SUMMARYCryptococcosis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans is the second most common fungal opportunistic pathogen and a lifethreatening infection with serious clinical manifestations especially in HIV/AIDS and other immunocompromised patients. In Nigeria, HIV/AIDS infection has reached an alarming level. Despite this, information on the presence of this fungus in clinical and environmental samples is very scanty in Nigeria and many other parts of Africa. We set out to evaluate the presence of Cryptococcus neoformans or C. gattii in pigeon droppings obtained from Southeastern Nigeria. One hundred and seventy-seven samples of pigeon droppings from six sample types were collected. The area covered comprised of ten cities and other locations spanning across five States in Nigeria. Using established techniques, Cryptococcus neoformans was isolated from 39 of the 177 (22.0%) samples overall. No C. gattiiwas isolated. Most of the isolates (32.4%) were recovered from dovecotes (11 of 34) followed closely by samples taken from markets (31.8%; seven of 22) and least from the church (4.0%; one of 25). The highest isolation rate (38.9%) was found in samples from Enugu-Ezike(seven of 23) while the least came from Afikpoand the other locations each with 9.1% isolation rate. This is the first large-scale screening of Cryptococcus neoformans from pigeon droppings in Nigeria. The ecological and epidemiological significance of these findings are discussed.

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Background: Geophagy is wide spread among pregnant women in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess intestinal nematode infections among geophagous pregnant women in Southern Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Methods: Pregnant women were aged 17-45 years at gestational ages of ≥ 14 to 24 weeks on hospital enrolment were sampled. Data on geophagy was collected using structured questionnaire. Gastrointestinal nematode status of the participants was determined by stool analyses. Soil types ingested were examined for intestinal nematode ova / larvae. Results: The prevalence of geophagy (46.4%) was associated with socio-demographic characteristics. Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworm were associated with geophagy while Trichuris trichiura and Strongyloides stercoralis had no association. Prevalence of A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura and S. stercoralis differed significantly (p<0.05) between geophagous and non-geophagous women. The soil types consumed had eggs / larvae of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura. Geophagy is a risk behaviour directly associated with A. lumbricoides, hookworm, T. trichiura, and to a lesser extent S. stercoralis infection among pregnant women. Conclusion: Sensitization and mass education of pregnant women on the dangers of geophagy is needed. Furthermore, deworming of pregnant women should be integrated into the healthcare delivery system of the State.

The nutrient composition and organoleptic attributes of gruel based on blends of 24-hour fermented wateryam (WY), cocoyam (CY), plantain (PT), african yam-bean (AYB), cowpea (CP), pigeon pea (PP) and corn (C) flour were examined. A batch of each food-grain was picked clean, sun-dried, hammermilled into flour(40mm mesh screen) and put in polyethylene bag. Root, tuber and plantain were first peeled, sliced, sun-dried and milled into flour(40mm mesh screen) and also put in polyethylene bag. The flour batches were separately put in a container and were subjected to natural fermentation in de-ionized water in the ratio of 1:3 (w/v) at 28 ± 2 0 C for 24 hours as pilot studies indicated that fermenting beyond this period produced off-odour in tuber, root and plantain. The fermented samples were dried at 55 ± 2 0 C in a drought air oven (Gallenkamp, BS Model 250 size 2 UK), hammer milled into fine flour (70mm mesh screen) and stored in a refrigerator(5 ± 2 0 C) until used for the chemical analysis and production of gruels. The nutrients of the flour were determined by standard methods. The flour was blended in a ratio of 70: 30 to prepare various gruels on protein basis. Legume flour formed 70% of the blends. The C, WY, CY, PT flour formed the other 25, 5, 3 and 2% of the blends, respectively. Corn flour traditionally used to make gruels served as the control. The nutrient levels and organoleptic attributes of the gruels were evaluated using standard methods. The data was statistically analyzed using means, standard error of the means and Duncan's multiple range test to separate and compare means. Fermentation caused increases in various nutrients. African yam-bean, cowpea, pigeon pea, water-yam and cocoyam flour had increases in protein due to fermentation except for corn and plantain. It increased fat only in AYB, CY and PT. Ash and fibre were decreased in all the flour samples due to fermentation. The results showed that the gruel samples made from fermented blends contained various proportions of nutrients that ranged from 18.24-21.34% protein, 1.80-2.61% fat, 1.66-2.86% ash and 73.98-77.14% carbohydrate. The mineral levels were moderate except for phosphorus and calcium that ranged from 360-626mg and 318.20-376.60mg, respectively. The CP 24 C 24 CY 24 PT 24 blend had the highest nutrients except for fat, carbohydrate and copper as against other test blends. The blend that had the highest nutrients had the highest organoleptic attributes. As judged by the results, the blend that had high food potentials could be used as complementary foods.

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The proximate composition, functional and physical properties, as well as sensory evaluation of breads based on blends of wheat and 'orarudi' (Vigna sp) flour were investigated. Batches of 'orarudi' (Vigna sp) were separately put in a container and subjected to natural lactic acid fermentation in deionized water in a ratio of 1:3 (w/v) at 28 ± 2°C for 24 h. The fermented samples were manually dehulled and the cotyledons dried at 55 ± 2°C in a drought air oven, hammer milled into flour (500 µm mesh screen) and stored in a refrigerator (5 ± 2°C). The blends were formulated thus, the 'orarudi' flour (ORF) substituted 5, 10, 15, and 20% wheat flour (WF). The 100% WF served as the control. The parameters investigated were evaluated using standard methods. The data obtained were statistically analyzed. The results showed that fermentation and food supplementation enhanced both the proximate, minerals and vitamin contents of the experimental breads. The physical parameters indicated that fermentation and type of supplements had negative effect on the test breads relative to the control. The results revealed that the experimental breads had higher nutrient quality than the 100% wheat bread, probably due .to food-to-food fortification/supplementation.