About 74.9 million persons were infected during the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome HIV/AIDS global pandemic with nearly half of them succumbing to the disease. In 2018 alone, Africa recorded over 400,000 AIDS‐related deaths which is more than half of the global total. This reflects years of inequality in the global pandemic response. Also, the international response to AIDS in the early years was very slow, with a global programme only developed 6 years into the pandemic. Many African countries still lack pandemic preparedness plans to handle a global pandemic. Thus, this paper highlights the important lessons that can be learnt from the response to the AIDS pandemic and recommends how they can be applied during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Some of the important lessons include: HIV reversed the previous success recorded in health systems of developing countries; the antiretroviral drug development process was prolonged and required long term commitment; and primary healthcare was crucial in preventing and controlling the disease. These lessons can be utilised in the fight against COVID‐19 pandemic. It is recommended that: there should be solidarity among the nations of the world to fight COVID‐19; health authorities should be proactive in curbing misinformation; and interventions should prioritise human rights and focus on vulnerable communities. HIV treatment services should not be discontinued as it is still an ongoing pandemic. A balance needs to be achieved in combating both pandemics as discontinuation of HIV treatment during the coronavirus pandemic could result in more than 500,000 deaths.

Pandemics such as the SARS-cov-2 are known to cause psychosocial distress posing threats to mental health especially among South-west residents who have been disproportionately hit by the virus in Nigeria Aims: To assess the level of psychosocial distress among selected adult residents in South-west Nigeria and determine the strategies adopted by them to cope. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional design was used to sample 393 adults from the region. The DASS-21 scale and Brief-COPE questionnaires were used to assess levels of psychosocial distress and coping respectively. Place and Duration of Study: Southwest Nigeria, between May 2020 and June 2020. Methodology: Participants were recruited using Snowballing sampling technique. Data were collected using an online self-administered questionnaire. Information retrieved were coded and entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20.0). Descriptive statistics of mean, frequency, and percentages were used to summarize data and Chi-square analysis was used to test the hypotheses with an Alpha level set at P =0.05. Results: Pathologic scores for all three psychosocial distress indicators measured in this study were recorded in 8.1% of the participants. The three leading sources of psychological distress identified included; the general uncertainty associated with the pandemic, lack of confidence in the government's ability to handle the situation, and the fear of robbery attacks that were rampant in the region during the period of lockdown. Most of the participants coped by adopting the use of humor (62.8%) and religion (53.9%). State of residence was found to influence coping strategy and there was a relationship between sex and use of religion in coping at p= 0.01. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant stressor in the study. Improved strategies to combat the spread of the virus to help accelerate lifting of the lockdown will be beneficial to the coping capacities of the residents.

Background: Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease caused by the Lassa virus (LASV). It is endemic in West Africa and infects about 300,000 people each year, leading to approximately 5000 deaths annually. The development of the LASV vaccine has been listed as a priority by the World Health Organization since 2018. Considering the accelerated development and availability of vaccines against COVID-19, we set out to assess the prospects of LASV vaccines and the progress made so far. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the progress made on twenty-six vaccine candidates listed by Salami et al. (2019) and searched for new vaccine candidates through Google Scholar, PubMed, and DOAJ from June to July 2021. We searched the articles published in English using keywords that included “vaccine” AND “Lassa fever” OR “Lassa virus” in the title/abstract. Results: Thirty-four candidate vaccines were identified – 26 already listed in the review by Salami et al. and an additional 8, which were developed over the last seven years. 30 vaccines are still in the pre-clinical stage while 4 of them are currently undergoing clinical trials. The most promising candidates in 2019 were vesicular stomatitis virus-vectored vaccine and live-attenuated MV/LASV vaccine; both had progressed to clinical trials. Conclusions: Despite the focus on COVID-19 vaccines since 2020, LASV vaccine is under development and continues to make impressive progress, hence more emphasis should be put into exploring further clinical studies related to the most promising types of vaccines identified.

Psychogenic blindness remains a bewildering medical condition with very little information known about its exact etiology and pathophysiologic mechanism. While complaints of reduction in visual acuity are most common, occasionally patients present with complaints of total loss of vision which after extensive clinical examination and electrophysiological investigations cannot be linked to any pathology of the visual pathway. In such cases, a diagnosis of psychogenic blindness is usually considered. Here we present the case of a teenage girl who presented to the ophthalmology department with complaints of complete monocular loss of vision and was referred to the child and adolescent psychiatry team for expert management. This case showcases the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to care and importance of quick and effective referral systems in proper management of complex cases. It also provides more insight into the manner of presentation of cases of psychogenic blindness and the role of psychotherapy and counseling in its successful treatment.

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