Safety in the workplace: The burden and pattern of markers of Hepatitis B virus infection in routine blood samples in haematology laboratory at Irrua, Edo, Nigeria

Hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection is a worldwide problem resulting in many deaths yearly from cirrhosis and liver cancer. Regrettably also, healthcare workers get exposed to blood-borne pathogens, including hepatitis B virus at work. HBV infection in immuno-competent hosts results in acute fulminant illness which may be fatal, partially resolved to become chronic, or completely resolved. HBV immunization in the country cover neonates and health workers leaving many people uncovered. Lack of monitoring and confirmation of successful HBV immunization in heath workers reduces coverage in this group leaving many susceptible to HBV infection at work. We aimed to determine the magnitude of this risk for occupational exposure to HBV infection. We therefore analyzed sixty nine routine blood samples coming to our Haematology laboratory at Irrua, Edo, Nigeria, using the five parameter hepatitis B virus kit manufactured by Micropoint Diagnostics USA. Results showed that HBsAg, Ant-HBs, HBeAg, Anti-HBe and Anti-HBc were reactive in 11.6%, 23%, 1.4%, 7% and 7% of our study samples indicating that the burden of HBV infectivity is high. We recommend active monitoring and routine confirmation of successful HBV immunization in health workers with expansion of the program to cover more of our population.Keywords: Chronic HBV Infection, Occupational exposure, Immunization, Management of Chronic HBV infectio

Quality of care: Ensuring patient safety in blood transfusion in Irrua, Edo State Nigeria

Blood transfusion can be very beneficial and life saving to patients; though it carries with it the risk of Transfusion Transmissible Infections [TTIs] likes the Human Immuno deficiency Virus [HIV], Hepatitis B Virus [HBV], Hepatitis C Virus [HCV] and Syphilis. Unfortunately, many hospitals in Nigeria are unable to undertake adequate donor-blood screening for TTIs using the ELISA Technique, owing to lack of facilities, manpower and/or funding. As our center partners with the National Blood Transfusion Service [NBTS] for screening with ELISA, we set out to determine the prevalence of the TTIs among blood donors in order to underscore the desirability of optimal screening of blood and partnering with the NBTS to improve blood safety. Donor blood units were sent to the NBTS for rescreening with ELISA technique, after we had screened for the TTIs using rapid kits. We then reviewed the results of 613 donors over two years to determine the prevalence of TTIs among donors. Overall results showed that 86 (13.6%) was reactive for one or two of the TTIs: HIV 23(3.6%); HBV 41 (6.5%); HCV 17 (2.7%) and Syphilis 5(0.8%). Our findings suggest that screening donor blood with rapid kits only is froth with dangers to the patient; hence hospitals lacking the capacity to screen with ELISA should partner with the NBTS.Keywords: Blood Safety, ELISA Screening, Rapid Kit Screening, TTIs, NBT

Unexpected High Losses of Anopheles gambiae Larvae Due to Rainfall

Background - Immature stages of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae experience high mortality, but its cause is poorly understood. Here we study the impact of rainfall, one of the abiotic factors to which the immatures are frequently exposed, on their mortality. Methodology/Principal Findings - We show that rainfall significantly affected larval mosquitoes by flushing them out of their aquatic habitat and killing them. Outdoor experiments under natural conditions in Kenya revealed that the additional nightly loss of larvae caused by rainfall was on average 17.5% for the youngest (L1) larvae and 4.8% for the oldest (L4) larvae; an additional 10.5% (increase from 0.9 to 11.4%) of the L1 larvae and 3.3% (from 0.1 to 3.4%) of the L4 larvae were flushed away and larval mortality increased by 6.9% (from 4.6 to 11.5%) and 1.5% (from 4.1 to 5.6%) for L1 and L4 larvae, respectively, compared to nights without rain. On rainy nights, 1.3% and 0.7% of L1 and L4 larvae, respectively, were lost due to ejection from the breeding site. Conclusions/Significance - This study demonstrates that immature populations of malaria mosquitoes suffer high losses during rainfall events. As these populations are likely to experience several rain showers during their lifespan, rainfall will have a profound effect on the productivity of mosquito breeding sites and, as a result, on the transmission of malaria. These findings are discussed in the light of malaria risk and changing rainfall patterns in response to climate chang

Patterns of Haemoglobin varients in Irrua, South-South Nigeria

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