Background Onchocerciasis is endemic in most local government areas (LGAs) in Enugu and Ogun states. Most meso- and hyper-endemic LGAs have received many rounds of ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA). This study aimed to determine the current prevalence of onchocerciasis in villages in Enugu and Ogun states that were formerly highly endemic and to assess progress toward elimination of the infection in areas believed to be at high risk for persistence. Methods Cross-sectional community surveys were conducted 8 to 12 months after the last round of MDA in 16 villages (6 in Enugu state and 10 in Ogun state) in individuals aged ≥ 18 years. Study participants were examined for the presence of palpable subcutaneous nodules. Skin snips from the posterior iliac crests were used to assess microfiladermia (Mf) prevalence and density. Results 643 subjects were palpated for nodules and 627 individuals (225 in Enugu state; 402 in Ogun state) provided skin snips. Nodule prevalence in the study villages ranged from 42 to 66.7% in Enugu state and from 0 to 25.0% in Ogun state. Mf prevalence in the Enugu and Ogun study villages ranged from 32 to 51.1% and 0 to 28.6%, respectively. Geometric mean skin Mf density in surveyed Enugu state villages ranged between 1 and 3.1 Mf/mg; these values were < 1 Mf/mg in all but one community in Ogun state villages. Conclusion Results from this study show that onchocerciasis persists in adults in many villages in Enugu and Ogun states despite many prior rounds of ivermectin MDA. Prevalence was higher in villages surveyed in Enugu than in Ogun. Low Mf densities suggest the MDA program is working well to reduce disease, but more time will be required to reach the elimination goal.

Malaria parasites are transmitted in nature through the bites of female Anopheles mosquitoes. However, the vector distribution varies in time and space. This study aimed to determine the species composition, abundance and climatic factors influencing Anopheles mosquitoes in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria from October 2016 to September 2017. Adult Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from indoor and outdoor locations using Pyrethrum Knockdown Collection (PKC) and Human Landing Catch (HLC) Methods respectively. Anopheles mosquito larvae were collected using dipping method. Morphological identification of Anopheles species was carried out using standard identification keys. Climatic data was obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency Office in Anambra State. A total of 8181 female Anopheles mosquitoes which comprised 4127 (50.4%) larvae and 4054 (49.6%) adults were collected (P > 0.05) in the study. Four Anopheles species: An. gambiae s. l (70.1%), An. funestus group (18.2%), An. moucheti (6.3%) and An. nili (5.4%) were identified (P < 0.05). In the study area, 2608 (31.9%), 3025 (37.0%) and 2548 (31.1%) Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from Aguleri, Igbariam and Nsugbe respectively; with 100% species overlap. In each selected selected town, the Simpson’s index of diversity was ~2 and Shannon-wiener diversity was ~1. Only An. gambiaes l showed varied seasonal abundance with wet season contributing 67.9% and dry season 32.1% of the overall An. gambiaes. l collection (P < 0.05). The correlation between rainfall and An. gambiae s. l. abundance was significantly strong (r = 0.66; P < 0.05). No significant correlation was found between Anopheles species abundance and temperature as well as relative humidity. The study revealed the preponderance of four Anopheles species: An. gambiae s. l., An. funestus, An. moucheti and An. nili; and rainfall is the only climatic factor that causes temporal change in the abundance of one of the species, An. gambiaes. l. in the study area. Keywords: Anopheles mosquitoes, abundance, temperature, rainfall, relative humidity

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Objective: Soil-inhabiting plant parasitic nematodes of yam were investigated in yam fields in Awka-North Local Government Area of Anambra state, Nigeria. Methodology and Results: Three farmlands each were randomly selected for sampling from the seven communities that make up the study area. Five yam plants were also randomly selected from each farm for sampling. Soil samples around the roots of each plant were collected using a hand trowel at a depth of 15-30 cm. The relative percentage composition of nematodes in soils and yam tubers from each of the sampled communities (in 10mL of extract suspension) was determined at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan. The results showed that Pratylenchus sp. 140 (40.60%) were the most prevalent species in the soil samples followed by Meloidogyne sp. 95 (27.54%), Scutellonema sp. 50 (14.50%), Helicotylenchus spp. 25 (7.25%), Criconema sp. 20 (5.80%), Radopholus sp. 10 (2.90%) and cysts of Heterodera sp. being the least prevalent with prevalence rate of 5 (1.45%). Similarly, out of the 180 plant parasitic nematodes recovered from the yam tubers, 130 (72.22%) were Pratylenchus spp., 40 (22.24%) were Scutellonema spp., 5 each (2.78%) were Meloidogyne spp. and Radopholus spp. respectively. However, Helicotylenchus spp., Criconema spp. and cyst nematodes were not encountered in yam tuber samples. Amansea and Isuaniocha had the highest level of both soil and yam parasitic nematode infestation, although difference with respect to percentage composition of nematodes in the samples and the communities were not significantly different (P>0.05). However, there was a significant difference (P< 0.05) between the number of nematode genera encountered in the soil and tuber samples. Conclusion and application of results: The presence of these parasitic nematodes in the study area suggests that they can be important pathogens of yams although their presence has usually been neglected. The presence of these plant parasitic nematodes could constitute serious impediments to the growth and yield of yams in Awka-North L.G.A.

A survey of refuse dumps in Enugu municipal for the presence of mosquito larvae and eggs from March to August, 2015 were studied. Twenty refuse sites from the five zones according to ESWAMA classifications were sampled to elucidate the mosquito ecology and their breeding habitats. Ovitrapping and larval sampling were used to collect the eggs and larvae from the different study sites. Water samples collected from the breeding sites during the larval collection were analysed for physico-chemical parameters and their correlation with larval abundance. Result indicated a total of 1,140 mosquito eggs were collected from Ovitrapping and 820 of the eggs were positive. Of the collections, 168 eggs were collected from New Haven, 199 eggs from G.R.A, 186 eggs from Abakpa, 163 eggs from Emene and 104 eggs from Independence layout. Culex quinquefasciatus accounted for 33.3% of the total eggs collected. The eggs of Cx.quinquefasciatus, Ae.albopictus and Ae.aegypti were the most abundant (p<0.05). Using larval sampling, 362 mosquito larvae comprising of seven species {Cx quinquefasciatus (36.7%), Ae. albopictus (28.2%), Ae.aegypti (21.3%), Ae.africanus (5.2%), Cx .tigripes (4.1%) and An.gambiae (0.8%)} were collected. Bulk of the collections was made in G.R.A (25.7%) while least collection was in Independence layout. The physico-chemical parameters sought after was Temp, pH, Dissolved oxygen, Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe) from the water collected from the breeding sites. Although there was no significance difference (P>0.05) between the physico-chemical parameters and mosquito larval abundance, temperature and Lead (Pb) showed strong positive (r=0.5, 0.6440) correlation respectively while Copper (Cu) showed a strong negative (r= -860) correlation. To avert disease outbreaks caused by vectors breeding in dump sites or around the sites in Enugu municipal, more dumpsters with coverlid should be provided to prohibit waste been disposed indiscriminately.