Risk Factors, Threats And Prevention Of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) In African Countries

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a viral disease that affects the digestive, nervous and respiratory systems of all domestic and wild birds with high morbidity and mortality. It is highly contagious disease which can be fatal in humans. The avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are classified as types A, B and C with 15 subtypes of the type A. To date, all disease causing HPAI Viruses belong to H5 or H7 subtypes; and affect pigs and humans with the pigs serving as a mixing vehicle for re-assortment of the virus. The domestic ducks get infected without showing clinical signs and serve as a source of infection for domestic poultry. Outbreaks of HPAl in Europe, Asia and Turkey are reported to be associated, with the presence of wet lands and lakes where migratory birds rest. In some African countries like Nigeria, such wet lands exist with free flying wild birds and domestic ducks visiting and resting. The possible source of introduction into a country could be through importation or smuggling of infected poultry products across the borders and through migratory birds that fly through identified pathways. The status of HPAl in many African countries including Nigeria is still under investigation so that appropriate strategies / measures to prevent introduction of the disease into the country can be implemented and / or strengthened through restriction of importation of poultry and poultry products from high risk countries, effective disease surveillance, functional National Veterinary services, quarantine and community based participatory epidemiological system for HPAI surveillance and control. This article reviewed the global epidemiology and risk factors of HPAI infection in Nigeria and other African countries with emphasis on specific preventive measures that can reduce introduction of the virus into the country and the epidemiological surveillance for case detection / identification, screening and management. This review provides useful information and updates for health workers in tropical countries on the trends of AIVs and HPAI, diagnostic criteria using case definitions for both community and health facility levels and management protocols for confirmed cases as recommended by the World health Organization. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 10 (2) 2009: pp.99-11

Knowledge and prevalence of risk factors for arterial hypertension and blood pressure pattern among bankers and traffic wardens in Ilorin, Nigeria

Background: High job strain, mental stress, sedentary lifestyle, increase in BMI are among the factors associated with significantly higher incidence of hypertension. The job of bank employees is both sedentary in nature and accompanies high mental stress. The aim of this study is to assess the level of knowledge of risk factors among respondents and to compare the blood pressure pattern of bankers and traffic wardens.Methodology: The study design is a descriptive cross-sectional conducted among bankers and traffic wardens in Ilorin to determine the pattern and knowledge of blood pressure. Self-administered questionnaires, weighing scale (Omron Digital scale), stadiometer and sphygmomanometer were used as the research instruments. Simple random sampling was used to select respondents involved in the study.Results: The prevalence of hypertension in this study was 34.4% in bankers and 22.2% in traffic wardens. The risk factors the bankers commonly had knowledge of are alcohol, obesity, high salt intake, certain drugs, stress, emotional problems and family history while the traffic wardens commonly had knowledge of all these in addition to cigarette smoking. Also, more bankers (32.2%) than traffic wardens (13.3%) were smoking cigarette and more of these cigarette smokers that are bankers (17.8%) had elevated blood pressure compared to the traffic wardens (3.3%).Conclusion: Workers in the banking industry as well as traffic wardens should be better educated about the risk factors of hypertension and bankers should be encouraged to create time for exercise.Key words: Hypertension, risk factors, bankers, traffic warden

Vaccine Storage and Handling Practices among routine immunization service providers in a metropolitan city of North-Central Nigeria

Background: The efficacy of vaccines can be compromised by faulty transport, storage, and handling. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practice of vaccine storage and handling among Primary Health Care Workers (PHCWs) offering routine immunization (RI) services in static health facilities in Ilorin metropolis, North-central Nigeria.Methodology: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among 457 Primary Health Care Workers (PHCWs) in 2 Local Government Authorities in Kwara State, north central Nigeria, using multi stage sampling technique. The research instruments were pretested self-administered questionnaire and observational checklist. The data generated were analyzed using EPI-INFO version 3.5.1 software package. Level of significance was predetermined at p-value of less than 0.05 at 95% confidence interval.Results: About half of the respondents (52.1%) knew the optimal vaccine storage temperature, 35.4% knew that freezing is harmful to certain vaccines. Although, 67.8% were aware of the 'shake test', only 48.4% of them knew how to conduct it. Up to 367 (80.3%) acknowledged that heat is harmful to vaccines. Even though, 267 (58.4%) knew the vaccine vial monitor (VVM) stages, only 248 (45.3%) could interpret the VVM correctly. About 30% of the health facilities (HFs) had adequate vaccine storage equipments while less than one third (28.6%) refrigerators were used exclusively for vaccine storage. However, functioning thermometers were present in all the refrigerators devoted to vaccine storage.Conclusions: Vaccine storage and handling practices among PHCWs providing routine immunization (RI) services in the study area was still sub-optimal. There is need for periodic on the job training and supportive supervision of health workers by middle cadre immunization officers in the local government to improve on the vaccine storage and handling practices of RI service providers.Keywords: Routine immunization, knowledge, vaccine handling, Nigeria, practice

