Community In Southwest Nigeria Research Articles

The fragmentation of public power: non-state security actors and community security in rural Southwest Nigeria

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of ungoverned (and ill-governed, and ungovernable) spaces has resulted in increases in insecurity in Nigeria’s rural communities, especially breeding insurgencies and other forms of militancy. As a corollary, non-state security actors have arisen as community-created mechanisms to reduce the ever-increasing rates of crime. This study investigated the establishment of these NSSAs, with a view to understanding community perceptions of their effectiveness. Using selected inclusion/exclusion criteria, the study targeted two rural communities in Southwest Nigeria and collected data using a structured online survey. Data were analyzed using a simple linear regression model. The findings revealed that the residents of the communities feel safer under the protection of the vigilante groups, and the groups have been effective in reducing crime rates.

Agrochemical use in Farming Practices and Risk Factors for Kidney Disease among Dwellers of Rural Farming Communities in South-West Nigeria.

The outlook of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in low-and-medium-income-countries is poor. Modern farming practices in Nigeria are becoming increasingly associated with the use of herbicides and pesticides. The study aimed to evaluate agrochemical use in farming practices and risk factors for kidney disease among dwellers of rural farming communities in South-West Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional survey of adult dwellers of an agrarian rural farming community in South-West Nigeria. Participants provided information on demographics, lifestyles, knowledge, and awareness of risk factors for kidney disease, and the use of agrochemicals in farming practice. Anthropometric measurements and blood pressure values were obtained while blood and spot urine were collected for random blood glucose, serum creatinine, urinalysis, and albumin-creatinine ratio. A total of 572 rural dwellers were enrolled in the study, with a mean age of 49.9 ± 17.5 years while 39.3% were male and 88.9% engaged in active farming. The prevalence of traditional risk factors for kidney disease was hypertension (24.3%), Diabetes mellitus (2.8%), cigarette smoking (7.5%), alcohol intake (20.8%) and herbal consumption (57.1%). The use of pesticides/herbicides was reported in 69.9%, while 25.3% did not use protective gear during its use. Proteinuria, hematuria, and reduced eGFR were observed in 29.8%, 6.1%, and 33.9% of participants, respectively. This study showed a high prevalence of herbicides and pesticide use and traditional risk factors for kidney disease, in addition to the high prevalence of markers of kidney damage among the dwellers of rural farming settlements in South-West Nigeria.

Suicide Death and Post-suicide Cultural Practices in Southwest Nigeria: Implications for Suicide Reporting

Indeed, the underreporting of suicides and misclassification of causes of death has been acknowledged as a serious global concern among scholars and policymakers, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). While studies have identified the criminal status of suicide as a factor responsible for the low reporting of suicide cases in Nigeria, religious and sociocultural underpinnings of suicide reporting have been ignored. This study, therefore, explores the social interpretations and cultural practices involved in handling suicide cases in 30 selected communities in southwest Nigeria. This is to unravel how these practices impact suicide reporting in the selected region. Purposive sampling was used to reach out to 90 traditional rulers, religious priests, and opinion leaders in the selected communities. The narratives of the study participants revealed that suicide is socially perceived as an abominable way to die, a revolt against one’s destiny, and a protest against the gods. Communities are in awe of the spiritual import of suicide deaths, which often informs the harsh treatment of bodies of suicide victims and secondary victimization of bereaved families, with implications for suicide reporting. The study suggests aligning cultural practices with the formal methods of handling suicide.

Understanding good governance: voices of rural people in South-Western Nigeria

Scholars and policymakers widely acknowledge the critical role of good governance in rural development and poverty reduction. Unfortunately, decades of good governance reforms have not reduced poverty in Nigeria. But what is good governance? The problem is that the working definition and popularized principles of good governance do not actually emanate from the poor. Moreover, there is a lack of contextualization of the concept of good governance within the Nigerian context. Rather, donors’ institutional understanding is universalized through the imposition of a good governance agenda. This study aims to bridge this gap by examining the concept of good governance through the lens of rural communities in south-west Nigeria. Understanding good governance from the viewpoint of local citizens, who are the recipients of governance reforms, is vital for effective targeted reform. The study is based on the premise that communities possess a deep understanding of their own social circumstances and possess the capacity to express their unique insights. Employing Participatory Action Research (PAR) and qualitative methods like semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, the research engaged a purposively selected sample from three rural communities in south-west Nigeria. The findings revealed that, for these communities, good governance primarily involves the government's ability to meet basic needs and provide welfare-enhancing infrastructure. Conversely, bad governance is characterized by declining welfare, economic hardship, and inadequate infrastructure. Interestingly, participants did not prioritize reforms like regular elections or anti-corruption measures as core attributes of good governance, although they did not oppose these aspects. This study underscores the need to incorporate the perspectives of local citizens in defining good governance, allowing for homegrown solutions that might offer quicker and cost-effective strategies for development.

