International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health

Background: The incidence of schistosomiasis in Ghana and more specifically in the Asuogyaman District had become a noticeable record following the creation of the Akosombo Dam in the early 1960s. This has inevitably since placed an enormous burden on the health service delivery systems in the geographical area. Mass Drug Administration (MDA) of Praziquantel has been used worldwide as a preventive and treatment intervention measure for the disease, and the study area is no exception. The study, therefore, aimed to assess the impact of MDA on the prevalence and associated risk factors of schistosomiasis in eight (8) selected riverine communities within the district.

Methods: A descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted involving 896 respondents with ages ranging from 2 to 82 years and a mean age of 17±13.78 years. Data were obtained from the Volta River Authority (VRA) Public Health and Environmental Department. Pearson’s chi-square tests and logistic regression models were used to assess the association and predict the relationship between variables.

Findings: Out of the 896 respondents, 93 (10.4 %) tested positive for Schistosoma haematobium. Proportionally, the Nyameben community had a high prevalence of 25.8% while Mami-Waterkope, and Mangoase both had a low prevalence of 3.2 %. The average uptake of Praziquantel was 41% across the study area. From the bivariate analysis, the respondents’ community of residence was noted as the only statistically significant variable contributing to infection. Respondents aged 13-39 were 1.68 times more likely to be infected compared to their younger counterparts after controlling for all other covariates in the predictive model.

Conclusion: Mass Drug Administration had a tremendous effect on reducing the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis to the present level of 10.4%. However, some “hotspots” like the Nyameben community will require special attention to reduce the high prevalence disease rate. Communities with low uptake of Praziquantel had a relatively high prevalence of schistosomiasis.

Introduction: COVID-19 has affected all spheres of human endeavour in a developing country like Nigeria. In a bid to stop the spread of this virus, different preventive measures were put in place by all the levels of government. Therefore, studying the health-seeking behaviour of residents in the face of the deadly COVID-19 virus becomes paramount in this study. 

Aim: This cross-sectional survey sought to investigate various health seeking behaviours exhibited by residents of Oyo state, Nigeria during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the multi-stage sampling techniques were finally used to select 327 respondents, aged 22-51 years with (Mean = 31.11, SD = 7.22) from two local government areas in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

Results: The result found that majority of the respondents’ experienced one form of signs and symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic. Also, many of the respondents experienced headache as major signs and symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Furthermore, fear of being diagnosed with COVID-19 was the major barrier to health seeking behaviour during COVID-19 pandemic while taking of local herbs was used by majority of respondents’ during COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion and Recommendation: The COVID-19 pandemic affected residents’ healthcare-seeking behaviour Ibadan, Oyo state Nigeria. It was recommended that professional sociologists and health experts should develop health promotion and intervention programme tailored toward improving heath seeking behaviour of residents during and after COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: This study for the first time in Mwanza, Tanzania aimed at determining seropositivity of mumps virus in school aged children who are targeted for vaccination.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of the Study: This study was conducted in the city of Mwanza from July to September 2018.

Despite being common with reported associated complications in many resource limited countries, there is scarcity of information on its epidemiology in Tanzania.

Methodology: We enrolled 440 school children aged 6-12 years. Data was collected using a pre-tested structured data collection tool. Blood samples were collected, and sera were used for detection of mumps virus antibodies by indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data was analyzed using STATA version 13, 2013.

Results: The median age of enrolled children was 9(IQR: 8-11) years. The seropositivity of mumps IgG antibodies was found to be 94(21.4%, 95% CI: 17.5-25.1) while that of IgM was 1 (0.23%, 95% CI: 0.02-0.6). By multivariable logistic regression analysis, residing in rural areas (OR: 2.28, 95% 1.42-3.36, P=0.001) and age >10 years (OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.03-2.7, P=0.036) independently predicted mumps IgG seropositivity.

