Suchergebnisse

The female Anopheles mosquito is the vector for human malaria and bites man mostly from 5pm to 7am, with maximum intensity between 10pm and 4am. This provides the basis for the use of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN). A study to assess the impact of enlightenment, advocacy and monitoring on LLIN use for children under five years was conducted in Olugbo. A total of two hundred (200) children under five years were recruited into the study. Ethical clearance was received from the Ogun State Ministry of Health. Pre-tested questionnaires were administered to the respondents and blood samples were collected for malaria test before and after provision(Pre and Post intervention) of LLIN. The blood samples were analyzed at the laboratory using the QBC Malaria Test and ParaLens system. The subjects were divided into two groups of study (group that received LLIN, enlightenment on the importance of LLIN and assisted with LLIN hanging) and Control (group that merely received the LLIN without enlightenment or assistance). The subjects in the study group were monitored between 1600hrs to 2000hrs thrice a week. The pre intervention study result shows that the prevalence of malaria infection was 70% and 56% amongst the study and Control group respectively. The post intervention blood samples screening reveals that the prevalence of infection in the study group was 13% with low parasite density. In the Control group, however, the prevalence of infection was 60% and 38.33% of those infected had high parasite density. There is a significant difference (P<0.05) in malaria parasitaemia between both groups post intervention. This study shows that distribution of LLINs alone is not sufficient to reduce malaria morbidity and recommends that enlightenment and assistance with hanging of LLINs should form an integral part of mass distribution of LLINs by government and donor agencies.

Four hundred pregnant women selected from four Local Government Areas (LGAs) representing urban (Abeokuta South LGA and Abeokuta North LGA) and semi-urban (Obafemi/Owode LGA and Odeda LGA) of Ogun State, were enrolled for study on the evaluation of HIV and malaria infections and perception among antenatal women. Malaria parasite test using Giemsa staining techniques for detection of Plasmodium falciparum was employed, while the one-step anti-HIV 1 and 2 Pock Test kit was also adopted for the determination of HIV status/prevalence. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on the knowledge and perception of the infections among the women under study. The overall malaria prevalence across the study area was 53.5% (Abeokuta South (49%), Abeokuta North (52%), Obafemi/Owode (50%) and Odeda (63%). Abeokuta South had mean parasitaemia intensity for P. falciparum of 2.5 parasites per microlitre blood of infected respondents; others are Abeokuta North (2.0), Obafemi/Owode (1.6) and Odeda (2.1). The overall mean parasite density per infected respondent was 2.0. The HIV prevalence from the study was 3.5% (Abeokuta South (2%), Abeokuta North (5%) Obafemi/Owode (5%) and Odeda (2%)). Demographic data showed that the women were of different age groups, educational qualifications and gravid status. Malaria parasite was more prevalent among the age group 21-25yrs (26%), while HIV prevalence was distributed across the age groups. Women with secondary school education had higher prevalence of malaria and HIV when compared with the other educational levels. On the knowledge and perception of the infections, 63% and 43.8% of the women attribute malaria and HIV infections to mosquito bites and sexual intercourse respectively. Antenatal clinic attendance among respondents was high with 79% attending regularly. In the treatment of malaria, chloroquine was considered as the drug of choice. Interaction with HIV positive women showed that 70.6% of them are on antiretroviral drugs (ARV) with 45% of respondents claiming that ...

The global picture had dramatically changed the lifestyles of Nigerian citizens pushing them into various fast-eating cultures with more instant and tasty meals, and the attendant gradual relegation of our traditional rich eating cultures. Studies were carried in eight Local Government Areas of Nigeria from the four Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZs) namely: moist savanna (Oyo State), humid forest (Lagos State), mid-altitude (Abuja) and dry Savanna (Kaduna State). Stratified multistage sampling technique with structured questionnaires from 1641 respondents and focus group discussions (FGDs) were employed to identify the maize-based dishes consumed and determined the frequency of consumption. The demographic characteristics revealed that 54.8% of the respondents were male. Residents in the rural area were more (56.8%) and majority of the respondents were between the ages of 26-45 years (67.6%), while more Christians (57.88%) participated in the study than any other religion. Results showed that thirty–two maize-based dishes were identified, of which ten were frequently consumed. Ogi was the most popular maize-based dish (73.5%) consumed in the AEZs while corn pudding was the least consumed (28.5%). There were significant differences (p<0.05) in all the sensory attributes measured. The low consumption of majority of the maize-based dishes raises concern for the current campaign on mobilizing local biodiversity which has been reported to be one of the food based intervention strategies for solving nutrition problems among population groups.