Movement on the Edge of Cities: Analysing Intra-urban Mobility in Peri-urban Communities in Southwest Nigeria

Mobility plays a crucial role in joining activity's locations to each other, enabling social contact, and facilitating the movement of people and goods from and to various locations. This study investigates the mobility characteristics of peri-urban communities in selected cities of Southwest Nigeria. We selected 505 respondents from the 11 peri-urban communities for the questionnaire survey using a stratified sampling technique. The data were summarised using frequency, mean and mode while ANOVA and Chi-square were used to test for the significant difference in inter-community and gender variations in mobility variables. Findings revealed a substantial variation in the distance separating the peri-urban communities and the city centres. Most of the respondents (81.4%) indicated that the roads in their communities were not paved, with adverse effects on their mobility. The peri-urban communities are served by informal transit modes, with more than 33% of the respondents relying on motorcycles for their mobility needs. Mobility characteristics among the peri-urban dwellers vary from one community to another and between gender. Over 80% of respondents work within the peri-urban interface, indicating increasing decentralisation of activities. The peri-urban dwellers are mobility-starved due to failed infrastructure and informal transit services. The government at all levels (Federal, State and Local) should prioritise improving road infrastructures and public transport services that enhance sustainable mobility at the city peripheries.

Cluster analysis and geospatial mapping of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli O157 in southwest Nigerian communities

Geospatial spread and antibiotic-resistant relatedness of Escherichia coli O157, which are important virulent serotypes causing severe complications leading to high intestinal morbidity and occasional mortality in several communities in southwest Nigeria, were evaluated.Biotyped Escherichia coli strains (n = 508) from subjects with diarrhea and related intestinal infections, various domestic water sources and food animal products were evaluated for antibiotic resistance relatedness, conjugative activity, virulence factor and biofilm production. Antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli O157 encoded with stx was mapped for geospatial spread.Detected stx-encoded Escherichia coli O157 (7.56%) of human strains were significantly higher compared to water and food animal strains (p = 0.001) with high conjugative and transformative activity (OR(95%CI) = 34.65(94.5); p = 0.023). Water- Escherichia coli O157 reveal significant median resistance to ciprofloxacin, gentamycin (p < 0.05) and human diarrheagenic strains showed >60% resistance to doxycycline (MIC50 8 μg/mL and MIC90 128 μg/mL; p = 0.018), tetracycline (MIC50 4 μg/mL and MIC90 64 μg/mL), ciprofloxacin (MIC50 2 μg/mL and MIC90 128 μg/mL) and gentamycin (MIC50 4 μg/mL and MIC90 256 μg/mL). Strains from human diarrhea, UTI, colitis, cattle, fish, sheep, ground waters, streams, and rivers characterized with biofilm, hemolysin, protease productions, R-plasmid (≈14.30kbp) and MARI (0.84) were highly related. Principal component analysis (score plot) revealed a significant association between resistant human diarrheic strains with cattle and poultry strains. A high population of heterogeneous stx-encoded diarrheagenic and colitis strains was predominant in urban settings spreading with food animal and water Escherichia coli O157 strains.Human diarrheagenic Escherichia coli O157 were highly related to antibiotic resistance and virulence pattern with water and animal products strains. Strategic interventions through the implementation of One Health approach and population-target antimicrobial stewardship are needed to mitigate the increasing intestinal morbidity and reduction of mortality impact. Regular application of spatial data on clonal dissemination is important for monitoring, surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and transmission of zoonotic food-borne Escherichia coli O157 pathogens.

