Knowledge, attitude and practices about malaria among members of a university community in Kwara State, Nigeria

Malaria is still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in many tropical regions despite global efforts towards its eradication. This study investigates knowledge and practices about malaria among members of Kwara State University community, Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to 518 undergraduate students and 91 staff randomly from the university community. Majority (99.63 %) of students and staff (98.91 %) agreed that malaria is caused by mosquito bite, two hundred and twenty two (42.09 %) of the students and 69.23 % of staff identified the female Anopheles mosquito as the vector of malaria. A total of 32.82 % picked stagnant water; 27.03 % water retaining containers and 38.19 % plant/vegetation as mosquito vector habitat. The majority of students (83.78 %) and staff (97.80 %) also responded that night was the common vector biting period. On malaria symptoms the respondents ranked fever (71.81 %), body pain (31.85 %) and headaches (29.53 %) while staff responses followed similar trends. On the medication employed for the treatment of malaria, ACT, (53.86 %), Artesunate (25.09 %), Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (15.44 %) and paracetamol (10.81%) attested to by the students while those of the staff was in the order 53.84 % ACT, 29.67 % Artesunate and 18.68 % Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. The result elucidates that most respondents had fair knowledge about malaria, its vector, habitat, prevention and control, but the majority had poor practices towards malaria. Therefore, education and interventions aimed at social and behaviour change are necessary to address and fill the gaps highlighted, conscious efforts toward enlightenment of the people of the university community and its environment is a necessary step among suggestions proffered.Keywords: Malaria, Community, Container survey, Knowledge, Practic

Activity of mound-building Macrotermes Bellicosus (Isoptera: Termitidae) around Kwara State University campus Guinea Savannah ecozone, Nigeria

This study was designed to investigate Macrotermes bellicosus, nesting mounds, abundance and activity in the savannah ecological zone of Kwara State, North-Central, Nigeria. The research was conducted at four randomly selected villages around and including Kwara State University. A systematic survey of visible mounds of M. bellicosus was carried out over the entire study area. Also, the heights of mounds were measured using a measuring tape. M. bellicosus collection was conducted using baited traps consisting of cardboard, toilet tissue, wooden stakes and wood shaving. These were embedded or placed on ground within plots at a regular distance of 10 m and checked twice weekly. The samples collected per baited trap per plot per location were preserved in 90 % ethanol and identified. Similarly, survey of physically damaged items was conducted and recorded to observe termite activity. The result from the four different locations of the study showed that the number of M. bellicosus mounds in urban area was the highest in urban site (74.33 ± 5.93) and was significant when compared to the other locations. Farmland had the tallest M. bellicosus mound (17.3 cm) followed by uncultivated land mass (15 cm), while the least mean height (12 cm) was encountered at the urban area. The abundance and distribution of the M. bellicosus showed no significant difference when comparing the study locations except in urban site. Proper precautions on protection of the building and barns are recommended.Keywords: Macrotermes bellicosus, Nesting mounds, Importance, Savannah ecological zone, Damag

Estimation of the technical and scale efficiencies of quail production: a strategy toward the provision of sustainable animal protein in Oyo and Kwara States of Nigeria

Small scale poultry production plays a major role in bridging the protein deficit and sustain rural livelihood in Nigeria. A study was conducted to estimate the technical and scale efficiencies of quail (Cortunix coturnix japonica) production a strategy toward the provision of sustainable animal protein in Nigerian diets. Data Envelope Analysis (DEA) was used to sieve efficient and inefficient quail farmers and established optimize energy. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire administered to 193 quail farmers comprising of 78 battery cage system (BCS) and 115 deep litter system (DLS) operators using a multi-stage random sampling procedure. The result showed that feed, fuels and electricity gulps 63.38, 24.53 and 7.76 % of the total energy input in BCS production unit and equally constituted 65.16, 23.97 and 5.32 % in the DLS production unit. Both BCS (65.71 %) and DLS (67.90 %) used more renewable energy compared with non-renewable component. The net energy of both quail production units were positive, hence energy were gained. The results revealed that the total energy use that could be saved by converting the present units to optimal conditions were 7.80 and 6.76 % for BCS and DLS respectively. The BCS farms thrive better compared with DLS considering the results of the three efficiency parameters. The renewable energy inputs usage must be sustain and if possible increase in both sectors in order to improve the low energy productivity and increase energy output and invariably return to quail farming.Keywords: Quail chick farmers, Battery cage system, Deep litter system, Renewable energy, Pure technical efficienc

Evaluation of phytochemical properties and in-vitro antibacterial activity of the aqueous extracts of leaf, seed and root of Abrus precatorius Linn. against Salmonella and Shigella

Objective: To investigate the phytochemical components of Abrus precatorius (A. precatorius) and the in-vitro susceptibility of Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysenteriae to the aqueous extracts of A. precatorius leaf, seed and root. Methods: The leaf, seed and root of A. precatorius were collected and homogenized separately after drying at 40 °C for seven days in hot-air oven. The aqueous extracts of each of the parts were prepared and subjected to phytochemical screening. Dilutions of 400, 300, 200, 100 mg/mL, of each of the extracts were used for broth dilution in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination against clinical isolates of Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysenteriae, while 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 mg/mL dilutions were used for the agar diffusion test and 100 μg/mL and 10 μg/mL of gentamycin were used as controls for broth dilution in MIC determination and agar diffusion test, respectively. Results: Qualitative study reveals that tannin, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids and phenols were present in all of the plant parts. The leaf has the highest quantities of tannin and phenol. The root generally showed the lowest quantity of all the compounds. The pathogens were susceptible to aqueous extracts of the leaf, stem and root of A. precatorius at 50 mg/mL. At concentrations of 40, 30 and 20 mg/mL, all the aqueous extracts of A. precatorius showed variation in MIC, but produced no minimum bactericide effect upon subculture. There were variations in diameter of zone of inhibition against the organisms at lower concentrations. Conclusions: These findings suggest that A. precatorius is a valuable source of phytochemicals with promising antibacterial activity. Considering this bioactivity, A. precatorius could be probed further for toxicity, and to obtain some novel antibacterial molecules