A tuberculosis nationwide prevalence survey in Gambia, 2012.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the population prevalence of active pulmonary tuberculosis in Gambia. METHODS: Between December 2011 and January 2013, people aged ≥ 15 years participating in a nationwide, multistage cluster survey were screened for active pulmonary tuberculosis with chest radiography and for tuberculosis symptoms. For diagnostic confirmation, sputum samples were collected from those whose screening were positive and subjected to fluorescence microscopy and liquid tuberculosis cultures. Multiple imputation and inverse probability weighting were used to estimate tuberculosis prevalence. FINDINGS: Of 100 678 people enumerated, 55 832 were eligible to participate and 43 100 (77.2%) of those participated. A majority of participants (42 942; 99.6%) were successfully screened for symptoms and by chest X-ray. Only 5948 (13.8%) were eligible for sputum examination, yielding 43 bacteriologically confirmed, 28 definite smear-positive and six probable smear-positive tuberculosis cases. Chest X-ray identified more tuberculosis cases (58/69) than did symptoms alone (43/71). The estimated prevalence of smear-positive and bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis were 90 (95% confidence interval, CI: 53-127) and 212 (95% CI: 152-272) per 100 000 population, respectively. Tuberculosis prevalence was higher in males (333; 95% CI: 233-433) and in the 35-54 year age group (355; 95% CI: 219-490). CONCLUSION: The burden of tuberculosis remains high in Gambia but lower than earlier estimates of 490 per 100 000 population in 2010. Less than half of all cases would have been identified based on smear microscopy results alone. Successful control efforts will require interventions targeting men, increased access to radiography and more accurate, rapid diagnostic tests

Clothing Material Preferences for Sustainable Promotion of Indigenous Culture: A Case Study of Olabisi Onabanjo University Students in Ogun State, Nigeria

Indigenous clothing materials can be used to create modern fashion design that will accelerate the industrialisation of locally made materials like campala, kente, adire, ankara, thus promoting culture, foreign exchange, entrepreneurship, and employment. However, there seems to be more preference for contemporary clothing materials than indigenous clothing materials resulting in the under-utilization of indigenous fabrics. Hence, the study investigated the clothing material preferences of OOU students with the aim of promoting the use of indigenous clothing materials. Data were collected from 130 students in the University and were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that students sampled had preference for both contemporary and indigenous clothing materials. Among the locally made fabrics, Campala ranked first (2.36) as the most used clothing material. Other clothing materials used include nylon (2.34), cotton (2.32), corduroy (2.32) and satin (2.31). However, ankara (1.69), sasodanfani (1.67), batik (1.62) and kente (1.54). Over half (60%) of the sampled OOU students strongly agreed that they look gorgeous in a pant trouser/velvet skirt with a silk shirt than Ankara/guinea skirt and blouse/trouser and top. However, 38.5 per cent of the students strongly agreed that wearing their oleku with head gear/well embroidered guinea outfit made them proud of their African culture compared to wearing their English suit. The study concludes that significant difference existed between the preference for contemporary and indigenous clothing materials among OOU students (t=30.417, p=0.000). The study therefore recommended that indigenous/cultural day should be observed on campus every session; students should be educated that creative attires can be sewn with indigenous clothing materials. Attires made with indigenous clothing materials are allowed for official purposes, especially when worn moderately and completely. Keywords: Clothing, materials, preference, culture, promotio

Assessment of Effect of Employees' Motivation on Workers' Productivity: A Case Study of Selected Hotels in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria

