Opinions of a selected population of Nigerian dental surgeons on the preferred management of unerupted maxillary canines

Objective: To assess the survey opinions of Dental Surgeons working in one of the Nigerian Teaching Hospitals on their preferred management of unerupted maxillary canines. Method: The setting was the Dental Centre, University College Hospital, Ibadan. The participants were 46 Dental Surgeons working within the selected Teaching Hospital. The instrument of study was a questionnaire which consisted of 10 open ended questions, for information on questionnaire, sociodemographic characteristics. Data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed and frequencies were generated. Result: Four main types of treatment were preferred by participants: 23(54.7%) of the dental surgeons preferred alignment with orthodontic treatment to all other forms of management, 12(28.6%) preferred surgical extraction, 5 (11%) preferred transplantation and 2 (4%) preferred observation and monitoring . Conclusion: Opinions of dental surgeons surveyed indicated that most dental surgeons would prefer orthodontic alignment of the unerupted maxillary canine above other dental treatment

AN ASSESSMENT OF URBAN ENCROACHMENT ON OGUN RIVER BANK PROTECTION ZONE IN ABEOKUTA CITY, NIGERIA

An assessment of urban sprawl in Abeokuta city, Nigeria from 1964 to 2008 was conducted. The study investigated the rate of encroachment of buildings on the Ogun River bank using Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing techniques. Topographic map of the city was scanned, imported into GIS, and digitized. Series of multi-date remote sensing satellite imageries were also acquired, processed, classified (where necessary) and vectorized to enable full assessment of the spread of built up area into the River bank Protection zone (RBPZ). A recent, high resolution satellite (Ikonos) image was utilized to assess the situation at present.  Results of the assessment revealed progressive spatial expansion in the city and progressive encroachment on Ogun river right of way. Particularly, gross encroachments were pronounced in the aboriginal part of the city. A total of 34.1ha of built up area are completely within the protection zone as at 1964, this increased to 50ha in 1974, 77 ha in 1984 and 90 ha in 1994. In the year 2008, the encroachment was almost four times (123 ha) what it was in 1964. The study demonstrated that use of remote sensing and GIS is very useful and effective for the monitoring of urban sprawl. It provides a tool of the quantitative measurement that is needed for rapidly growing regions in identifying internal variations and temporal change of urban sprawl patterns in different periods. Â

Knowledge and care seeking practices for ear infections among parents of under five children in Kigali, Rwanda : a cross-sectional study

Background: Infections affecting the middle ear are a common childhood occurrence. Some cases may present with ear discharge through a tympanic membrane perforation which may heal spontaneously. However, up to 5% or more cases of those affected have persistent ear discharge. A number of barriers contribute towards delayed presentation at health facilities for treatment of ear infections. We conducted a study to evaluate parents’ and caregivers’ knowledge and care seeking practices for ear infections in children under five in Gasabo district in Kigali, Rwanda. Methods: Parents/guardians (n = 810) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to elicit their knowledge of ear infections in children under five and their attitude to seeking care for their children. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 31.27 years (SD = 7.88, range 17–83). Considering an average of knowledge parameters which included causes, symptoms, prevention, treatment and consequences of ear infections, we found that 76.6% (622) of respondents were knowledgeable about ear infections. We defined a positive practice as seeking medical treatment (community health workers or health facility) and this was found in 89.1% (722) respondents. Correlating knowledge with choice of seeking treatment, respondents were 33% less likely to practice medical pluralism (OR = 0.33, CI 0.11–0.97, P = 0.043) if they were familiar with infections. Moreover, urban dweller were 1.7 times more likely to know ear infections compared to rural dwellers (OR = 1.70, CI 1.22–2.38, P = 0.002). Conclusion: The majority of respondents had good knowledge and positive attitudes and practices about ear infection. However, medical pluralism was common. There is need to improve the community’s awareness and access to primary health care facilities for the care of ear infections especially in rural areas of Rwanda

Wastewater-based epidemiology in hazard forecasting and early-warning systems for global health risks

With the advent of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) has been applied to track community infection in cities worldwide and has proven succesful as an early warning system for identification of hotspots and changingprevalence of infections (both symptomatic and asymptomatic) at a city or sub-city level. Wastewater is only one of environmental compartments that requires consideration. In this manuscript, we have critically evaluated the knowledge-base and preparedness for building early warning systems in a rapidly urbanising world, with particular attention to Africa, which experiences rapid population growth and urbanisation. We have proposed a Digital Urban Environment Fingerprinting Platform (DUEF) – a new approach in hazard forecasting and early-warning systems for global health risks and an extension to the existing concept of smart cities. The urban environment (especially wastewater) contains a complex mixture of substances including toxic chemicals, infectious biological agents and human excretion products. DUEF assumes that these specific endo- and exogenous residues, anonymously pooled by communities’ wastewater, are indicative of community-wide exposure and the resulting effects. DUEF postulates that the measurement of the substances continuously and anonymously pooled by the receiving environment (sewage, surface water, soils and air), can provide near real-time dynamic information about the quantity and type of physical, biological or chemical stressors to which the surveyed systems are exposed, and can create a risk profile on the potential effects of these exposures. Successful development and utilisation of a DUEF globally requires a tiered approach including: Stage I: network building, capacity building, stakeholder engagement as well as a conceptual model, followed by Stage II: DUEF development, Stage III: implementation, and Stage IV: management and utilization. We have identified four key pillars required for the establishment of a DUEF framework: (1) Environmental fingerprints, (2) Socioeconomic fingerprints, (3) Statistics and modelling and (4) Information systems. This manuscript critically evaluates the current knowledge base within each pillar and provides recommendations for further developments with an aim of laying grounds for successful development of global DUEF platforms

Significant sequelae after bacterial meningitis in Niger: a cohort study

Beside high mortality, acute bacterial meningitis may lead to a high frequency of neuropsychological sequelae. The Sahelian countries belonging to the meningitis belt experience approximately 50% of the meningitis cases occurring in the world. Studies in Africa have shown that N. meningitidis could cause hearing loss in up to 30% of the cases, exceeding sometimes measles. The situation is similar in Niger which experiences yearly meningitis epidemics and where rehabilitation wards are rare and hearing aids remain unaffordable. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of neuropsychological sequelae after acute bacterial meningitis in four of the eight regions of Niger

Studies on the blood parasites of sheep in Ibadan, Nigeria

A total of two hundred and fourteen blood samples collected from West African Dwarf (WAD) Sheep between the months of January and April 2001 were examined for haemoparasites using the blood smear method. The rectal temperature, Packed Cell volume (PCV), Haemoglobin concentration (Hb), Red Blood Cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts of the sheep were determined. The Parasites found were Anaplasma, Babesia and Eperythrozoon species. Mixed infections with these parasites were common. Anaplasma sp was the most predominant in WAD sheep carrying single infection. Mixed infections with Anaplasma and Eperythrozoon (AE) species. Anaplasma, Babesia and Eperythrozoon (ABE) species were the most common. The mean temperature of sheep carrying mixed infections was higher than those carrying single infection. Similarly the mean PCV, Hb, RBC and WBC of Sheep carrying mixed infections were lower than the sheep carrying single infection. The significance of these to sheep production is discussed