Socio-demographic correlates of childhood malnutrition in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria - A call for targeted interventions for vulnerable children

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; BACKGROUND: Nigeria has the second-highest burden of stunted children globally. Yet, only two out of ten malnourished Nigerian children benefit from intervention programs to address malnutrition. This study describes some socio-demographic factors associated with malnutrition among children living in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria.&#x0D; METHODS: This study was a community-based cross-sectional study involving 364 children randomly selected from their homes aged 1–15 years. Factors such as socioeconomic status, birth order, and whether the mother was alive were obtained. Weights, heights, and body mass index (BMI) were measured and interpreted using the WHO z-scores. Chi-squared test of associations was used for categorical variables and an independent t-test was used to compare the mean BMI between both genders. The level of significance was set at a p-value &lt;0.050.&#x0D; RESULTS: There were 185 (51%) females: 173(48%) belonged to the age group 1–5 years and 168 (46%) belonged to the lower socio-economic class. Over 80% of the participants had normal nutritional status: 19 (6%) were underweight, 36 (10%) were stunted, and 29 (8%) were thin (low BMI, &lt;-2SD). Maternal demise was associated with thinness. Males from lower socio-economic classes and first-born males had a higher mean BMI than the females (p&lt;0.050).&#x0D; CONCLUSION: Although malnutrition prevalence was low, there is a need to use targeted interventions to further reduce malnutrition among vulnerable children. There is also a necessity for more studies to identify and address the risk factors for stunting in the study area.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Water safety, antifungal-resistant aflatoxigenic aspergillus flavus and other pathogenic fungi in a community hand-dug wells.

To investigate hand-dug well water used for drinking and domestic purposes in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria for water safety and fungal presence as well as to determine the antifungal resistance and aflatoxigenic potentials of isolated fungi. Water samples were analysed for risk of contamination, bacteriological and mycological parameters using a standard sanitary survey checklist and microbiological culturing. Isolates were identified and subjected to antifungal resistance profiling using the diffusion method for susceptibility testing of filamentous fungi. Multidrug-resistant strains were confirmed with DNA barcoding identification. Fungal isolates were screened for aflatoxigenic potentials by culture methods and confirmed by densitometric analysis. From the 23 hand-dug wells assessed, 56.52% had a high risk of contamination (ROC) score, nitrate >50 mg/L (73.9%), and the presence of total coliforms (100%), Escherichia coli (43.48%) and fungi (91.3%). Spearman rank correlation coefficient gave a positive and strong correlation between Total Fungi and Faecal Coliform (r=0.701; p=0.016; n=23) at 0.05 significance level (2-tailed). Aspergillus sp. (34%), Penicillium sp. (18%) and Rhizopus sp. (17%) were the most dominant fungal genera. Isolates were resistant to fluconazole (76.19%), ketoconazole (73.80%), clotrimazole (92.86%), griseofulvin (88.09%) and nystatin (100%). Penicillium and Aspergillus (50%) were positive for cultural mycotoxin screening. A strain of antifungal-resistant A. flavus produced aflatoxin B1 (752 ppb) and B2 (15 ppb). The existence of antifungal-resistant and aflatoxigenic fungi in water used for drinking and domestic purposes shows that filamentous fungi constitute greater threats than previously recognized and this call for a paradigm shift from the perceived safety of untreated hand-dug well-water.

Prevalence of intestinal helminths in dogs and owners: Awareness of zoonotic diseases in a rural community in southwest Nigeria

The overwhelming impact of zoonotic infections and its ease of transmission own to the cohabitation of man and some domestic pets is well recognizable, and though it is most often neglected its deleterious effect permeate every sphere of public health concern. Dog as the closest domestic pet to man presents a potential risk and acts as an agent of such interspecies transmission of infections to him. This study examined excrement of 97 dogs using the Formol- ether concentration technique. Four parasites species were identified with overall prevalence of 68%. Toxocaracanis was seen to be the most prevalent helminth (42.3%). Age (p= 0.002, ꭓ2 = 12.774) and mode of life (p= 0.021, ꭓ2 = 5.317) of the dogs were significant risk factors of helminthic infections, while gender and function of dogs were not. Dogs may play an active role in transmission of zoonotic diseases in the area, given the closeness of infected dogs with humans and the rampant excretion of helminth-infested dog excreta dispersed into the environment, hence, the need for the study.

Screening for eye diseases in a University community in Southwest Nigeria

Background – University, a subset of the general population, will expectedly have common ocular problems as prevalent in the population. Knowing these problems as done through screening and health education during WSD activities in 2017 thus raise awareness for their prevention. This study was aimed at determining the types of eye defects in a university community.Methodology – A descriptive cross-sectional survey utilizing purposive serial selection to examine inhabitants of a university community. Socio-demographic information and detailed ocular examinations were carried out. Data analysis using SPSS Version 20 and cross tabulations with statistical significance derived using paired sample t-test at p values &lt; 0.05 were done.Results – With n=140, 79(56.4 %) were males. Mean age was 26.7 + 11.5years. Majority were staffs (77.1%) with 62.1% having tertiary education. Normal vision was reported in (92.9%), while 5.7% had visual impairment with 1.4% uniocular blindness. Common ocular findings were allergic conjunctivitis (12.9%), glaucoma suspects (10.0%), Pterygium (3.6%), glaucoma/corneal opacity (2.1% respectively), and optic atrophy (1.4%).Conclusion –Disorders seen were mostly avoidable. Incorporating eye health services into University Healthcare will control their occurrence allowing optimal job performance.

