Prevalence of diarrhoea among infants of child welfare clinics at two teaching hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria

The study assessed the prevalence of diarrhoea among infants of Child Welfare Clinics at two University Teaching Hospitals using a semi-structured questionnaire to collect information from mothers on socioeconomic characteristics, infant care practices and diarrhoeal experience of mothers with their infants. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science Software (SPSS version 16.0) in frequencies, percentages and Pearson correlation at 5% level of significance. The result revealed that prevalence of diarrhoea was high; however the frequency was low with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding and Pearson correlation value of 0.11. Nevertheless, there was significance association between prevalence of diarrhoea and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practice at P-value <0.05. There was also a moderate association between the prevalence of diarrhoea and toilet/kitchen water supply with the Pearson correlation value of 0.41 and there was positive relationship between the toilet and kitchen water supply at P-value< 0.05. The frequency of diarrhoea in the two teaching hospitals was low on both exclusively breastfed infants and those who had regular water supply in their kitchen and toilet; ensuring regular availability of potable water and developing policies that promote exclusive breastfeeding practice is essential.Keywords: Diarrhoea, Infant, Mothers, Exclusive breastfeedin

Sero-prevalence of and risk factors associated with Helicobacter pylori infections among individuals with peptic ulcer in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria during 2020-2021

Background: Helicobacter pylori, which is a causative agent of chronic gastritis, duodenal ulcer and gastric cancer, presently affects approximately one half of the world population. This study was conducted to assess the epidemiology and risk factors for acquisition of H. pylori among individuals with and without peptic ulcer symptoms in Owerri, Nigeria, in order to provide baseline data and create awareness for effective management and  prevention of infection caused by this pathogen. Methodology: A total of 384 participants, symptomatic and asymptomatic for peptic ulcer, were recruited from the three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. The symptomatic participants were randomly recruited among patients attending outpatient clinics with  symptoms of peptic ulcer disease at the Federal Medical Center Owerri, general hospitals and primary healthcare centers across Owerri LGAs, while  asymptomatic patients were recruited from the community. Information on socio-demographic characteristics of each participant and potential risk factors were collected with a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Blood samples were collected for detection of antibodies (IgG) using a one-step H.  pylori test device while faecal samples were collected for detection of occult blood (from peptic ulceration) using faecal occult blood (FOB) test.  Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 and association of risk factors with H. pylori sero-prevalence was determined by the Chi-square or  Fisher Exact test (with Odds ratio). P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The sero-prevalence of H. pylori infection among the study participants was 72.4% (285/384) while the prevalence of ulcer by FOB test was  71.1% (273/384). A total of 78.4% (214/273) of those with ulcers were seropositive for H. pylori while 64.0% (71/111) of those without ulcers were  sero-positive for H. pylori (p=0.0045). Factors significantly associated with high sero-prevalence of H. pylori were age groups 41-50 (100%), 21-30  (78.4%) and 31-40 (67.6%) years (X2=66.964, p<0.0001), illiteracy (OR=6.888, p<0.0001), unemployment (OR=2.427, p<0.0001), low social class status  (X2=28.423, p=0.0003), drinking of unclean water (OR=5.702, p<0.0001), living in crowded rooms (OR=2.720, p<0.0001), eating food bought from  food vendors (OR=3.563, p<0.0001), family history of ulcer (OR=12.623, p<0.0001), habits of eating raw vegetables and unwashed fruits (OR=6.272,  p<0.0001), non-regular hand washing practices before meal (OR=2.666, p<0.0001) and presence of ulcer (OR=2.043, p=0.0045). However, smoking  (OR=0.7581, p=0.2449) and gender (OR=0.6538, p=0.0796) were not significantly associated with sero-prevalence of H. pylori. Conclusion: There is  need for comprehensive strategy including public health education campaign to create awareness on H. pylori, improve personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, provision of safe drinking water by the government to the populace, and discourage indiscriminate and open defecation

