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Context and Aim: Given the challenges of microscopy, we compared its performance with SD-Bioline malaria rapid diagnostic test (MRDT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and evaluated the time it took for positive results to become negative after treatment of children with acute uncomplicated malaria. Subjects and Methods: We present the report of 485 participants with complete MRDT, microscopy, and PCR data out of 511 febrile children aged 3-59 months who participated in a cohort study over a 12-month period in rural and urban areas of Ibadan, Nigeria. MRDT-positive children received antimalaria and tested at every visit over 28 days. Speciation was also carried out by PCR. Results: With microscopy as the gold standard, SD-Bioline™ had 95.2% sensitivity, 66.4% specificity, 67.5% positive predictive value (PPV), and 94.9 negative predictive value (NPV), while with PCR the findings were 84.3% sensitivity, 66.5% specificity, 72.7% PPV, and 80.1% NPV. PCR speciation of malaria parasites revealed 91.6% Plasmodium falciparum, 18.9% Plasmodium malariae, and 4.4% Plasmodium ovale. Among the 47 children with P. malariae infections, 66.0% were coinfected with P. falciparum, while 54.6% cases of P. ovale occurred as coinfections with P. falciparum. The median time to a negative MRDT was 23.2 days, while the median time to a negative malaria microscopy was 3.8 days. The two survival curves were significantly different. Conclusions: The SD-BiolineTM MRDT performed well, with remarkable persistence of rapid test-positive for an average of 23 days post treatment. The prevalence of P. malaria is somewhat greater than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suboptimal infant vaccination is common in Nigeria and multiple interventions have been deployed to address the situation. Child health indicators are reported to be worse in urban slums compared with other urban areas, but urban data are usually not disaggregated to show these disparities. Examining the timeliness and completion of infant vaccination in urban slums is important to determine the effectiveness of existing interventions in improving infant vaccination among this vulnerable population. This study explored the trends of infant vaccination in selected urban slum communities in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria between November 2014 and October 2018. Methods: This was a cross sectional study where infant vaccination data were extracted from the immunization clinic records of six primary health care centers that were providing infant vaccination services for seven urban slum communities. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi square test at α = 05. Results: A total of 5,934 infants vaccination records were reviewed, 2,895 (48.8%) were for female infants and 3,002(50.6%) were from Muslim families. Overall, only 0.6% infants had both timely and complete vaccination during the four years under study. The highest number of infants with timely and complete vaccination were seen in 2015(12.2%) and least in 2018(2.9%). Regarding timeliness of the vaccines, BCG, was the least timely among the vaccines given at birth and the pentavalent and oral polio vaccines' timeliness reduced as the age of the infants increased. Both yellow fever and measles vaccines were timelier than the pentavalent vaccines. Vaccines were most timely in 2016(31.3%) and least timely in 2018(12.1%). Those from Muslim families significantly had delayed and incomplete vaccinations compared with those from Chrisitan families (p = 0.026). Conclusion: Infant vaccinations were significantly delayed and incomplete in the study communities during the years reviewed. More focused interventions are required to ensure optimal vaccination of the infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Unresolved questions remain concerning the protective effect and duration of immunity acquired from mothers. This study investigated persistence of immunity against tetanus in the first two weeks of life among neonates in Nigeria. METHODS: In a longitudinal study, 244 primiparous mothers and their newborns were consecutively recruited at 16 selected Primary Healthcare Centres in Ibadan, Nigeria. All the newborns were tested for protection against tetanus using a validated rapid diagnostic, "Tetanos Quick Sticks" (TQS) on days 1, 7 and 14. Persistent immunity was defined as positive TQS result on day-14. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and logistic regression at p = 0.05. RESULTS: There were 137(56.1%) male neonates; 87.7% were delivered at =37weeks of gestation. The prevalence of protective immunity against tetanus (PIaT) among neonates on day-1 was 63.5%; 119 out of 153 neonates remained positive to TQS test by day-14, giving a persistence rate of 77.8%. Independent predictors of persistent PIaT were residence in urban area (OR = 9.66; 95% CI = 2.42-38.45), maternal age (OR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.49-2.85) and gestational age (OR = 1.84; 95% CI = 1.23-2.74). CONCLUSION: Protective immunity against tetanus waned in some neonates over the first two weeks of life, and this decline was inversely related to maternal and gestational ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]