No doubt, employees are the most significant resources in any organization. Without them, the goals of the organization can hardly be achieved. The poor attitude of hotel management especially with regards to motivating their employees has been a major concern in industry and is severally reported to have adversely affected the quality of services rendered to customers and the level of turnover in the industry. This study examined the assessment of employees’ motivation on workers’ productivity (a case study of selected hotels in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria). A total of one hundred and one (101) respondents were randomly selected and interviewed for the study through a specially designed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, mean and percentages estimation were used in analyzing the study data while Chi-Square statistical tool was used in testing the study hypotheses. Results revealed that majority (65.3%) of the respondents were male between the ages of 31-40 years were 44.6%, 68.3% (majority) of the respondent were married and educated 69.3%, the average years of working experience of the respondents 56.4%  were 6-10 years, 55.4% of the respondents were promoted in the last two years and 56.4% (also majority) were in the junior workers' category with less than N100,000 monthly remuneration and majority of the respondent (64.5%) were worked for 12hours per day. The most  effective fringe benefits being adopted by the hotels in the study area in terms of motivating their employees are sponsorship for personnel trainings, timely payment of salaries and bonuses, payment for extra time spent at work and  provision of accommodation  among others. In addition, treatment of workers with dignity and respect, access to health care facilities, annual presentation of awards and promotion exercise are extrinsic factors that influence hotel workers' motivation in the study area. The study concluded that there is a significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the workers and the effect of employees' motivation on workers’ productivity in the study area. The study recommends that management should be meticulous in the area of motivating their employees by rewarding or celebrating them through annual promotion exercise and presentation of awards. Employers should also give their employees the opportunity to acquire more knowledge and skills by sponsoring them to study abroad in related fields. Moreover, other motivational tools such as free healthcare services, transportation allowance, accommodation allowance and hazard allowance should be duly paid to employees in order to improve their performances. Keywords: Motivation, Employee, Workers, Hospitality, Hotel, Productivit

Trends in Prevalence of Advanced HIV Disease at Antiretroviral Therapy Enrollment - 10 Countries, 2004-2015.

Monitoring prevalence of advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease (i.e., CD4+ T-cell count <200 cells/μL) among persons starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) is important to understand ART program outcomes, inform HIV prevention strategy, and forecast need for adjunctive therapies.*,†,§ To assess trends in prevalence of advanced disease at ART initiation in 10 high-burden countries during 2004-2015, records of 694,138 ART enrollees aged ≥15 years from 797 ART facilities were analyzed. Availability of national electronic medical record systems allowed up-to-date evaluation of trends in Haiti (2004-2015), Mozambique (2004-2014), and Namibia (2004-2012), where prevalence of advanced disease at ART initiation declined from 75% to 34% (p<0.001), 73% to 37% (p<0.001), and 80% to 41% (p<0.001), respectively. Significant declines in prevalence of advanced disease during 2004-2011 were observed in Nigeria, Swaziland, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. The encouraging declines in prevalence of advanced disease at ART enrollment are likely due to scale-up of testing and treatment services and ART-eligibility guidelines encouraging earlier ART initiation. However, in 2015, approximately a third of new ART patients still initiated ART with advanced HIV disease. To reduce prevalence of advanced disease at ART initiation, adoption of World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended "treat-all" guidelines and strategies to facilitate earlier HIV testing and treatment are needed to reduce HIV-related mortality and HIV incidence

Assessment of Patronage of Tourist Sites in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria

Poor patronage has been a subject of concern in hospitality industry and tourist attraction centres. This has impacted negatively on investment in the sector and overall economic development. The study therefore assessed patronage of tourist centres in Badagry Local Government area (LGA) of Lagos State. Nigeria. The study was based on primary data obtained in a cross-sectional survey of 240 respondents using multi-stage sampling technique in selected tourist centres in the LGA. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that majority of the respondents were between 26-30 years of age with an average of 36.2 years. Majority (62.1%) of the respondents were females, 71.1 percent were single and 41.7 percent had tertiary education. Furthermore, majority (60.8%) of the respondents had between 4-6 individuals as household members. The most visited tourist centre recreation purpose (62.1%), education purpose (87.1%), research purpose (84.2%), information purpose (72.1%) and sightseeing which accounted for 57.9%. Furthermore, inadequate funding of tourist by the government (95.8%), under developed tourism infrastructure (96.3%), low patronage (98.8%), limited understanding of tourism (95.0%) and bad road to tourism destination (98.3%) accounted for poor patronage. The study concluded that age, sex, marital status, education, major occupation, working experience and household size of the respondents were associated with their level of satisfaction in the study area. The study therefore recommended that tourism development should not be left alone for the state government, the Local government should make effort to support the state government to create enabling environment to the tourist centres. Keywords: tourists, tourist centres, patronage, level of satisfaction, Badagry DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-12-01 Publication date:June 30th 202

