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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: 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]

Introduction: Regular evaluations of communities' understanding of malaria‑related practices are essential for control of the disease in endemic areas. This study was aimed at investigating the perceptions, prevention and treatments practices for childhood malaria by mothers in rural communities. Materials and Methods: We conducted a community‑based cross‑sectional study at rural communities of Ise‑Orun local Government area, Nigeria. We randomly sampled 422 mothers of children less than 5 years and administered a validated questionnaire to assess their perceptions and practices relating to childhood malaria. We used a 10‑point scale to assess perception and classified it as good (≥5) or poor (<5). Predictive factors for poor perceptions were identified using logistic regression. Results: Approximately 51% of the mothers had poor perception and 14.2% ascribed malaria illness to mosquito bite only. Majority (85.8%) of the mothers practiced malaria preventive measures, including: Insecticide treated nets (70.0%), chemoprophylaxis (20.1%) and environmental sanitation (44.8%). Of the 200 mothers whose children had malaria fever within the 3 months prior to the study visits, home treatment was adopted by 87.5%. Local herbal remedies were combined with orthodox medicine in the treatments of malaria for 91.5% of the children. The main reasons for not seeking medical treatment at existing formal health facilities were "high cost", "challenges of access to facilities" and "mothers' preference for herbal remedies". Lack of formal education was the only independent predictor of poor malaria perceptions among mothers (OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.18, 3.12). Conclusions: Considerable misconceptions about malaria exist among mothers in the rural communities. The implications for malaria control in holoendemic areas are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Objectives: Malaria and G6PD deficiency-related haemolyses are known causes of hospital admissions in Nigeria and pose great danger to child survival but data on interactions of these two pathologies are scarce. This study was carried out to determine the association between features of Plasmodium falciparum infection and G6PD status., Methods: G6PD and haemoglobin were typed by fluorescent spot test and electrophoresis respectively, in 1120 children with microscopically-proven falciparum malaria. Clinical features of malaria were compared between G6PD normal and deficient children., Results: There were 558 males and 562 females with median age of 35 months (range, 6 months-12 yr). In males, prevalence of G6PD-deficiency in patients with uncomplicated malaria (UM), severe malarial anaemia (SMA) and cerebral malaria (CM) was 23.4, 7 and 16.7%, respectively compared with 11.1, 7.3 and 4.4%, respectively among females. In both males and females, convulsion and rectal temperature above 38°C were less likely presentations among G6PD-deficient compared with G6PD-normal children (p <0.05). The proportions of children with pallor, convulsion and impaired consciousness were significantly lower among G6PD-deficient than normal males (p <0.05) but these features were not different between deficient and normal females (p >0.05)., Interpretation & Conclusion: Convulsions, pallor and elevated temperature were more frequent features of malaria in G6PD normal than deficient children. G6PD-deficient male children are protected against impaired consciousness. These differences may offer useful hints in malaria treatment and researches in endemic regions.

Background: The implications of defaecation patterns to health are important. The abnormalities can be readily recognized and treated only if the normal pattern is known., Methods: This cross sectional study involved 1115 adolescents enrolled using a stratified multi-stage random sampling technique. A self-administered and semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on stool frequency, volume, colour and consistency. Data were compared between low and high across socioeconomic strata., Results: There were 481 males (overall mean age: 15.2 +/- 1.9 years). Participants were on mixed carbohydrate rich diet with both high and low fibre content.. Stool frequency was at least once daily in 77.3%, once in alternate days (17.4%) and once in >3days (5.3%). There was no association between stool frequency and gender (p=0.141) or age (p=0.345). More participants from the high (64.9%) than the low (35.1%) social classes opened their bowels once in >3days (p=0.048). More males produced larger stool volumes (>200ml) than females, (p=0.000). More than half (50.5%) of the participants reported passing brownish stool, 46.3% yellow stool and 3.2% greenish brown stool. Passage of soft stool was reported by 74.9% of the participants. Overall, 3.4% of participants had passed blood in their stool at some time., Conclusion: Majority of Nigerian adolescents passed 25-200 ml of soft stool atleast once daily and age and gender did not affect stool frequency. High socioeconomic status was associated with passage of hard stool and less frequent bowel opening. This data could facilitate early recognition of deviation from normal bowel habits in Nigerian adolescents.