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Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can lead to chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Vaccination against the virus plays an important role in its prevention. Health personnel at risk of infection are recommended to receive the vaccine and to check their immune status thereafter. Objective: To determine Hepatitis B Immune status among vaccinated health personnel in Khartoum state, Sudan. A total of 106 health personnel from different hospitals and doctors' mess in Khartoum and from different jobs were surveyed and their HBV surface antibodies levels were determined by HBsAb (Quantitative) ELISA Kits. Methods: Of the 106 participants in this study, the majority were females 72.6%. The mean age of those involved was 27.69 years, and nurses made for more than 50% of those surveyed. About 56.6% (60) of the health personnel involved took three or more doses of HBV vaccine while the rest received one or two doses. The results of the participants who received three or more doses of the vaccine represented immunity by 70%. In general, about 47.2% (50) of the participants in this study did show excellent immune response (>100 mIU/mL) and 18.9% (20) had weak protective levels (between 10 and 100 mIU/mL) So, we concluded that HBV post-vaccination immunity status of health personnel in Khartoum state is lower than post-vaccination HBV immunity in other parts of the world. There is an urgent need for a national protocol of HBV vaccination to improve the immunization status of health personnel with a regular checkup of HBV immunity and easy access to a good-quality vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the expected role of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) in pneumonia in cattle, cattle lungs (n=242) showing signs of pneumonia were collected from slaughter houses of three different localities located at Northern, Central and Western Sudan during 2010-2013. The collected samples were tested for the presence of BVDV antigen using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), and Fluorescent Antibody Test (FAT). Twenty six (10.7%) out of 242 samples were found to be positive for BVDV. Positive results were seen in all the three studied areas, with the highest prevalence (16.7%; n=4/24) at Gezira State in Central Sudan. BVDV genome could be detected in all ELISA positive samples. The results indicated the existence of BVDV infection in cattle in different areas in Sudan, and its possible association with respiratory infections in cattle. Analysis using BLAST indicated that the sequence was identical to the previously reported BVDV-1 (GenBank accession AF220247.1.); nucleotide A was found in our study at position 9 of our sequence, whereas T was present instead in the reference virus. This is the first report of detecting BVDV antigen, genome, and its sequence analysis collected from cattle lungs in Sudan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is increasing awareness about the association of sleep quality and academic achievement among university students. However, the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance has not been examined in Sudan; this study assessed the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance among Sudanese medical students., Methods: A case-control study was conducted among 165 male and female medical students at two Sudanese universities. Excellent (A) and pass (C) academic groups were invited to respond to a self-administered questionnaire, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Students also completed a diary detailing their sleep habits for 2 weeks prior to filling out the questionnaire. Various parameters of sleep quality were then compared between the two groups., Results: A significant difference (p < 0.001) between the excellent and average groups was found for overall sleep quality, subjective sleep rating, bedtime later than midnight, sleep latency, and daytime dysfunction (during driving, preparing a meal, etc.). No differences were found between groups for the use of sleep medications. The mean sleeping hours was (7 ± 1.9) and (6.3 ± 1.9) for the excellent and pass groups respectively (p < 0.05). A significant difference (p < 0.001) between the excellent and average groups was found for weekday and weekend bedtime, weekend wake-up time, and weekend wake-up delay. No differences were found between groups for the weekday's wake- up time, and bedtime delay during weekends. Besides, snoring was present in 9.2 % of the excellent group versus 28 % in pass group (p < 0.005).

Introduction: In Africa and Asia hair dye is applied together with henna to decorate the hands and feet. Paraphenylene-diamine (PPD), a highly toxic constituent of hair dye can lead to acute kidney injury (AKI)., Methods: A cohort study was conducted during the period from April 2012 to March 2013 in Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Sudan. It targeted adults presenting acutely with an evident history and clinical features of hair dye poisoning, together with AKI as per the RIFLE criteria. Analysis of data was done using SPSS., Results: 30 adults were included, their mean age was 25.6 ± 4.2 years, 93.3% were females. Exposure to PPD was suicidal in 86.7%. The mean duration to onset of renal symptoms was 34.8 ± 7.6 hours, maximum median serum creatinine was 8.6 ± 2.3 mg/dl, 86.7% had loss of kidney function as per the RIFLE classification and required dialysis. Initial renal recovery was seen after a mean duration of 9.8 ± 2.2 days. One patient died, 3.3%; all others, 96.7%, recovered normal kidney function. The amount of ingested PPD correlated significantly to the severity of symptoms, number of dialysis sessions required and time for renal recovery with P values < 0.05., Conclusion: Hair dye poisoning was associated with prolonged hospital stay, requirement of dialysis and increased morbidity. The severity of symptoms directly correlates to the dose of PPD ingested, with the kidney damage being reversible in almost all survivors.