Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic is ongoing, and to know how far the virus has spread in Niger State, Nigeria, a pilot study was carried out to determine the COVID-19 seroprevalence, patterns, dynamics, and risk factors in the state. A cross sectional study design and clustered-stratified-Random sampling strategy were used. COVID-19 IgG and IgM Rapid Test Kits (Colloidal gold immunochromatography lateral flow system) were used to determine the presence or absence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in the blood of sampled participants across Niger State as from 26th June 2020 to 30th June 2020. The test kits were validated using the blood samples of some of the NCDC confirmed positive and negative COVID-19 cases in the State. COVID-19 IgG and IgM Test results were entered into the EPIINFO questionnaire administered simultaneously with each test. EPIINFO was then used for both the descriptive and inferential statistical analyses of the data generated. The seroprevalence of COVID-19 in Niger State was found to be 25.41% and 2.16% for the positive IgG and IgM respectively. Seroprevalence among age groups, gender and by occupation varied widely. A seroprevalence of 37.21% was recorded among health care workers in Niger State. Among age groups, COVID-19 seroprevalence was found to be in order of 30-41 years (33.33%) > 42-53 years (32.42%) > 54-65 years (30%) > 66 years and above (25%) > 6-17 years (19.20%) > 18-29 years (17.65%) > 5 years and below (6.66%). A seroprevalence of 27.18% was recorded for males and 23.17% for females in the state. COVID-19 asymptomatic rate in the state was found to be 46.81%. The risk analyses showed that the chances of infection are almost the same for both urban and rural dwellers in the state. However, health care workers and those that have had contact with person (s) that travelled out of Nigeria in the last six (6) months are twice ( 2 times) at risk of being infected with the virus. More than half (54.59%) of the participants in this study did not practice social distancing at any time since the pandemic started. Discussions about knowledge, practice and attitude of the participants are included. The observed Niger State COVID-19 seroprevalence means that the herd immunity for COVID-19 is yet to be achieved and the population is still susceptible for more infection and transmission of the virus. If the prevalence stays as reported here, the population will definitely need COVID-19 vaccines when they become available. Niger State should fully enforce the use of face/nose masks and observation of social/physical distancing in gatherings including religious gatherings in order to stop or slow the spread of the virus.
The influence of chemicals used in rice farming in Minna, on physicochemical properties of rice-field mosquito larval habitats was investigated during the rainy season of 2013. Standard water quality analyses techniques were followed in determining the concentrations of the different physicochemical parameters. The results showed that Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) did not vary significantly among the types of rice fields (range = 30.00±0.00 to 30.50±0.11 o C, 6.00±0.00 to 7.00±1.41 mg/l, and 4.00±0.00 to 4.50±2.12 mg/l, respectively). .84 to 508.50±44.5 µs/cm, respectively. While the concentration of Potassium was significantly (p<0.05) lowest in site A (10.40±0.14 mg/l), the concentration of Chloride was significantly lowest in site C (23.41±15.03 mg/l) and highest in site A (31.45±4.03 mg/l). Significant positive and negative correlations between some of the parameters were also recorded. These results suggest differential suitability of rice field physicochemical condition for mosquito breeding in Minna and, thus, should provide baseline guide for mosquito vector control in relation to sustainable rice farming in the area.
Cowpea damage caused by pest infestation is a major challenge to farmers and traders in Nigeria which request urgent response. This research is aimed primarily to evaluate the proximate composition and degree of infestation effect on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) nutrients. The samples of cowpea were randomly collected in the Lapai market, refrigerated for a week to stop insect action and were separated into two categories, non-infestation (sample without exit hole) and infestation (samples with one, two and three exit holes), Samples were subjected to proximate composition and statistical analyses for variation in nutrient. Results show a rise in protein and moisture content in the sample without infestation. But shows a decrease in Carbohydrate, Fat, Fibre and Ash content in non-infested samples. For the infested sample, infestation leads to significant deterioration of nutrients of food products developed from cowpeas. The current result shows that pest infestations reduced nutritional benefits as a protein source in livestock and human diets.
This research was conducted to assess the levels of heavy metals in fish tissue, sediment and water body, at river Ndakotsu, Lapai, Niger state, Nigeria. River Ndakotsu is the major river that serve as a boundary between Lapai local government and Agaie local government and is useful to surrounding towns and villages for irrigation farming fishing and domestic purposes. Due to this, it is necessary to monitor the level of heavy metals contamination in the water body, sediment and aquatic species tissue habiting this environment. The study water samples were collected using water sampler in three different locations. Equally, In-situ water physicochemical parameters such as temperature, ph and dissolve oxygen were determined using portable multi probes meter. Fish samples were collected from fishermen immediately they arrived from fish exploration and specimen were digested using concentrated nitric acid in wet digestion technique. The level of selected heavy metal in samples were determined by the use of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS model: Accusys 211 USA) after samples dilution. The water quality of the river was within the acceptable range for fresh water species. The concentration of heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn). From the results obtained from this study, the concentrations of heavy metals (Mn, Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb and Fe.) found in all the water samples are lower than that in the fish sample species and higher in sediment sample than fish sample
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