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Platelets initiate hemostasis by aggregating at the site of injury and participate in ensuring endothelial integrity. A defect in this process could lead to intravascular blood loss. This case-control study sought to determine the platelet counts and indices among pregnant women in the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria. A total of 120 pregnant women as case and 60 non-pregnant women as control were enrolled for this study. Blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes, and complete platelet count and indices were carried out using an automated five-part haematology analyzer. The mean ± standard deviation of the platelets count among the pregnant women, 226.54 ± 69.76 109 cells/L was not significantly different from that of the non-pregnant women, 214.95 ± 52.22x 109 cells/L (p=0.295). There was a significant differences in mean platelets volume (MPV) of the case and control groups (p=0.036). After post-hoc test, the significant difference was between the pregnant women in 3rd trimester and the control group (p=0.014). However, there was no diffences in the mena platelets larger cell ratio and platelet distribution width in the case and control groups. Fifteen (11.0%) and 7 (12.1%) of the case and control control groups, respectively had mild thrombocytopenia. However, there was no significant association between pregnant status and thrombocytopenia (p=0.836). Based on these findngs, it can be infered that platelet count and MPV decreases while PDW increase with the progression of gestation age compared to the non-pregnant women.

Background and Objectives: Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) is a widespread virus with various manifestations depending on the immunologic and hematologic status of the host. Infection with the virus can cause a wide range of complications in fetus of infected pregnant women, especially those with hemoglobinopathies. This study aimed to determine association of hemoglobin electrophoretic patterns and risk of B19V infection in pregnant women. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 200 pregnant women attending University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria. The samples were screened for anti-B19V IgM and IgG. Hemoglobin patterns were determined using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits and Minicap Flex Piercing Electrophoresis system. Structured questionnaires were used to collate sociodemographic variables and associated risk factors of B19V. Results: Of 200 participants, 12 (6.0%) were positive for B19V IgM, 45 (22.5%) were positive for IgG and two (1.0%) were positive for both antibody, while 145 (72.5%) had no detectable B19V antibody. Twenty-six subjects (28.3%) with HbAA hemoglobin pattern had B19V IgG of whom, nine (12.5%) had HbAS and 11 (30.6%) had HbSS electrophoretic patterns. There was a significant association between prevalence of anti-B19V IgG and hemoglobin electrophoretic pattern of participants (P=0.037). However, no association was found between prevalence of B19V IgM and hemoglobin electrophoretic pattern, age and parity of pregnant women (P>0.05). Conclusion: Our findings revealed a high prevalence of B19V infection among pregnant women in the studied area. In addition, acute B19V seems to be associated with hemoglobin electrophoretic patterns of pregnant women. It is recommended to follow up newborns of anti-B19V IgM positive pregnant women.

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to rise and second waves are reported in some countries, serological test kits and strips are being considered to scale up an adequate laboratory response. This study provides an update on the kinetics of humoral immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and performance characteristics of serological protocols (lateral flow assay [LFA], chemiluminescence immunoassay [CLIA] and ELISA) used for evaluations of recent and past SARS-CoV-2 infection. A thorough and comprehensive review of suitable and eligible full-text articles was performed on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Wordometer and medRxiv from 10 January to 16 July 2020. These articles were searched using the Medical Subject Headings terms ‘COVID-19’, ‘Serological assay’, ‘Laboratory Diagnosis’, ‘Performance characteristics’, ‘POCT’, ‘LFA’, ‘CLIA’, ‘ELISA’ and ‘SARS-CoV-2’. Data from original research articles on SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection ≥second day postinfection were included in this study. In total, there were 7938 published articles on humoral immune response and laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19. Of these, 74 were included in this study. The detection, peak and decline period of blood anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM, IgG and total antibodies for point-of-care testing (POCT), ELISA and CLIA vary widely. The most promising of these assays for POCT detected anti-SARS-CoV-2 at day 3 postinfection and peaked on the 15th day; ELISA products detected anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG at days 2 and 6 then peaked on the eighth day; and the most promising CLIA product detected anti-SARS-CoV-2 at day 1 and peaked on the 30th day. The most promising LFA, ELISA and CLIA that had the best performance characteristics were those targeting total SARS-CoV-2 antibodies followed by those targeting anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG then IgM. Essentially, the CLIA-based SARS-CoV-2 tests had the best performance characteristics, followed by ELISA then POCT. Given the varied performance characteristics of all the serological assays, there is a need to continuously improve their detection thresholds, as well as to monitor and re-evaluate their performances to assure their significance and applicability for COVID-19 clinical and epidemiological purposes.

The clinical symptoms, cellular immune response, and serum cytokine homeostasis during falciparum malaria among children living in endemic regions depend on the parasite densities. This study aims to evaluate the CD4This case-control study involved blood samples collected from 165 children (between 5 and 12 years). This comprised 45 children with mild malaria, 40 each with moderate, severe malaria and apparently healthy (control). Serum cytokines, ferritin, malonaldehyde (MDA), ascorbate, α-tocopherol levels were determined by Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). Leucocytes differentials and CD4All malarial children had onlyBased on these findings, severe malaria was significantly associated with declined CD4

OBJECTIVES West Nile virus (WNV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne viral infection. This study investigated the pooled prevalence pattern and risk factors of WNV infection among humans and animals in Nigeria. METHODS A systematic review was conducted of eligible studies published in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science from January 1, 1950 to August 30, 2020. Peer-reviewed cross-sectional studies describing WNV infections in humans and animals were systematically reviewed. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochrane Q statistic. RESULTS Eighteen out of 432 available search output were eligible and included for this study. Of which 13 and 5 were WNV studies on humans and animals, respectively. Although 61.5% of the human studies had a low risk of bias, they all had high heterogeneity. The South West geopolitical zone of Nigeria had the highest pooled prevalence of anti-WNV immunoglobulin M (IgM; 7.8% in humans). The pooled seroprevalence of anti-WNV IgM and immunoglobulin G (IgG) was 7.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.9 to 8.3) and 76.5% (95% CI, 74.0 to 78.8), respectively. The WNV RNA prevalence was 1.9% (95% CI, 1.4 to 2.9), while 14.3% (95% CI, 12.9 to 15.8) had WNV-neutralizing antibodies. In animals, the pooled seroprevalence of anti-WNV IgM and IgG was 90.3% (95% CI, 84.3 to 94.6) and 3.5% (95% CI, 1.9 to 5.8), respectively, while 20.0% (95% CI, 12.9 to 21.4) had WNV-neutralizing antibodies. Age (odds ratio [OR], 3.73; 95% CI, 1.87 to 7.45; p

Background and Aims: Iron Deficiency (ID) is a common obstetric problem and nutritional disorder that occurs mostly in developing countries. Hence, nutritional studies are required every few years to determine the necessary healthcare interventions for pregnant women. This cross-sectional study evaluated the plasma iron, ferritin, transferrin, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC) levels of pregnant women referred to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 58 non-pregnant women, 22 pregnant women in the first trimester, 52 in second, and 44 in the third trimester. The plasma ferritin concentration of these samples was measured by chemiluminescence assay, while the plasma transferrin, TIBC, and iron concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Plasma ferritin levels 0.05). Nevertheless, the mean±SEM plasma iron, ferritin, and UIBC significantly differed across the gestational ages of pregnant women (p