULTIDRUG RESISTANT PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA IN WATER AND PLASMID RELATEDNESS WITH CLINICAL STRAINS IN ABEOKUTA, SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Pseudomonas aeruginosa as an opportunistic pathogen has been a subject of investigation due its intrinsic drug resistance.ª¤?ª¤? Its frequent presence in drinking, domestic and recreational water highlights its significance to public health.ª¤?ª¤? This study was aimed at risk surveillance of multidrug resistant environmental P. aeruginosa in water and their plasmid relatedness with clinical strains in Abeokuta, southwestern Nigeria.ª¤?ª¤? A total of forty-one (41) strains with prevalence: well water (29.3%); swimming pool (22.0%) hospital storage tank (19.5%); tap water (14.6%); sachet water (12.2%); and bottled water (2.4%) respectively were isolated from two hundred and eighty eight (288) water samples and were compared with 43 clinical strains from wound (37.3%), blood (11.6%), ear swab (20.9%)ª¤? and urine (20.9%)ª¤? and eye swab (9.3%).ª¤?ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Both environmental and clinical strains were all multidrug resistant, though with different plasmid profile.ª¤? Plasmid with molecular weight size of 2010bp was detected in only 1 (2.5%) out of the 41 environmental strains as against 9 (20.93%) of the 43 clinical strains having between 22520-23130bp molecular weight.ª¤? All strains harboring plasmid were resistant to varied types of more than seven drugs out of the eleven tested (gentamycin 10ª¤?g, erythromycin 15ª¤?g, ampicillin 10ª¤?g, augmentin 10ª¤?g, cotrimoxazole 25ª¤?g, tetracycline 30ª¤?g, streptomycin 10ª¤?g, ciprofloxacin 5ª¤?g, cloxacillin 5ª¤?g, amoxicillin 25ª¤?g, and cefuroxime 30ª¤?g). ª¤?Strains without plasmid were also multidrug resistant.ª¤? This finding would be important in the control of multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in Nigeria

CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF EFFICACY OF ALBENDAZOLE IN THE TREATMENT OF SOIL HELMINTHES INFECTED SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN IN PARTS OF ODEDA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study assessed the efficacy and safety of albendazole (ALB) amongst soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infected school aged children (SAC) cross-section ally in Odeda Local Government Area (LGA), Ogun State, Nigeria. Consented 485 pupils between the ages of 5 – 16 years were examined for STH infections using the Kato-katz technique at baseline. All consented SAC were treated to a single dose (400mg) of ALB. Closeended questionnaires on safety of ALB administered to SAC, 24 hours after ingestion. Stool samples werecollected at 3-weeks post treatment to re-examine for Egg Reduction Rate (ERR) and Cure Rate (CR). The results were analyzed using SPSS version 20 with Chi-square set at p = 0.05 to compare relationship between demography factors and prevalence. Of the 485 pupils, an overall prevalence of 138(28.5%) were found to be infected with various species of STH infections.&nbsp

Assessment Of HIV And Malaria Infections And Perception Among Antenatal Women In Ogun State, Nigeria

Four hundred pregnant women selected from four Local Government Areas (LGAs) representing urban (Abeokuta South LGA and Abeokuta North LGA) and semi-urban (Obafemi/Owode LGA and Odeda LGA) of Ogun State, were enrolled for study on the evaluation of HIV and malaria infections and perception among antenatal women. Malaria parasite test using Giemsa staining techniques for detection of Plasmodium falciparum was employed, while the one-step anti-HIV 1 and 2 Pock Test kit was also adopted for the determination of HIV status/prevalence. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on the knowledge and perception of the infections among the women under study.  The overall malaria prevalence across the study area was 53.5% (Abeokuta South (49%), Abeokuta North (52%), Obafemi/Owode (50%) and Odeda (63%). Abeokuta South had mean parasitaemia intensity for P. falciparum of 2.5 parasites per microlitre blood of infected respondents; others are Abeokuta North (2.0), Obafemi/Owode (1.6) and Odeda (2.1).  The overall mean parasite density per infected respondent was 2.0.  The HIV prevalence from the study was 3.5% (Abeokuta South (2%), Abeokuta North (5%) Obafemi/Owode (5%) and Odeda (2%)). Demographic data showed that the women were of different age groups, educational qualifications and gravid status.  Malaria parasite was more prevalent among the age group 21-25yrs (26%), while HIV prevalence was distributed across the age groups. Women with secondary school education had higher prevalence of malaria and HIV when compared with the other educational levels.  On the knowledge and perception of the infections, 63% and 43.8% of the women attribute malaria and HIV infections to mosquito bites and sexual intercourse respectively.  Antenatal clinic attendance among respondents was high with 79% attending regularly. In the treatment of malaria, chloroquine was considered as the drug of choice. Interaction with HIV positive women showed that 70.6% of them are on antiretroviral drugs (ARV) with 45% of respondents claiming that ARV drugs are expensive. There is the need for a sustainable control programme to monitor malaria infection and its interaction with HIV, thereby reducing burden of disease and attendant high cost of treatment. &nbsp

Cultivation and multiplication of viable axenic Trypanosoma vivax in vitro and in vivo