Conclusion: A significant proportion of young children in urban areas of the city of Mwanza are susceptible to mumps virus infection indicating the need to generate more data across the country so as to institute appropriate control measures including measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination programme.

Aims: The aim of the study was to assess menstrual hygiene practices and examine access to sanitary materials and facilities and how they influence effective menstrual practices and management among girls in Kibera slum Kenya. To achieve this cross-sectional study was conducted in mixed day secondary schools.

Methodology: A cross – sectional study design was adopted. Simple random was used to select 25% of public schools and 25% of private schools with a population of 1778 girls. Fisher’s sample size formula was used to select 384 respondents.  The study was conducted in Kibera slums, Nairobi Kenya. Data on factors influencing effective menstrual practices and management among girls in Kibera slum was obtained through interviewer administered questionnaires. Chi-square test of independence, Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used using IBM® SPSS® Statistics 20.

Results: Menstrual management amongst the 355 secondary going girls in Kibera slums with a median age of 16 years was influenced by menstrual hygiene practices and access to sanitary materials and facilities. These two factors accounted for up to 75.3% as indicated in the regression model. Of the two factors access to sanitary facilities and materials had the greatest influence on menstrual management (β = 0.842 p < 0.05) while menstrual hygiene practices had the least effect (β = 0.089 p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Our study identified that menstrual hygiene practices and access to sanitary materials influenced effective menstrual practices and management among girls in Kibera.

Introduction: In spite of all the measures introduced to fight the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria by relevant authorities, it is still ravaging the country. This calls for the commitment and responsibility of the citizens in their adherence to all the control measures and guidelines, whose effectiveness is dependent on their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). This study investigated the KAP of clients who attended primary healthcare facilities (PHFs) in Rivers State, Nigeria over the period 16th to 20th June 2020. 

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving the clients seeking care at the           public primary healthcare facilities in the 23 local government areas (LGAs) of Rivers State,         Nigeria as respondents. Using descriptive analysis, the results for each of the quantitative variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation, whilst those for the categorical variables were reported as frequency and percentage.  The association between the responses on KAP and demographic characteristics were tested using the Chi-square test. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with KAP and statistical significance was assessed at P<0.05.

Results: Out of 460 questionnaires distributed, 434 respondents participated in the survey, revealing a 94.3% response rate. The proportion of respondents with moderate and above scores in knowledge, attitude, and COVID-19 related practices are 86.6% (62.9+23.7), 80.6% (57.6+23.0), and 58.0% (30.8+27.2) respectively. Occupation, educational level, and senatorial districts are associated with knowledge and attitude, whilst age and senatorial districts are associated with the level of adherence to preventive practices; knowledge level also has associations with both attitude and practices towards COVID-19.

Conclusion: On the basis of these findings, we suggest public health education programs on COVID-19 should target individuals with low knowledge levels, lower educational attainment, and those residing in the Rivers South-East senatorial zone in the promotion of their messages on COVID-19.

The rate of discovery of new antibiotic is slower than the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains in the environment. This global problem is more acute in developing countries. Therefore, it is necessary to develop some alternative approaches to combat infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms and resistant strains. Natural antimicrobial peptides (NAMPs) are potent antimicrobial peptides that are isolated from different sources like plants, animals, humans, bacteria, and fungi. These antimicrobial peptides may have a ribosomal or non-ribosomal origin. Natural antimicrobial peptides have diverse functions in agriculture, pharmaceutical and food industries. NAMPs have been used as food preservatives against food-borne pathogens thereby increasing the shelf-life of food items. NAMPs are useful in the treatment of wounds, ulcers, skin and soft tissue infections caused by microorganisms. Different types of NAMPs are universal in nature and show broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities. NAMPs exhibit great potency against multidrug-resistant bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). They have unique characteristics of targeting multiple pathogenic strains and prevent the emergence of natural resistance. In this review article, we systematically discussed different types of natural antimicrobial peptides, their classification, expression, diversity and source. We also explored their mode of action, genetic regulation and application as an alternative therapeutic agent.