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Objective: An in vivo study was carried out to evaluate the possible anti-trypanosomal activity of Leptadenia hastata crude root extract with also its associated hematological changes particularly the packed cell volume (PCV) in experimental Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection using Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty Wistar rats comprising of both males and females were categorized into six separate groups starting from A to F. Wistar placed in Group A and Group B were inoculated with T. brucei brucei and administered crude root extract of L. hastata at 100 and 200 mg/kg, respectively, as the treatment. Group C was infected with the parasite but untreated, while Group D was not infected with the parasite and was not treated. The remaining Groups E and F were inoculated with the parasite using diminazene diaceturate at 3.5 and 7.0 mg/kg, respectively. The extract was administered enterally when parasitemia was detected. Standard laboratory techniques were employed to determine parasitemia and PCV after collection of blood samples every 2 days via the tail vein. Results: Infected Groups (A, B, C, E, and F) showed a pre-patent period 2 days post infection (P.I) with mean parasitic counts of 3.93 ± 2.38, 2.46 ± 2.20, 0.67 ± 0.77, 4.60 ± 4.45, and 1.53 ± 1.44, respectively, which continued unabated in groups treated with the extract.The pack cell volume did not decline significantly in the in Groups A and B. Acute toxicity study revealed the absence of any clinical or behavioral changes suggesting toxicity. Conclusion: There was no effect on parasitemia of Wistar rats infected with the parasite after administration of 100 and 200 mg, respectively, using the extract as the treatment. PCV of the groups infected remained fairly constant with the control groups throughout the study with the extract being non-toxic.

Aim: This study was designed to investigate the prevalence, associated risk factors, and zoonotic implications of gastrointestinal parasites of dogs in Maiduguri, Borno State, Northeastern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 rectal fecal samples were collected from dogs in Maiduguri for coprological examination using the saturated sodium chloride floatation technique. Detection of eggs or oocyst was done on the basis of keys of identification of parasites based on the morphology and size of eggs or oocyst. Results: The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of dogs was 31.5% (63/200) in Maiduguri. The prevalence of the infection was higher in young, male dogs kept outdoor in terms of age, sex, and management; the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The parasites detected in Maiduguri include Ancylostoma spp., Toxocara spp., Dipylidium spp., Isospora spp., and Taenia spp., with Ancylostoma spp. (16%) having the highest prevalence rate. Conclusion: Gastrointestinal parasites have high prevalence in Maiduguri and constitute potential risk to human health because all genera of parasites detected in the study area are of public health importance.

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Babesia infection is a tick-borne protozoan disease associated with significant veterinary, economic, and medical importance. This infection affects many hosts, ranging from wild to domestic animals and including man. All vertebrates serve as potential carriers due to the huge diversity of the species. Babesiosis has been associated with severe economic loss in livestock production, especially in cattle farming, and is also a major public health concern in man, which could be fatal. The infection is usually opportunistic, ranging from asymptomatic to symptomatic, usually in immunocompromised subjects or under conditions of stressful management. This study was designed to uncover trends in relation to publication growth and further explore research output regarding babesiosis from data indexed in the WoS. The WoS is the only platform used to map publications on Babesia infection. The search term “babesiosis” or “Babesia infection” was used to extract articles published across the study period from 1982 to 2022. The inclusion criteria were restricted to only articles for the analysis. The results from the search query showed that a total of 3763 articles were published during the study period with an average of 91.70 ± 43.87 articles annually and an average total citation (n = 1874.8). An annual growth rate of 2.5% was recorded during the study period. The year 2021 had the highest number of published articles (n = 193, 5.1%) and citations (n = 7039). The analysis of the most relevant keywords and titles showed that infection (n = 606, 16.1%), babesiosis (n = 444, 11.7%), and Babesia (n = 1302, 16%) were the most relevant keyword plus (ID), author keyword (DE), and title, respectively. The common conceptual framework analysis through K-means clustering showed two clusters comprising 4 and 41 elements, respectively. The United States of America is the top-performing country in terms of article production (n = 707, 20.8%) and the leading funder for babesiosis research, with two of its agencies ranked at the top. These are the Department of Health and Human Services (n = 254, 6.7%) and the National Institute of Health (n= 238,6.3%). Igarashi I. is the top-performing author (n = 231, 6.1%), while Veterinary Parasitology is ranked the top journal (n = 393, 10.4%) in terms of babesiosis publications. Overall, an increase in publications was observed in the study period, with significant output from developed nations.