Trypanosoma vivax was isolated from the blood of an infected laboratory mouse, washed and introduced into the prepared culture media, ME-99 and minimum essential medium (MEM), both containing laboratory prepared (commercial) horse serum and antibiotics (streptomycin and penicillin). The cultures were monitored in vitro for 12 days. There was an initial decline in parasitaemia in the first 48 h in both media, which later picked up to reach the peak of about 1.10 x 10 2 parasites/ml in ME-99 on day 5 and 6.2 x 10 parasites/ml in MEM on day 4. Thereafter, the parasites number tapered off to reach zero on day 9 in ME-99 and day 10 in MEM. No growth was recorded in the control, which contained normal saline (pH 7), horse serum and antibiotics. The result of the in vivo culture showed a different trend when compared to the in vitro. Multiplication was tremendous with a peak of about 3 x 10 parasites/ml of blood on day 22 (high inoculum) and day 24 (low inoculum) post infection. The slender trypomastigote parasites recovered in the in vitro culture was short and had a long, free flagellum and measured 23-25 um while that of the in vivo culture was long, slender, clongated, torpedo shaped body measuring between 30 and 32 um. During the course of the in vivo culture congenital transmission of trypanosomes was observed. The in vitro attenuated parasite conferred a degree of protection to 25% of the mice that were later infected with viable parasites indicating possible prophylactic effect of in vitro attenuated parasites. The study showed that T. vivax could not be cultured in large numbers on their own axenically in MEM and ME-99. However, ME-99 can be said to be more suitable compared to MEM for axenic cultivation of T. vivax as a result of the additional nutrients supplied by the tissue culture medium 199 present in medium ME-99. Also, the parasites multiplied better in vivo compared to the in vitro study, which could mean that the best means of culturing trypanosomes still remains the in vivo method

Urinary schistosomiasis among preschool children in a rural community near Abeokuta, Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The control of schistosomiasis in Nigeria is mainly by mass treatment with praziquantel through the school system, with an absence of any provision for pre-school children. We therefore determined the prevalence and intensity of urinary schistosomiasis in pre-school children between the ages of 1-6 years in Ilewo-Orile a rural and endemic community, near Abeokuta, Nigeria as part of providing information on the neglected tropical diseases among this age group. Two urine samples were collected from each pre-school child. The samples were tested for microhaematuria using reagent strips and then processed and examined with a microscope for <it>Schistosoma haematobium </it>ova.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 167 children examined 97 (58.1%) had infection, with no significant difference (P = 0.809) in infection rates between boys (57.1%) and girls (59.2%). Both prevalence and intensity of infection did not increase significantly with age (P = 0.732). The overall geometric mean egg count was 1.17 eggs/10 ml urine. There was no significant association (<it>P </it>= 0.387) between intensity in boys (1.16 eggs/10 ml urine) and girls (1.19 eggs/10 ml urine). 47.4% of the children had microhaematuria which did not increase significantly with age (P = 0.526). Focus group discussions with guardians and caregivers revealed that infection of pre-school children early in life was due to exposures through bathing in the stream by their mothers, while the older children would visit the stream for washing, fetching of water, bathing and swimming.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Community participatory health education is needed in this community as a first step in reducing infection and transmission of the disease, while the rehabilitation and repair of the existing water borehole system in the community should be effected. The results of this study have shown that pre-school children also harbour infection and are a source of transmission of schistosomiasis in endemic communities. Planning and provision for their treatment should be considered in control programmes.</p

Evaluation of Rapid Methods in Malaria Diagnosis from Persons attending Primary Health Facilities, Ogun State, Nigeria

Malaria in Nigeria is treated blindly in most cases and where diagnostic measures exist, efficacies of several are still in doubt. This study evaluated performance of microscopy and rapid (RDT) methods in confirming prevalence of malaria parasites (MP),parasite species and percent parasitized red blood cells in 384 persons systematically selected from seven primary healthcare facilities in Ogun State, Nigeria from October to December 2012. Giemsa thin and thick film techniques and RDT (SD Bioline Ag P.f/Pan kit) were employed on the blood samples. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16. Demographic results showed that females were 61% and males 39%,but of varying age groups. Seventy-one percent of the blood samples were positive for MP by microscopic blood films, and only 24% samples were positive by RDT. Paired sample T-test showed a significant difference (P=0.000)between microscopy and RDT methods. Of the 273 positive blood samples,95.6%were P. falciparum,3.3% were P. malariae, 0.7% was P. ovale and P. vivax (0.4%). For RDT, P. falciparum was 74% while mixed infections were 26%. Prevalence in risk groups 0–10 and 11–20 age groups was observed to be higher with significant differences (p=0.011, p=0.023) for both microscopy and RDT respectively. RDT sensitivity and specificity were 23.4% and 74.7% compared to microscopy. Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value were 69.6% and 28.4%. The efficiency of the RDT was 38.3%. The low sensitivity of RDT observed means that malaria diagnosis by microscopy method remains the gold standar

CONSUMPTION PATTERN OF MAIZE BASED DISHES IN FOUR AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF NIGERIA

The global picture had dramatically changed the lifestyles of Nigerian citizens pushing them into various fast-eating cultures with more instant and tasty meals, and the attendant gradual relegation of our traditional rich eating cultures. Studies were carried in eight Local Government Areas of Nigeria from the four Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZs) namely: moist savanna (Oyo State), humid forest (Lagos State), mid-altitude (Abuja) and dry Savanna (Kaduna State). Stratified multistage sampling technique with structured questionnaires from 1641 respondents and focus group discussions (FGDs) were employed to identify the maize-based dishes consumed and determined the frequency of consumption. The demographic characteristics revealed that 54.8% of the respondents were male. Residents in the rural area were more (56.8%) and majority of the respondents were between the ages of 26-45 years (67.6%), while more Christians (57.88%) participated in the study than any other religion. Results showed that thirty–two maize-based dishes were identified, of which ten were frequently consumed. Ogi was the most popular maize-based dish (73.5%) consumed in the AEZs while corn pudding was the least consumed (28.5%). There were significant differences (p&lt;0.05) in all the sensory attributes measured. The low consumption of majority of the maize-based dishes raises concern for the current campaign on mobilizing local biodiversity which has been reported to be one of the food based intervention strategies for solving nutrition problems among population groups