International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health

Background and Objectives: Adolescence which is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood is often the neglected phase as the adolescents are often regarded as relatively healthy with the focus being given for children and women. Addressing the nutritional needs of adolescents could be an important step in curbing malnutrition among them. With the rising epidemic of Non-communicable diseases, it is equally important to address both the issues of under-nutrition and over-nutrition. Hence this study was undertaken to assess the nutritional status and associated risk factors of malnutrition among the school going adolescents from 5^th to 12^th standard in the rural field practice area of Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS), Hassan.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the school going adolescents attending the government and private schools of the rural field practice area of the medical college from January 2017 to June 2018. The sample size of 830 was divided between the three areas under rural field practice area as per sample size proportional to population. BMI was measured and WHO reference charts 2007 for BMI was used to categorize the nutritional status of the adolescents.

Results: The prevalence of malnutrition among the school going adolescents was found to be 44.1% of which the prevalence of thinness and severe thinness was 15.8% and 21.3% respectively and that of overweight and obesity was 5.8% and 1.2% respectively. On logistic regression, male gender, government school, lower socio-economic status, deworming status and open-air defecation were identified as significant risk factors for undernutrition and female gender, private school, upper socio-economic status, low levels of physical activity, excess television watching, consuming junk foods, breakfast skipping, inadequate sleeping hours were identified as significant risk factors for over nutrition.

Conclusion: The prevalence of malnutrition among the school going adolescents was found to be 44.1% in our study. Gender, type of school in which they study, socio-economic status and life style behaviours were found to be significant risk factors for malnutrition. There is a need for health education programmes, regular monitoring and effective policies to promote healthy eating and lifestyle changes among adolescents to curb the burden of malnutrition.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease caused by bacterium “Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. It is a systemic infection and has deleterious effect on both circulatory and respiratory systems, and thrives more in a society with little knowledge of its predisposing factors.

Aim of the Study: This study was carried out to identify the predisposing factors of tuberculosis and its effects on haematological indices of the positive patients at the Federal Medical Center, Owerri, Imo state, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: The blood samples were analyzed manually for the indices while predisposing factors of Tuberculosis were obtained with the aid of a structured self-administered questionnair,these were administered simultaneously while the blood samples were been collected.

Results and Discussion: Results were considered to be statistically signifificant (P<0.05), (OR>1). Simple frequencies were also computed. The results revealed that Haemoglobin (P=0.001); Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P=0.020); Neutrophils (P=0.002); Eosinophils (P=0.000); Monocytes (P=0.000); Platelets (P=0.001) of the Tuberculosis positive patients when compared with the controls, showed, statistically (P<0.05) significant haematological abnormalities. History of Tuberculosis in family (Odd ratio=9.3) and Alcoholism (OR=6.0) were significant predisposing factors of Tuberculosis. Other predisposing factors; smoking habits (OR=2.7), Educational status (OR=2.2), marital status (OR=1.3) were also associated with Tuberculosis infection, while employment status (OR=1.0) and socio-economic status (OR=0.1) were not. Tuberculosis infection in this study adversely affected Haemoglobin, Platelets, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Neutrophil, Eosinophil and Monocyte values, while family history of Tuberculosis and Alcoholism were significantly associated with the infection.

Conclusion: Quarrantine of Tuberculosis patients and creating more awareness on the predisposing factors of tuberculosis will help towards preventing, reducing and eliminating the disease.

Background: Malaria is one of the most severe public health problems worldwide, particularly in Africa, with Nigeria having the greatest number of cases. This study evaluated a five-year (2012-2016) retrospective and a current trend (August-December 2017) of malaria prevalence in Bunkure Local Government Area of Kano State, Nigeria.

Methods: The retrospective review was conducted by extracting data on malaria cases from the Summary Record Book at Bunkure Primary Health Care Facility. In the current survey, a total of 400 participants were examined using peripheral blood sample obtained by venous puncture to estimate the current malaria prevalence. All data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 20.

Results: In the retrospective period, a total of 12,387 suspected malaria patients were diagnosed using Rapid Diagnostic Test kit, out of which 9,746 (78.7%) were positive for malaria. The infection was higher in females (45.27%) and in subjects above or equal to 5years of age. There was no significant difference in prevalence between the gender (P= 0.322) and the age groups (P = 0.630). Of the 400 participants examined, 193 were found positive for malaria, representing a prevalence rate of (48.3%), much lower than the prevalence rate in the retrospective period (78.7%). The higher prevalence of the infection was found in males (32.25%) and the age group between 5-12 years (14.25%). The difference in prevalence was statistically not significant between the genders (p = 0.87) and the age groups (p = 0.142).

Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, there was a significant decline (P < 0.05) in trend of malaria prevalence in the study area, which may be attributed to the effectiveness of the ongoing control interventions in the locality. This study indicates the need for continuous monitoring of malaria prevalence using both microscopy and RDT for assessment of impact of malaria intervention in the area.

Introduction: Pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children, it accounts for 17.0% of under- five deaths in Nigeria yearly. The aim of this study is to determine the pattern of pneumonia among children in Port Harcourt.

Materials and Methods: A 2year retrospective descriptive study was done; the admission and discharge records at the children emergency ward (CHEW) and folders of patients admitted for pneumonia were used to retrieve information.

Results: A total of 2169 children were admitted into CHEW from 2017- 2018, this comprised of 1089 (50.2%) males and 1080 (49.8%) females. Of the 2169 children, 286 (13.2%) of them had pneumonia. More males (16.9%) compared to females (9.4%) had pneumonia, with a significant gender difference. (ꭓ² = 26.29, p = < 0.001) Males were twice more likely to have pneumonia compared to the females (OR = 1.95, CI= 1.51-2.54). The highest prevalence of Pneumonia (27.1%) was amongst children < 1 year old (P = <0.001). Thirteen (4.6%) of those that had pneumonia died.  Mortality was highest (9.2%) among those who presented late (> 5 days after onset of symptoms.) (ꭓ² =10.73, p = 0.03).

Conclusion: Childhood pneumonia is still a burden among children in Port Harcourt. Early presentation to the hospital may reduce the mortality.

Background/Introduction: Health workers at primary health care facilities (PHCs) are primarily involved with routine immunization activities including detection, reporting and management of Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI). To undertake such responsibilities effectively, they need to have good knowledge on AEFI and its management.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and reporting practices of Routine Immunization Service Providers in health facilities of Sokoto State, Nigeria.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities of Sokoto State, Nigeria. Using a multi-stage sampling technique, a total of 285 routine immunization service providers were recruited from all the PHCs in one selected local government from each of the three health zones of the State. A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect relevant information from eligible participants. Data were entered into SPSS version 20.0 and analyzed.

Results: Of the 285 distributed questionnaires, 258 (90.5%) were duly completed and returned. The M: F ratio was 1.4:1, with mean age of 34.24 + 8.06 years. Up to 164 (63.6%) respondents had good knowledge (score >50%), while 37(14.3%) and 57(22.1%) respondents had fair (score 41-49%) and poor (score <40%) knowledge respectively. Reporting practices were appropriate in 224 (86.8%) respondents. The most common method for reporting was by manual filing of AEFI forms. Some respondents would however not report an AEFI to avoid being blamed, feeling guilty or creating unnecessary anxiety to the patient.

Conclusion: Though many respondents had good knowledge and reporting practices on AEFI, knowledge gap still exists; highlighting the need for continuous on-the-job training and retraining of these personnel.