Epidemiological Factors in Prevalence of Malaria Parasites in Primary Health Facilities Attendees, Ogun State, Nigeria

Malaria caused by Plasmodium species is often observed in areas where malaria is endemic. Malaria prevalence in metropolitan Abeokuta of Ogun State, Nigeria was studied between October, 2012 and January 2013. Oral interviews were used to get personal data of participants. Blood samples were obtained from 384 consented participants from the seven primary health centers. Blood film examination using Giemsa staining techniques was used to detect malaria parasites in the blood. From the 384 participants examined 273 (71.1%) were positive with malaria parasites. Species detected included Plasmodium falciparum (95.6%), Plasmodium malariae (3.3%), P. ovale (0.7%) and P. vivax (0.4%). The age-group 1-11 years had the highest malaria prevalence 94 (81%) while 51-60 had the least 6(54.5%). The malaria prevalence in relation to age was significant (p=0.011, p<0.05). The males 110 (73.8%) were slightly more affected than the females 163 (69.4%), but not statistically significant (p=0.347, p>0.05). Malaria prevalence was significantly higher among those with no formal education 80 (81.6%) and least among post-secondary educational. Prevalence among occupational groups showed significant difference, where the unemployed group were more infected and the retiree group had the least infection (p=0.014, p<0.05). The singles (56.4%) were more infected than the married (43.6%). The prevalence in relation to age was significant (p=0.000, p<0.05). The study has revealed that malaria disease can affect all age groups and both males and females’ sexes irrespective of their educational and occupational cadre. Public enlightenment efforts need to be intensified towards the prevention of malaria

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

Water Supply and Sanitation Facility Accessibility in Off-Campus Houses Populated by Students in Tertiary Institutions, Abeokuta, Nigeria

Water as potential in the transmission of parasitic diseases was used to evaluate its access and sanitation facility in off-campus hostels populated by students of tertiary institutions in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were administered to 600 consented students to obtain information on drinking water source, rate of illness, type and usage of sanitation facilities. Geographical Positioning System was used to obtain coordinates of the different houses. Data were analysed using SPSS version 17.0. Results showed that 59% of students were males and females (41%). Age groups were varied; 54%of the respodents were within 21-25 years. On access to water supply, only 29% had water in their premises, while 71% access water elsewhere of 30 minutes distance. The sources include borehole, protected dug wells, unprotected dug wells; while others during the wet season harvest rain water. Only 18% of the students treated their water by boiling it, adding chlorine, solar disinfection, or adding alum to concentrate the sediments before drinking. Most houses (98%) had sanitary/toilet facilities but the households shared the facilities. A significant relationship (p&lt;0.05) was observed between access to water and number of households. On perception of students to implications of disease transmission, 66% of students were aware; but only 23% had not fallen ill since the past one year. It is advocated that provision of improved facilities for sanitary disposal of excreta should be made available for households, in addition to safe and sufficient water to avoid future disease outbreak.Keywords: Water, Sanitation, Accessibility, Students, Abeokut

Prevalence and distribution of Wuchereria bancrofti in Ose Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is one of the neglected tropical diseases endemic in Nigeria. Epidemiological studies were conducted to determine the prevalence, distribution and clinical signs of the disease in three communities of Ose LGA, Ondo State from October 2014 to January 2015. One thousand and ninety consented participants enrolled for the study. 100 μl of blood from finger-prick, were tested using the Binax Now® Immunochromatographic Test (ICT) which detects Wuchereria bancrofti antigens. Physical observations were conducted for clinical signs of LF in addition to demographic parameters. Chi-square test was used to establish statistical significance of relationship between variables (p&lt;0.05) using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19.0. Of the 1,090 blood specimens examined, 291 (27%) were positive for infection with W. bancrofti. Analysis of the infection across the communities revealed a significant (p&lt;0.05) relationship in the distribution of the infection. Further analysis of results showed that 108 (27%) out of the 394 males were positive and 183 (26%) of 696 females were positive for LF. However, the distribution of infection among the sexes were not significant (p&gt;0.05). Infection among age-groups was higher in the 36-45 age-group (36%) and varied among the other age-groups but with no significant difference (p&gt;0.05). Infection was significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher among the public servants with 34% than the other groups and the least among students (15%). Clinical manifestations found in the study were hydrocele (0.3%) and leg lymphoedema (0.7%). Detection of W. bancrofti antigens indicates that an entomological study has is recommended to determine the transmitting vector and advocate an effective control.Keywords: lymphatic filariasis, immunochromatographic test (ICT), distribution, prevalence, Ose LG

Implications of human migration on onchocerciasis prevalence in Ogun State, south-western Nigeria

This study reports information on human migration and its possible role in the spread of onchocerciasis in Ogun State. Employing structured questionnaire, information on history of migration and residency was obtained from a total of 2,169 participants selected from 32 communities (four from each of the eight meso-endemic LGA’s) receiving treatment with ivermectin. The study which was conducted between March and June 2015 also investigated the sero prevalence of Onchocerca volvulus using onchocerciasis IgG4 RDT. Data were analysed using SPSS 20 software. Demographic information revealed that 43.3% (939/2,169) were males while 56.7% (1,230/2,169) were females. 37.9% (823/2,169) were non-natives of the communities in a ratio 1:3. Assessing information on migration history, 49.5% (1,074/2,169) of total population had at one point lived outside the communities in the past 10 years while 50.5% (1,095/2,169) had not. Result on sero-prevalence revealed an overall sero-prevalence of 9.9% (214/2,169) across all LGA’s studied, non natives of communities recorded the leastsero-positive 5.8% (48/823), followed by residents that had at one time lived outside the communities in the past 10 years 6.1% (66/1,074) while highest sero prevalence was recorded among permanent residents 13.5% (148/1,095). Sero-prevalence and migration history of participants were negatively correlated with no significant difference r=-0.4619 p&gt;0.05). The results revealed the diverse population of people resident in onchocerciasis communities and also informs on the implication of human migration on exposure to O. volvulus in Ogun State.Keywords: migration, onchocerciasis Ov16 RDT, O. volvulus, Ogun State, Nigeri