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding amongst Mothers of Infants in Gwagwalada Area Council, FCT, Abuja, Nigeria

Exclusive breastfeeding provides nutritional, and developmental psychological advantages with regard to general wellbeing of an infant and has dramatically reduced infant deaths in developing countries. This study assessed the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding among women attending antenatal clinic in four communities within Gwagwalada Area Council of FCT, Abuja. The questionnaire sought socio-demographic information, Religion and cultural influence as well as knowledge and awareness level of EBF practice. The data collected was analyzed using Odd ratio, frequencies and simple percentages. The result of the study showed that 70.0% had the knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding, 54.4% exclusively breastfed their newborns for the first six months of life. There was positive attitude among the participants towards exclusive breastfeeding as 70.0% of them agreed that breast milk alone is sufficient for the baby during the first six months of life. There was high level of knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding among the respondents, almost half of the participants practiced exclusive breastfeeding and relatively all the respondents had positive attitude toward exclusive breastfeeding. However, Illiteracy (60.0%; OR = 1.5) and Culture (66.7%; OR = 2.0) negatively influenced exclusive breastfeeding in the area council. Although, majority of the women in this study had good knowledge and attitude towards Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF), the practice is not high. There is still need for improvement. More awareness on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding must be emphasized in order to increase the knowledge and compliance of the women as only 54.4% actually practiced it. Promotion of EBF should involve programmes that will capture not only nursing mothers and health workers, but other members in the communities, most especially husbands and older women who are involved in child care

Concurrent experimental infection of E. coli and Newcastle disease virus in turkeys.

One thousand six hundred day old poults were randomly divided into four pens of 400 poults each . Twenty-five percent of the birds in pens 3 and 4 were inoculated orally, wih Eschericia coli (E. coli) 011 lab. Ten percent of the poults in pen 2 were inoculated, intratracheally with 109 EID50 of Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Al.315//12 and 10 percent of the poults in pen 3 (previously exposed to E. coli 011 lab) were also inoculated with NDV. A total of 19 E. coli 01 1 lab recoveries, was made out of 200 birds that were exposed to E. coli in pens 3 and 4. Sampling of the liver was superior to sampling of either the caecal junction or the yolk sac in E coli recoveries. Airsacculitis was first observed in birds dying at 3 weeks of age, but the severity of leisions was maximum at 7 to 10 weeks of age. High mortality and morbidity observed in th commercial farms in epizootics of concurrent infections of E. coli and NDV, were not observed in this study.Key words: -Poults, Newcastle disease, Eschericia coli, airsacculitis

Effects of substituting groundnut cake with ammoniated full-fat neem kernel meal on haematobiochemical components of broilers

Effects of substituting groundnut cake (GNC) with ammoniated full-fat neem kernel meal (AFFNKM) on heamatobiochemical components of broiler chickens were investigated in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria. Eighty-day-old broiler chicks (straight runs) were brooded, weighed and randomly assigned to four dietary treatments of 20 chicks each in a completely randomized block design (CRBD). Each treatment had five replicates with five birds per replicate. AFFNKM replaced groundnut cake (GNC) at 0 (control), 5, 10 and 15% dietary levels, designated Ti, Tz, T3 and T4. The study lasted nine weeks. Red Blood Cell (RBC) counts in Ti (3.86 x 106 mm3) and 14 (3.49 x 106 mm3) were significantly (P0.05) from that ofTz (3.27 x 106 mm3). White Blood Cell (WBC) count and Haemoglobin (Hb) concentration in T[, Tz and T4 were similar (P>0.05) but their values in Ta which were similar (P>0.05) to those in T^ and T4 differed significantly (P0.05) differences among all the treatment groups with respect to all the serum biochemical indices. No mortality was recorded due to treatment effect. Results showed that ammoniated full-fat neem kernel meal (AFFNKM) can replace groundnut cake up to 15% of the total diets of broiler chickens in the semi-arid zone without any adverse effect to their haematobiochemical components. Keywords: Neem kernel meal, broilers, groundnut cake, heamatobiochemical componentsSahel Journal of Veterinary Science Vol. 6 (1) 2007: pp. 21-2

