Cryptosporidiosis is an important major cause of enteric parasitic infection among infants and children in developing countries with morbidity and mortality especially among immune- deficient individuals. Poor performance of traditional diagnostic procedures in many laboratories can resulted in misdiagnosis and mistreatment, thereby probably promotes drug resistance. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of enteric Cryptosporidiosis in children attending primary health centers in Egbedore local government area of Osun State, Nigeria between July-December 2014. Informed consent questionnaires were administered to collect demographic data and a total of 180 stool samples were collected to detect Cryptosporidium oocyst and antigen using Modified Ziehl Neelsen (MZN) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods, respectively. Prevalence of 38.3% (72/188) and 46.8% (88/188) was obtained by MZN and ELISA, respectively. The prevalence was higher in children between 1-2.5 years and lower in children above 2.5 years. There was significant association between diarrhea and prevalence rate (P = 0.006; P < 0.05) for ELISA and ZN, respectively. The present results show that cryptosporidiosis poses a public health challenge in children found in Egbedore. This study also warrants intensified effort towards awareness of the disease and proper diagnosis is needed most especially among immunocompromised individuals.
Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) are two parasitic diseases mainly affecting school children. The purpose of this study was to estimate the current prevalence and infection intensity, in addition to the associations of these infections with age and sex, in children aged 4–17 years living in Osun State, Nigeria. From each participant (250 children), one urine and one stool sample were taken for the study, for the microscopic detection of eggs or larvae in faeces by means of the Kato–Katz method and eggs in filtrated urine. The overall prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis was 15.20%, with light infection. The intestinal helminthic species identified (and their prevalence) were S. stercoralis (10.80%), S. mansoni (8%), A. lumbricoides (7.20%), hookworm (1.20%), and T. trichiura (0.4%), all of them being classified as light infections. Single infections (67.95%) are more frequent than multiple infections (32.05%). With this study, schistosomiasis and STH are still endemic in Osun State, but with a light to moderate prevalence and light infection intensity. Urinary infection was the most prevalent, with higher prevalence in children over 10 years. The >10 years age group had the highest prevalence for all of the intestinal helminths. There were no statistically significant associations between gender and age and urogenital or intestinal parasites.
Background: Formation of Malondialdehyde (MDA), a free radical, in Tuberculosis patients does occur when Tubercule bacilli induces reactive oxygen species as a result of phagocytic respiratory burst. Objectives: This study evaluated the effect of treatment on plasma level of Malondialdehyde among patients infected with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Osogbo South Western Nigeria. Methodology: Descriptive cross sectional study among 110 patients, grouped into four categories (three TB patient categories and controls). All patients were screened for presence or absence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in their sputum and HIV 1 & 2 in their blood using standard techniques. The level of free radical (Malondialdehyde, MDA) was determined by Thiobabituric acid reacting method. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software version 17.0 Results: Serum Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly lower in TB patients on drugs (TBD) compared with the new cases on treatment (NCT). (0.17+0.88mol/L Vs 0.27+0.08mol/L, p<0.05). Varying degrees of correlations were also found between free radicals and electrolytes. Conclusion: Reduced serum MDA levels in TBD suggested a reduction in the levels of free radical injury once treatment was commenced. Therefore serum free radical may be an index of monitoring response to treatment in tuberculosis management.
Microscopy after Geimsa staining remains the gold standard technique for detection of malaria parasites while Acridine is a common fluorescent stain that enhances the visibility of parasites. Combination of both stains could further enhance the performance of microscopy technique. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of staining with mixture of Acridine and Giemsa and modified Quantitative Buffy Coat technique in detection of plasmodium parasites. Five hundred and seventy (570) volunteered students attending the Kwara State University Health Center Malete with history malaria fever and tested positive for malaria parasite were reexamined with the two methods being investigated. Two millilitres of the blood sample from each subject was collected into EDTA container and mixed properly. Thick smears were made in duplicate from each sample and properly labeled, stained by Giemsa and Acridine-Giemsa techniques and examined under x100 objective of the microscope while the remaining blood samples were also tested by Modified QBC. The study assessed the Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value of both techniques with respect to Giemsa microscopy as a gold standard. Findings from the investigation showed that modified QBC and Acredine-Giemsa techniques recorded sensitivity of 100% and 99.7% respectively. Concentrated Acridine-Giemsa stain recorded higher specificity (90.7%) than modified QBC with 82.5% using Geimsa staining as a gold standard. The Positive Predictive Value (PPV) for Modified QBC and Acredine-Giemsa techniques were 96.8% and 96.5% respectively whereas the Negative Predictive Value (NPV) for both methods were 100% and 98.7% respectively. In conclusion, the finding depicts a keen competition between Acridine-Giemsa staining method and Modified QBC technique for detection of malaria parasites and there was no significant difference in the efficacy of both methods with respect to detection of malaria parasite.
Nigeria is a malaria-endemic country, yet many inhabitants of the country rarely suffer from the disease in spite of regular exposures to the vector of Plasmodium and without administration of curative or prophylactic drug. The aim of the study was to identify the subjects with resistance against malaria and conduct serological and genomic investigations their unique blood samples. One thousand two hundred and seventy (1,270) apparently healthy volunteers, aged 16-55 years participated in the study. Malaria distribution among the subjects was assessed by microscopy and serology techniques using six millilitres of the blood samples withdrawn from the subjects and questionnaire administered. Subjects with resistance against malaria were identified, their blood sera collected, tested, titrated and graded. Molecular analysis of the blood samples with respect to Fc gamma receptor IIa was conducted on malaria resistant and susceptible subjects. . The study revealed 21.0% malaria infection rate by microscopy, 40.3% by serology method while 21.0% was assessed to develop natural resistance against malaria infection. Genomic analysis of blood samples from malaria resistant individuals depicted greater association with R/R131 (36.7%). The study revealed that some individuals in this locality are genetically and immunologically protected against malarial infection. Further studies on the specific genes and immunoglobulins responsible for their uniqueness are recommended.
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