Assessment of Patronage of Tourist Sites in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria

Poor patronage has been a subject of concern in hospitality industry and tourist attraction centres. This has impacted negatively on investment in the sector and overall economic development. The study therefore assessed patronage of tourist centres in Badagry Local Government area (LGA) of Lagos State. Nigeria. The study was based on primary data obtained in a cross-sectional survey of 240 respondents using multi-stage sampling technique in selected tourist centres in the LGA. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that majority of the respondents were between 26-30 years of age with an average of 36.2 years. Majority (62.1%) of the respondents were females, 71.1 percent were single and 41.7 percent had tertiary education. Furthermore, majority (60.8%) of the respondents had between 4-6 individuals as household members. The most visited tourist centre recreation purpose (62.1%), education purpose (87.1%), research purpose (84.2%), information purpose (72.1%) and sightseeing which accounted for 57.9%. Furthermore, inadequate funding of tourist by the government (95.8%), under developed tourism infrastructure (96.3%), low patronage (98.8%), limited understanding of tourism (95.0%) and bad road to tourism destination (98.3%) accounted for poor patronage. The study concluded that age, sex, marital status, education, major occupation, working experience and household size of the respondents were associated with their level of satisfaction in the study area. The study therefore recommended that tourism development should not be left alone for the state government, the Local government should make effort to support the state government to create enabling environment to the tourist centres. Keywords: tourists, tourist centres, patronage, level of satisfaction, Badagry DOI: 10.7176/JTHS/50-05 Publication date:September 30th 202

Fungal contamination and mycotoxins in aquafeed and tissues of aquaculture fishes and their biological control

The presence of mycotoxins in food and feed is a significant issue, especially in fish farming where it can negatively impact farmed fish species. In this study, samples of aquaculture feed and fishes tissues were collected for fungal isolation and mycotoxins analysis. Levels of aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in the muscles and organ (liver and kidneys) were compared in three fish species. Furthermore, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from a novel Bacillus cereus BC344–2 strain were tested against the growth and mycotoxin production of Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp., and Fusarium species. There was a moderate fungal load in the aquafeed with 1.30 × 102 ± 2.6 × 102 (mean ± SD) CFU/g with high contribution of Aspergillus and Penicillium fungi. OTA and AFs were detected in 95% and 66.7% of the tested aquafeed samples, respectively, with 66.7% of the samples co-contaminated with both mycotoxins. Although AFs contents were within permissible limits, 4.8% of samples showed OTA contamination exceeding the permissible limits (5 μg/kg). Both mycotoxins were found in the liver samples, but none of the fish meat (muscle) samples were found to be contaminated with OTA. The in vitro biocontrol co-incubation assay showed that BC344–2 VOCs had a significant inhibitory effect on the growth and sporulation of the three exposed fungi. P. verrucosum showed the highest sensitivity with a 42.4% inhibition ratio, followed by F. solani (17.5%) and A. flavus (11.5%). Additionally, BC344–2 VOCs suppressed OTA and AFs synthesis by P. verrucosum and A. flavus, respectively. Gas chromatography-based analysis of headspace volatiles in BC344–2 volatilome revealed five bioactive compounds with BTH aldehyde and 1-Heptadecanol being the most probable antifungal compounds responsible for the inhibitions. Given the high detection rate of OTA and AFs in the fish tissue and feed samples, along with regular monitoring of mycotoxins, the biocontrol approaches using bacterial volatiles such as BC344–2 VOCs could be useful to ensure feed and food safety.This work was granted and funded by Qatar National Research Fund , a member of Qatar Foundation under the grant code UREP28-087-4-002. The authors are exclusively responsible for the findings and results discussed therein. Open Access funding is provided by the Qatar National Library, member of the Qatar foundation