Consumption Profile and Usage Pattern of Selected Indigenous Foodcrops in Okigwe Local Government Area, Imo-State

The study assessed the consumption profile and usage pattern of selected indigenous foodcrops in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria. A well-structured and pilot tested questionnaire was used for the study. Simple random sampling technique of balloting without replacement was used to select the sample. Ten out of the fourteen communities in Okigwe were randomly selected. A total of 300 respondents were used for the study; thirty from each community. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Result showed that the foodcrops; Ocimum gratissimum, Gnetum africanum, Gongronema latifolia, Piper guineense, Carica papaya, Tetracapidium conophorum, vernonia amygdalina and Telferia occidentalis were commonly consumed vegetables, seed and fruit in both rural and urban communities of Okigwe. There was however low consumption of Solanum species. Ocimum gratissimum, Gongronema latifolia, Gnetum africanum, Carica papaya and vernonia amygdalina, were found to be medicinal plants. Gnetum africanum , Tetracapidium conophorum, Telferia occidentalis and vernonia amygdalina were cash crops. Most problems encountered in using these foodcrops include the labourious processing for vernonia amygdalina, high fuel consumption of Tetracapidium conophorum during cooking; seasonality and lack of appropriate preservative methods for the vegetables and fruit

Impact of cement dust pollution on respiratory systems of Lafarge cement workers, Ewekoro, Ogun State, Nigeria

In this investigation, the impact of cement dust pollution on respiratory systems of Lafarge cement workers was evaluated. A total of 120 respondents; 60 from the factory workers and 60 (controls) from Ifo, a nearby village 22 km NE of the factory were interviewed in 2014 using a modified respiratory symptom score questionnaire. Two hypotheses were formulated in null form and tested at 95% probability level. Descriptive statistics, independent and dependent t-tests were used to compare treatments while Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe multiple comparisons were used for comparing groups. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in the rate of breathlessness and wheezing, cough, chest illnesses and past illnesses between factory workers and controls. There were however significant differences in rates of breathlessness and wheezing, and past illnesses between workers in packing section and other sections of the factory. The study recommended that the government should look into the welfare of lafarge cement workers to ensure that additional and adequate safety devices are provided to the factory workers.Keywords: Cement dust, pollution, respiratory systems, illnesses, packing sectio

Effects of replacing maize with pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum) on the performance of finishing broiler chickens in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria

An experiment was conducted to determine the replacement value of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum) for maize in broiler finisher diets. A total of eighty (80) day- old Anak giant broiler strain was brooded together and assigned to the following treatments: T1 , T2 , T3 and T4 which contained 0, 25, 50 and 75% millet, respectively. The millet replaced maize quantity for quantity in the diets. Each treatment was replicated four times with five birds per replicate in a complete randomized block design experiment. At ten weeks of age, blood samples were collected from five (5) birds in each treatment via the brachial vein of the birds and analyzed for red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts. Packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration were also determined. Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) values were then calculated. The results showed that T4 recorded the highest PCV, Hb, WBC, RBC, values while T1 recorded the highest mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and MCH values Treatment effects on productive  parameters such as feed intake, body weight and feed conversion ratios were determined. The result showed that T2 recorded the highest feed intake (125.58 g) in comparison with T1 (121.67 g), T3 (123.58 g) and T4 (122.49 g) treatment groups. The economic analysis also revealed that the cost of broiler production was relatively cheaper in T4 compared to the other treatments. The gross revenues were T1 (N=8,750), T2 (N=7,800), T3 (N=7,500) and T4 (N=9,000). From the foregoing study, 75% of maize can be substituted with pearl millet in the diet of broiler chickens without any adverse effect on the performance. Furthermore, the substitution proves more economical as it reduces the total feed cost. It is recommended that the effects of various levels of inclusion on the carcass parameters of broiler chickens should be evaluated to determine particularly their effect on abdominal fat

Evaluation of the Common Ailments among staff who attended the Staff Clinic from 2016-2019 at the National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja.