Community survey on blood donation practices in a northern state of Nigeria

Introduction. Volunteer blood donors account for less than half of the blood supply in developing countries; and few countries have mobilized efforts to encourage voluntary blood donation (VBD). The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and blood donation practices among adults in a state in Northern Nigeria. Methods. Descriptive cross sectional study using multistage sampling technique was carried out among 936 respondents. Semi structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to generate relevant data and information from the respondents. Data entry and analysis was done using EPI-info software package. Results. The knowledge of the respondents on blood donation was low. Less than half 432 (46.2%) knew some indications for blood transfusion. Two hundred and twelve (22.6%) respondents had donated blood in the past but only 1% of these were VBD while 95% were donations based on blood needs by family members, relations and friends. Few respondents 112 (12%) had received blood transfusion in the past, and the main source of blood transfused was paid commercial donors 50 (44.6%). The fear of HIV screening was a major hindrance and limitation to voluntary blood donation among respondents. Conclusion. The gaps in knowledge and practice of VBD can be addressed through public awareness campaigns, and motivational programmes such as free medical services for voluntary blood donors

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

The effect of intermittent preventive therapy for malaria on pregnancy outcome at the umth maiduguri.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the use of intermittent preventive therapy with sulphadoxine-pyramethamine (IPT-SP) for prevention of malaria in pregnancy and this is the priority of the Roll Back Malaria partnership. Objectives: To determine the effect of IPT-SP on pregnancy outcome in our environment. Methods: Four hundred pregnant women among a cohort recruited for a larger study evaluating the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in pregnancy in UMTH Maiduguri from 24 July 2007 to 12 January 2008 were used for this study. All pregnancies and deliveries were supervised at the UMTH. They were followed from booking to delivery to observe the effect of IPT-SP on pregnancy outcome. Blood samples were collected at booking and delivery for malaria parasite and packed cell volume. Malaria parasite was also looked for in the cord blood and placenta. Socio-demographic characteristics and pregnancy outcome were also obtained. Results: The mean age and parity of the patients were 27.2+5.5 years and 2.3+2.1 respectively. Majority of the patients (80.0%) have had at least a dose of the IPT-SP. The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia at booking was 60.3% with a mean parasite density of 701.04 + 382.22parasites/µl. However, the prevalence at delivery fell to 28.8% (p<0.001) and the mean parasite density reduced to 405.187 + 310.43 parasites/µl (p<0.001). In spite of the similar mean parasite density at booking in the 3 groups, the mean parasite density at delivery was lowest in the patients that had 2 doses of IPT-SP and highest among those that did not take IPT-SP (P<0.001). The use of IPT-SP also significantly protects from maternal anemia at delivery, preterm delivery, low birth weight, placental malaria, and cord parasitaemia. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of malaria parasitaemia with a high parasite density among pregnant women at booking, both of which decline remarkably at delivery most likely due to ITP-SP during antenatal care. It is recommended that the use of intermittent preventive treatment should be intensified.&nbsp

Prevalence and risk factors of cervical cancer among women in an urban community of Kwara State, North Central Nigeria

