Three quarters of the premarital couples had HbAA, while one quarter had Sickle cell trait. A very low percentage of the couples (2.8%) had 1:4 risk of their offspring inheriting SCA (HbSS). About 2/3 of the subjects would call-off the marriage if there was risk of their offspring inheriting SCA.

A higher prevalence of malaria infection (peripheral or placental) has been reported in the primigravidae and secondigravidae when compared with multigravidae. This study set out to determine the effect of parity and age on the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in pregnancy at the booking antenatal visit at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi. Peripheral blood smears were examined in 420 pregnant women at their booking antenatal visit and in 200 control subjects attending the outpatient clinic on the same day for malaria parasites. These subjects (pregnant women and controls) met the inclusion criteria of being HIV sero-negative, not sickle-cell positive, did not have a history of recent blood transfusion and had been resident in Nnewi for 1 year. The result showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the prevalence rate of malaria parasitaemia in the primigravidae (87.9%: 109 of 124) and grand multigravidae (63.6%: 28 of 44); and the rates were found to decrease with increasing parity. The primigravidae had a higher mean parasite density (2,155/micro l) when compared with the multigravidae (1,950/micro l). This study also revealed that pregnant women <20 years had the highest prevalence rate of 86.4% (19 of 22). This study demonstrates the higher prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in pregnant women of lower parity, i.e. primigravidae and secondigravidae. Therefore, targeting malaria control efforts to women in their first and second pregnancy will be an important strategy to reach most infected women and minimise resource expenditure. These women should be motivated to use insecticide treated bed nets (ITBN) and other personal malarial control measures during pregnancy.

Background: Diabetes is of growing global concern with a knowledge gap on how best to assess individuals on their risk of developing Diabetes Mellitus. Objective: The aim of this study is to identify individuals with high risk of developing Diabetes Mellitus using a simple scoring system so as to contribute to the knowledge in the prevention of Diabetes Mellitus.Methodology: A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out during the period 1

There is a need for further study to be carried out to determine the factors that constrain the collection, analysis and dissemination of HMIS. In addition, there is a need to study the constraints to proper implementation of the FMS, HRMS and the linkage between the quality of the essential data-set with the efficiency of resource allocation in budgeting.

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is the commonest hospital acquired infection in surgical patients globally. It has remained a major cause of morbidity and mortality and a major source of worry to both the patients, doctors, hospitals and the community as a whole. Aim: To determine the role of premorbid status, wound class and cadre of surgeons on the prevalence rate of surgical site infections. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 200 randomly recruited surgical patients between April and June 2012 at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi. Pre-tested, interviewer administered questionnaires and laboratory test results were used to collect data, which were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 16. Results: The prevalence of surgical site infection was 15.5% (or 31 of 200) among the participants. Premorbid status, as well as, wound class, of the patients affected the rate of SSI (p=0.007) and (p=0.009), respectively. However, the wound location did not show any significant effect on the prevalence of SSI. Conclusion:The study found a high prevalence of SSI which was dependent on the class of wound, and premorbid status of the patient.