Knowledge, attitude and practice towards tuberculosis in Gambia: a nation-wide cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) are the mainstay of global and national TB control efforts. However, the gap between expected and reported cases persists for various reasons attributable to the TB services and care-seeking sides of the TB care cascade. Understanding individual and collective perspectives of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and other social circumstances around TB can inform an evidence-based approach in engaging communities and enhance their participation in TB case detection and treatment. METHODS: The study was conducted during the Gambian survey of TB prevalence. This was a nationwide cross-sectional multistage cluster survey with 43,100 participants aged ≥15 years in 80 clusters. The study sample, a random selection of 10% of the survey population within each cluster responded to a semi-structured questionnaire administered by trained fieldworkers to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practice of the participants towards TB. Overall knowledge, attitude and practice scores were dichotomised using the computed mean scores and analysed using descriptive, univariable and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: All targeted participants (4309) were interviewed. Majority were females 2553 (59.2%), married 2614 (60.7%), had some form of education 2457 (57%), and were unemployed 2368 (55%). Although 3617 (83.9%) of the participants had heard about TB, only 2883 (66.9%) were considered to have good knowledge of TB. Overall 3320 (77%) had unfavourable attitudes towards TB, including 1896 (44%) who indicated a preference for staying away from persons with TB rather than helping them. However, 3607(83.7%) appeared to have the appropriate health-seeking behaviours with regard to TB as 4157 (96.5%) of them were willing to go to the health facility if they had symptoms suggestive of TB. CONCLUSIONS: About 3 in 10 Gambians had poor knowledge on TB, and significant stigma towards TB and persons with TB persists. Interventions to improve TB knowledge and address stigma are required as part of efforts to reduce the burden of undiagnosed TB in the country

Safety and immunogenicity of a novel 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate in adults, toddlers, and infants in The Gambia-Results of a phase 1/2 randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: A more affordable pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) that provides comparable protection to current PCVs is needed to ensure sustainable access in resource-limited settings. Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd.'s PCV candidate (SIIPL-PCV) has the potential to meet this need as manufacturing efficiency has been optimized and the vaccine targets the most prevalent disease-causing serotypes in Africa and Asia. We report SIIPL-PCV's safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity in adults, toddlers, and infants in The Gambia. METHODS: This phase 1/2, randomized, double-blind trial sequentially enrolled 34 PCV-naive adults (18-40?years old), 112 PCV (Prevenar 13® [PCV13])-primed toddlers (12-15?months old), and 200 PCV-naive infants (6-8?weeks old), who were randomized (1:1) to receive SIIPL-PCV or a licensed comparator vaccine. Infants received three-doses of SIIPL-PCV or PCV13 at 6, 10, and 14?weeks of age co-administered with routine Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) vaccines. Reactogenicity was solicited through seven-days post-vaccination; unsolicited adverse events (AEs) were assessed throughout the study. The safety and immunogenicity of a matching booster at 10-14?months of age were evaluated in a subset of 96 infants. Immune responses were evaluated post-primary and pre- and post-booster vaccinations. RESULTS: Reactogenicity was primarily mild-to-moderate in severity. In infants, the most common solicited reactions were injection-site tenderness and fever, with no meaningful treatment-group differences. There were no serious or severe vaccine-related AEs and no meaningful trends in SAEs, vaccine-related AEs, or overall AEs. Infant post-primary seroresponse rates (IgG level???0.35?µg/mL) were ?89% for all serotypes except 6A (79%) in the SIIPL-PCV group. IgG GMCs were >1?µg/mL for all serotypes in both SIIPL-PCV and PCV13 groups. Post-booster GMCs were comparable between groups. CONCLUSION: SIIPL-PCV was well-tolerated, had an acceptable safety profile, and was immunogenic for all vaccine serotypes. Results support the evaluation of SIIPL-PCV in a phase 3 non-inferiority trial. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02308540