In Nigeria, generally staff clinics provide different services according to their specific needs and resources (financial and human resources). It is necessary to evaluate the ailments that mostly brought staff to the clinic in order to report and recommend to the management further action to employ in order to improve the health of the staff for better productivity. Therefore, this study evaluated the ailments mostly presented in the NOUN clinic by the staff retrospectively from June, 2016 to June, 2019 as a baseline data to provide useful information to help management to provide needed support services that may improve the health of their employees. The objective of this study was to describe the socio-demographic characteristics of subjects attending the NOUN staff clinic and the pattern of their disease entities in order to identify any emerging health challenges, proffer solutions as well as provide basis for comparison and further research. Total Raw Data/Cases was 4461, but cases without adequate information were 109 (2.44% attrition). Total cases used for the study was 4352. The results revealed that the six ailments highest in prevalence were: Malaria (34.35%), common cold (15.40%), abdominal pain (12.91%), Common cough (7.88%), Hypertension (7.86%) and Diarrhoea (5.58%). Malaria affected middle-aged adults (40-59 years) than the young adults (20- 39 years). Common cold affected the younger adults more than the middle-age adults. Abdominal pain affected the academic staff (AS) more than the non-academic staff (NAS). The older aged people (60 years and above) were most affected by common cough, hypertension is high in both middle-age adults and old adults and diarrhoea affected the old adults the most. The highest first six ailments experienced by NOUN staff are in conformity with ailments experienced in other government establishment of this nature. Health education should be positioned to increase the knowledge of staff in staying healthy. Résumé Au Nigéria, les cliniques du personnel fournissent généralement des services différents en fonction de leurs besoins et ressources spécifiques (ressources financières et humaines). Il est nécessaire d'évaluer les affections qui ont principalement amené le personnel à la clinique afin de signaler et de recommander à la direction de nouvelles mesures à prendre afin d'améliorer la santé du personnel pour une meilleure productivité. Par conséquent, cette étude a évalué rétrospectivement les affections principalement présentées dans la clinique de NOUN par le personnel de juin 2016 à juin 2019 comme données de base pour fournir des informations utiles et aider la direction à fournir les services de soutien nécessaires qui peuvent améliorer la santé de leurs employés. L'objectif de cette étude était de décrire les caractéristiques sociodémographiques des sujets fréquentant la clinique du personnel de NOUN et le profil de leurs entités pathologiques afin d'identifier les problèmes de santé émergents, de proposer des solutions et de fournir une base de comparaison et de recherche supplémentaire. Le total des données brutes / cas était de 4 461, mais les cas sans information adéquate étaient de 109 (attrition de 2,44%). Le nombre total de cas utilisés pour l'étude était de 4352. Les résultats ont révélé que les six affections les plus fréquentes étaient : le paludisme (34,35%), le rhume (15,40%), les douleurs abdominales (12,91%), la toux commune (7,88%), l'hypertension (7,86%) et la diarrhée (5,58%). Le paludisme affecte plus les adultes d'âge moyen (40-59 ans) que les jeunes adultes (20-39 ans). Le rhume a plus affecté les jeunes adultes que les adultes d'âge moyen. Les douleurs abdominales affectaient plus le personnel académique (PS) que le personnel non académique (PNA). Les personnes âgées (60 ans et plus) étaient les plus touchées par la toux commune. L'l'hypertension est élevée tant chez les adultes d'âge moyen que chez les personnes âgées et la diarrhée a le plus touché les personnes âgées. Les six premières affections les plus importantes subies par le personnel de la NOUN sont conformes aux affections éprouvées dans d'autres établissements gouvernementaux de cette nature. L'éducation sanitaire doit être positionnée de manière à accroître les connaissances du personnel pour rester en bonne santé