Community seroprevalence survey for yaws and trachoma in the Western Division of Fiji.

BACKGROUND: Both yaws and trachoma are endemic in several countries in the Pacific. In co-endemic countries there may be potential synergies between both control programmes. METHODS: We undertook a cluster randomised trachoma and yaws seroprevalence survey of children in the Western Division of Fiji. Children were examined for skin lesions consistent with active yaws. A dried blood spot was collected which was tested using the Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) test and an ELISA to detect antibodies against Pgp3. RESULTS: A total of 607 children from 305 households across 23 villages were recruited into the survey. On skin examination, no child had clinical evidence of yaws, and the TPPA assay was negative in all children (0%, 95% CI 0.0-0.6). The seroprevalence of Pgp3 antibodies was 20.9% (95% CI 17.8-24.6%). DISCUSSION: In this study there was neither clinical nor serological evidence that transmission of yaws was ongoing. The Pgp3 seroprevalence pattern was consistent with either low level transmission of ocular Chlamydia trachomatis or exposure to C. trachomatis in the birth canal which is consistent with a survey conducted in the same region in 2013. These data suggest neither yaws nor ocular chlamydia infection are a significant public health problem in the Western Division of Fiji

Annulment of Oil Licences in Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Sector: A Legal Critique of the Costs and Benefits

Owing to various reasons, tenable and untenable, successive governments in Nigeria have annulled licenses duly granted to identifiable upstream petroleum operators. With due sense of circumspect, when irregularities manifest in the process and the grant of substantive licences, such does not vest in the government an unfettered right to annul the licence. There are evidences of such occurrence in spite of established procedures regulating annulments, commonly referred to as revocation or cancellation. This paper is a critique of the annulment of oil licenses and the associated contractualregulatory dimensions. The validity of the Federal Government’s actions also comes to the fore, particularly in the light of renewed drive to attract investments into the upstream sector. Thus, as some benefits are accruable to the players, it is also important to appraise the consequential costs attributable to undue annulment of oil licenses. The paper adopts a descriptive analytical method of available facts, expounds requisite statutory provisions and utilizes judicial precedents to highlight the context of the study. It is imperative that the Federal Government adheres to established procedures on oil license annulment, as a contrary posture will amount to several negative outcomes

Eyelash Epilation in the Absence of Trichiasis : Results of a Population-Based Prevalence Survey in the Western Division of Fiji

Background The WHO definition of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) is "at least one eyelash touching the globe, or evidence of recent epilation of in-turned eyelashes ", reflecting the fact that epilation is used as a self-management tool for TT. In Fiji's Western Division, a high TT prevalence (8.7% in those aged >= 15 years) was reported in a 2012 survey, yet a 2013 survey found no TT and Fijian ophthalmologists rarely see TT cases. Local anecdote suggests that eyelash epilation is a common behaviour, even in the absence of trichiasis. Epilators may have been identified as TT cases in previous surveys. Methods We used a preliminary focus group to design an interview questionnaire, and subsequently conducted a population-based prevalence survey to estimate the prevalence of epilation in the absence of trichiasis, and factors associated with this behaviour, in the Western Division of Fiji. Results We sampled 695 individuals aged >= 15 years from a total of 457 households in 23 villages. 125 participants (18%) reported epilating their eyelashes at least once within the past year. Photographs were obtained of the eyes of 121/125 (97%) individuals who epilated, and subsequent analysis by an experienced trachoma grader found no cases of trachomatous conjunctival scarring or trichiasis. The age-and sex-adjusted prevalence of epilation in those aged >= 15 years was 8.6% ( 95% Cl 5.7-11.3%). iTaukei ethnicity, female gender, and a higher frequency of drinking kava root were independently associated with epilation. Conclusion Epilation occurs in this population in the absence of trichiasis, with sufficient frequency to have markedly inflated previous estimates of local TT prevalence. Individuals with epilated eyelashes should be confirmed as having epilated in-turned eyelashes in an eye with scarring of the conjunctiva before being counted as cases of TT

Conjunctival photograph of the individual felt to demonstrate equivocal evidence of conjunctival scar, Western Division, Fiji, 2015.

<p>Conjunctival photograph of the individual felt to demonstrate equivocal evidence of conjunctival scar, Western Division, Fiji, 2015.</p

Characteristics of eyelash epilation among 125 epilators, Western Division, Fiji, 2015.

<p>Characteristics of eyelash epilation among 125 epilators, Western Division, Fiji, 2015.</p

Categories and themes derived from the transcript of the focus group of epilating individuals, Western Division, Fiji, 2013.

<p>Categories and themes derived from the transcript of the focus group of epilating individuals, Western Division, Fiji, 2013.</p

Front-of-eye and conjunctival photographs of individuals who removed (Bottom) 2–10 eyelashes, (Middle) >10 eyelashes (with pterygium), or (Top) most or all of the eyelashes; Western Division, Fiji, 2015.

<p>Front-of-eye and conjunctival photographs of individuals who removed (Bottom) 2–10 eyelashes, (Middle) >10 eyelashes (with pterygium), or (Top) most or all of the eyelashes; Western Division, Fiji, 2015.</p