Background. Cervical cancer is the second most common malig- nancy in women worldwide with a high incidence in under-devel- oped countries and Nigeria is one of these countries. This study aimed at screening for cervical cancer using Papanicolaou smear and to identify risk factors for cervical cancer among women in Olufadi community, Kwara state, North-central Nigeria. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study involving the screening of women aged 25-64 years for cervical cancer using Papanicolaou smear. Respondents were selected through systematic random sam- pling of households. Interviewer- administered questionnaire and clinical report form were also used to collect data. In addition, Pap smear samples were taken. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 15. Results. Only 10 (5.0%) respondents had positive cytology result, while the rest were normal. Of the 10 positive cytology results, 1(10.0%) was high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL) while the remaining 9(90.0%) were low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LGSIL) which corresponds to 0.5% and 4.5% of the total respondents respectively. Risk fac- tors for cervical cancer identified included coitarche, tobacco smoking, number of sexual partners and family history of cervi- cal cancer. Conclusion. The findings from this study attest to the increasing burden of cervical cancer. The high number of positive results obtained from the study coupled with the presence of risk factors was an indication of how useful regular screening will be in the early detection of cervical cancer

Alignment of the ALICE Inner Tracking System with cosmic-ray tracks

37 pages, 15 figures, revised version, accepted by JINSTALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 micron in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurements, and the reconstructed tracks from cosmic rays and from proton-proton collisions. The main track-based alignment method uses the Millepede global approach. An iterative local method was developed and used as well. We present the results obtained for the ITS alignment using about 10^5 charged tracks from cosmic rays that have been collected during summer 2008, with the ALICE solenoidal magnet switched off.Peer reviewe

Long-Run Relationship between Islamic Financing Products and Banks’ Financial Performance

Banks are diversifying their revenue streams to include a greater proportion of non-interest- earning products. Changes in the product mix offered by banks make them more competitive and capable of generating more stable and sustainable income, which encourages banks to develop and promote new products that improve their financial performance. The increasing demand for Islamic banking products has heightened the competitive environment in the commercial banking industry, particularly in terms of the benefits of banks' product diversification strategy. Islamic banking adheres to Shariah principles, and its products are Shariah-compliant. However, there is a lack of understanding and knowledge about the specific contracts or products offered by Islamic banks. This study investigates the long-run relationship in Islamic bank financing products to improve the banks' financial performance. The financial data of sixteen Malaysian Islamic banks were gathered for this study from the Islamic Financial Services Board's Prudential and Structural Islamic Financial Indicators (PSIFIs) database (IFSB). The Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) model was used, with data spanning from 2014 to 2018. The findings revealed that Bai Bithaman Ajil, Ijarah, Musyarakah, and other Shariah-compliant products have a significant long-term impact on the performance of return on asset(ROA),financing income (RFIN), gross non-performing financing (GNPF), and net profit margin (NPM). It indicates that the financing model of Islamic banks in Malaysia is diversifying. The overall findings suggest that the diversification strategy in financing assets product may have a significant long-term impact on the financial performance of Islamic banks

Safety and Efficacy of miltefosine alone and in combination with sodium stibogluconate and liposomal amphotericin B for the treatment of primary visceral leishmaniasis in East Africa: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Treatment options for Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) in East Africa are far from satisfactory due to cost, toxicity, prolonged treatment duration or emergence of parasite resistance. Hence there is a need to explore alternative treatment protocols such as miltefosine alone or in combinations including miltefosine, sodium stibogluconate (SSG) or liposomal amphotericin B. The aim of this trial is to identify regimen(s) which are sufficiently promising for future trials in East Africa.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A phase II randomized, parallel arm, open-labelled trial is being conducted to assess the efficacy of each of the three regimens: liposomal amphotericin B with SSG, Liposomal amphotericin B with miltefosine and miltefosine alone. The primary endpoint is cure at day 28 with secondary endpoint at day 210 (6 months). Initial cure is a single composite measure based on parasitologic evaluation (bone marrow, spleen or lymph node aspirate) and clinical assessment. Repeated interim analyses have been planned after recruitment of 15 patients in each arm with a maximum sample size of 63 for each. These will follow group-sequential methods (the triangular test) to identify when a regimen is inadequate (<75% efficacy) or adequate (>90% efficacy). We describe a method to ensure consistency of the sequential analysis of day 28 cure with the non-sequential analysis of day 210 cure.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>A regimen with adequate efficacy would be a candidate for treatment of VL with reasonable costs. The design allows repeated testing throughout the trial recruitment period while maintaining good statistical properties (Type I & II error rates) and reducing the expected sample sizes.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01067443">NCT01067443</a></p