Background: Tuberculosis is second only to HIV/AIDS as the greatest killer worldwide, due to a single infectious agent. Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS) is presently the WHO recommended programme to fight tuberculosis worldwide. There is a need to understand the characteristics of patients who default from treatment for tuberculosis. This will help modify the strategies to reduce such default to the barest minimum and achieve higher levels of adherence. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of patients that defaulted from treatment for TB at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Nnewi DOTS clinic for the period 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2012. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted at the DOTS clinic at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria. The records of patients who received treatment from the clinic from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2012 (2 years) were reviewed. The data collected include patients' demographic characteristics, treatment category, patient type, baseline sputum smear result, and retroviral status. From the data, default rate was calculated and its relationship with other variables noted. Associations between patients' characteristics were determined using chi square test of independence. The significance level was set at p = 0.05. Results: A total of 765 patients enrolled for TB treatment in the DOTS clinic of the study area within the study period of 1 st January 2011 and December 31 st 2012. The mean age at commencement of the treatment was 33.14 years (±18.09). The outcome of treatment showed that 260 (34%) had treatment completed, 230 (30.1%) cured, 120 (15.7%) defaulted, 103 (13.5%) died, 40 (5.2%) were transferred-out, and 12 (1.6%) failed in the treatment, giving a treatment success rate of 64.1%. Among the 120 (15.7%) patients that defaulted from treatment, majority 80 (66.7%) were males, and most 30 (25.0%) were in the 30 -39 years age group. Conclusion: Defaulting starts with treatment interruption hence prompt management of interruption of treatment and default will largely help in prevent-* Corresponding author. E. D. Adinma et al. 2 ing drug-resistant TB.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections-preventive measures are effective methods employed in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections [STIs]. Sexually transmitted infections are among the most common infections in the world and therefore a major public health problem as they cause devastating long term consequences if untreated, especially in adolescents. Sexually transmitted infection-preventive measures, if correctly and consistently used, have been proven to be efficacious. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out among SS2 and SS3 students in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra state, Nigeria. A structured, self administered questionnaire was administered to consenting senior secondary students to gather relevant information about socio-demogaraphic characteristics, knowledge about STIs, sexual behaviours. Three hundred and thirty four students participated in the study. Multi stage sampling technique was used. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. Results were represented in tables and graphs. Results: Three hundred and thirty four students participated in the study, of which females and males are 167 each. 89% understood the * Corresponding author. meaning of STI. The majority of the respondents got the knowledge from TV/radio (34.4%), teachers (28.1%) and mother (27.0%). The majority of respondents knew that HIV/AIDS (89.8%), syphilis (58.1%) and Gonorrhoea (56.9%) were STIs. Good numbers of respondents knew the symptoms of STIs and risk factors of STI with unprotected sex and multiple sexual partners (57.5%) and (42.2%) respectively, as the highest risk factors. About 75.7% of respondents knew that HIV/AIDS cannot be cured. The Majority knew that avoiding sexual intercourse, being faithful to one partner and use of condom are preventive measures respectively. The majority of respondents (71%) felt they cannot be infected with an STI. 92.8% believed that STIs can be prevented. Age range for first sexual intercourse was 13-18 years for females and 8-19 years for males. Of the 86 that have had sexual intercourse, 48.8% had experienced one or more of the symptoms of STIs and the majority (80.9%) went to a hospital for treatment. Males (31.4%) are more likely to have multiple sexual partners than females (4.7%). Conclusion: The majority of the students had an objective knowledge on STIs transmission and prevention. Their overall attitude was positive but their practices were not satisfactory, especially for the males. Females were more careful and health conscious than their male counterpart.

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Background: Tuberculosis is second only to HIV/AIDS as the greatest killer worldwide, due to a single infectious agent. Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS) is presently the WHO recommended programme to fight tuberculosis worldwide. There is need to understand the characteristics of patients who receive treatment for tuberculosis. This will help modify the strategies to fight the scourge of tuberculosis. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted at the DOTS clinic at

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