Public health implications of waste handling and consumption of food sourced from vendors in urban communities of Lagos, Nigeria

Waste handlers and food vendors were screened for parasitic infections. 297(152 waste handlers and 145 food vendors) specimen obtained from the participants were examined for parasitic infections using Kato-Katztechnique. Questionnaires which probed into their knowledge of cause, signs and symptoms, predisposing factors to infection and level of hygienic practices were administered. The results showed an overall prevalence ofparasitic infection of 25.7% for waste handlers and 61.4% for food vendors. There was no significant difference in the prevalence rates of parasitic  infections obtained for the two sexes among waste handlers (23.7% males,27.6% females; P > 0.05). Similarly, there was no gender difference  statistically among food vendors, though females had higher rates than the males (P > 0.05). Prevalence rates of  parasitic infections observed among waste handlers were 15.8%, 5.3% and 1.3% for Ascaris  lumbricoides, Hookworm and Trichuris trichiura respectively and; 28%, 27% and 6.2% respectively for food vendors showing higher levels of infections among the latter group. Light intensity of infection was obtained for each group, as shown by the mean geometric egg per gram per feaces (epg). The high prevalence of infection amongst food vendors as compared to the handlers can be attributed to poor sanitary conditions and poor knowledge on hygiene. There is therefore need for oversight by the food regulatory body to prevent the transmission among the food vendors and waste handlers.Key words: Soil Transmitted Helminthes, waste handlers, food vendors, Knowledge Attitude and Practices

Effectiveness Of Different House-Hold Hand Washing Agents On Hand Flora

Hand hygiene is a very important procedure in infection control. Washing agents commonly in use were investigated for their effectiveness in reducing hand floral and cotton towel was used as drying agent. Agents studied include; water alone, carex soap, dettol, and imperial leather. The hands were inoculated (deliberate contamination) with nasal swab and glove put on to allow inoculums to be established. The test hand was washed with the selected washing agent and dried with cloth towel three times while the other hand serving as the reference (and control) remained gloved. Glove was later removed from the other hand and both hands (un-gloved) were inoculated on nutrient agar plates and incubated for 24 hours at 370C. The colony forming units were counted for both treated (washed and dried) and untreated hands and percentage reduction was calculated. The procedure was repeated three times and average result with standard deviation presented for each washing agent. All the hand washing agents showed significant difference between treated and untreated hands (P ‹ 0.05). Imperial leather gave the highest reduction of 87.76%, followed by carex 71.05% then Dettol with 53.58%. Water gave the average lowest in colony forming unit reduction of 15.08%. The study concluded that washing hand with any of the house-hold soap washing agents is more effective as hand hygiene than water alone but Imperial leather showed the highest reduction in hand flora with cloth towel as drying agent.Keyword: hand washing, hand flora, cloth towelThe Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol 19 No 1 (January 201

Efficacy of vitamin C and ethanolic extract of Sesamum indicum in promoting fertility in male Wistar rats

Aims: This study investigates the efficacy of ethanolic extract of Sesamum indicum (EES), vitamin C (VC), and EES + VC in promoting fertility and finding a possible link between their profertility effects and their antioxidant activities. Materials and Methods: Forty adult male Wistar rats [Body weight (BW) 186.56 ± 0.465 g] were randomly analyzed into four groups of ten rats each: Control, EES G (EES only), VC G (vitamin C only), and EES + VC G (EES in conjunction with vitamin C). Control was given 5 ml/kg BW/day of normal saline orally; EES G was administered 0.3 g/kg BW/day of EES; VC G was administered 15 mg/kg BW/ day of VC; while EES + VC G was administered both 0.3 g/kg BW/day of EES and 15 mg/kg BW/day of VC. All treatments were for 10 weeks. Statistical Analysis Used: Independent-sample T test was used to analyze the obtained results. Results: The results obtained showed that EES, VC, and more importantly EES + VC are capable of significantly increasing BW gain, seminal parameters, testosterone level, and body antioxidant activities. Conclusions: These findings lead to the conclusion that EES + VC as well as ESS and VC promote fertility due to both their testosterone-increasing effects and their antioxidant effects