Relationship between ultrasound-measured spleen, liver and anthropometry of children living in a rural community in southwest Nigeria: a cross-sectional study.

Ultrasonography is noninvasive, relatively inexpensive and useful for resource-poor settings. US spleen and liver sizes have been observed to differ among populations, so there is a need for reference values for different geographic populations. To describe the sizes of the spleen and liver of children living in a rural community in southwest Nigeria and assess the relationship between these measurements and the children's anthropometry. We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study among 358 apparently healthy children ages 1-14 years. We obtained the participants' weights, heights, body mass index and body surface area. They underwent US imaging to obtain longitudinal measurements of their spleen and liver. We used independent t-test to compare means, and linear regression analysis to assess relationships between continuous data. The significance level was set as P < 0.05. There were more girls (181; 50.6%). Most children were ages 1-5 years (172; 48.0%). The body surface area had significantly strong positive relationships with US spleen size (r = 0.769; R2 = 0.592; P < 0.0001) and US liver size (r = 0.819; R2 = 0.671; P < 0.0001) but body mass index had weak positive relationships. This study contributes to data on US spleen and liver sizes of Nigerian children. The findings buttress observations that body surface area strongly correlates with US spleen and liver measurements. It is recommended that more studies be conducted among Nigerian children to generate a robust pool of data that are useful for creating homogeneous formulae to ease interpretation of US measurements of these intraabdominal organs.

Malaria prevention practices and malaria prevalence among children living in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria.

Living conditions in most rural African communities favour malaria transmission and threaten global eradication. Prevention strategies and interventions such as the use of bed nets have reduced the prevalence of malaria. This study described the various methods employed to prevent malaria and their effects on malaria parasite prevalence among children living in a rural community in Nigeria. A community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 357 children aged 1-15 years, in a Nigerian rural community. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. Chi-squared test of association with a level of significance of p < 0.050 was used. Only 110 (30.8%) participants owned mosquito nets. Mostly those from the high social class (45; 40.9%) used the nets, and these were mostly 'under-five' children. Thirty-six (10.1%) were routinely given antimalarial drugs for malaria prophylaxis. Also, 102 (28.6%), 151 (42.3%), 278 (77.9%), 99 (27.7%) and 15 (5.0%) children used insecticides, local herbs, window nets, outlet door nets and mosquito repellent creams respectively. None of the methods employed to prevent malaria had statistically significant effect on malaria parasite prevalence among participants (p > 0.050). Malaria prevention methods were mostly practiced by participants of the high social class while children under-five considerably used mosquito nets. This study highlights the need to address the socio-demographic imbalance regarding malaria preventive measures in the community where the study was conducted. There is also a need to regulate the use of antimalarial drugs for malaria prophylaxis in the rural community. These suggest that the current malaria prevention methods in the community be reviewed.

Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans coinfections amongst university community in southwest Nigeria

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that is common and frequent polymicrobial pathogen. It constitutes a global burden to human health. Similar characteristic features displayed by Candida albicans also causes fungal infections. The interaction generally of the coinfections exhibited is of greater magnitude on these duo microbes at teaching hospitals and big clinical facilities but the extent in the convectional university is what we cannot really ascertain and this the basis for which the study is done. Method: We examined the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans on mid steam urine, swabbed wound and high vaginal swabs. Samples were obtained from 520 patients between March 2019 to May 2020 from students and staff of the Federal university of Technology, Akure. Aged 1 to 69 years that visited the medical centre based on complaints and symptoms presented. Laboratory analysis was conducted, the samples were processed, identified microscopically, culturally and biochemically using standard procedures. Result: The prevalence of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus coinfection was 2.9% (15) of the 520 participants. Out of which 252 (48.4%) were male and 268 (51.6%) were female. The highest prevalence of 35.8% was observed among the age group (11-20) years. Conclusion: The prevalence of Candida albicans coinfection with Staphylococcus aureus is low. The study established it foray in university community. However, initiating prevention strategy with more studies and knowledge of their interactions open a new path to circumvent the prevalence in the next research study.

Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans coinfections amongst university community in southwest Nigeria

Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans coinfections amongst university community in southwest Nigeria

Optimal crop plan of cooperative farmers in Osun state, Nigeria: a linear programming approach

Optimal level of production requires better use of existing resources at the lowest possible cost. Despite the inherent advantage of cooperatives to the agricultural sector, the question of how farmers under cooperative umbrella use farm resource for optimal outcome remains unanswered. This study investigates optimal crop mix for cooperative farmers in rural communities in Southwest Nigeria. Primary data were collected for the study through structured questionnaire. The data were fitted to Linear Programming Model. Three different cropping patterns are identified among the cooperative farmers. Based on the results from linear programming model, only maize, cassava and yam are admitted in the final plan and this combination is to be produced at 2.23 hectares. The gross margin value associated with the plan is ₦156, 235.781 (1$ = N365). Input resources such as land, labour, fertilizer, and chemicals are not fully utilized. The slack values for these inputs are 0.31, 651.20, 1929.6 and 140.76 respectively. The sensitivity analysis shows that seed/seedling is the only binding resource in the final plan with a shadow price which suggests that proper allocation of seed and seedlings would improve returns to cooperative farmers. There is need for appropriate farm management strategies to ensure optimal return for farmers. More education and training is suggested to boost cooperative farmers understanding of optimum strategy that is needed to improve production and earnings.&#x0D; JEL code: Q10, Q13

Epidemiological and radiological patterns of paediatric fractures in an elite community in South West Nigeria

Background: Fracture remains a common cause of morbidity, mortality, and disability in childhood. The etiology of fractures varies between and within countries and depends on the socioeconomic and environmental conditions. Etiology of fractures from the elite and high socioeconomic class community has not been documented and this study aimed to document such, including the radiographic features. Methods: A prospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted on 38 children below 17 years that presented with injured limb between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2020, to a private facility located within a highbrow location in Lagos, Nigeria. Ethical approval was obtained from the Health Research and Ethics Committee, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba. Data were collected with pro forma. Data analysis was done using the Microsoft excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS) for Windows version 21. Results: Thirty-eight children were recruited. The mean age was 8.78 ± 4.35 years. The male-to-female ratio was 3.2–1. Fall was the most common cause of the fracture. Injury occurred most within the school environment followed by the home environment. All the injured presented with pain and swelling of the affected parts. The upper limbs were more injured. Transverse fractures were the most common radiographic findings. Moderate-to-severe displacement of fracture edges was seen in 55.3%, with severe angulations of fracture edges in 23.4%. Majority of the fractures were managed conservatively. Conclusion: Majority of the fractures were due to falls. Most are complete and transverse fractures. A higher percentage was displaced. The management was mostly conservative.

Towards malaria control in Nigeria: implications of the malaria parasite rate and spleen rate among children living in a rural community in southwest Nigeria.

The World Health Organization prioritizes malaria surveillance for accurate tracking of progress of intervention programmes. The malaria parasite rate (PR) and spleen rate (SR) are economical surveillance tools. There has been a global decline in the burden of malaria over the last decade, but most African countries, like Nigeria, have a slow rate of decline. There is a need for adequate malaria surveillance to guide malaria control strategies and policymaking. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 363 children ages 1-15y in rural southwest Nigeria. The participants' PR was determined by microscopy and the SR was determined by palpation and ultrasonography. The associations between PR and SR and other covariates were assessed. The PR was 26.7% and the SR was 12.9%. There was no significant association between PR or SR across age groups, but low social class was significantly associated with PR (55 [33.5%], p=0.004) and SR (29 [17.3%], p=0.013). The odds of having splenomegaly doubled with malaria parasitaemia (odds ratio 2.03 [95% confidence interval 1.06 to 3.88). The PR and SR suggest that the study area is meso-endemic. The PR in the study area was almost equal across age groups; our findings suggest there may be a need for policy review to plan malaria intervention programmes and include older children, not just children <5y of age. Routine malaria surveillance using simple tools such as the PR and SR are necessary for reviewing malaria control programmes in the community.

Associations between mental health problems and risky oral and sexual behaviour in adolescents in a sub-urban community in Southwest Nigeria

BackgroundThis study determined the association between mental health and risky oral health and sexual health behaviours.MethodsA household cross-sectional survey was conducted in Ile-Ife, Nigeria between December 2019 and January 2020. Data were collected from 10 to 19-year-old on the sociodemographic profile (age, sex at birth and socioeconomic status); mental health problems (psychological distress, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation); and mental (smoking habit, consumption of alcohol, use of psychoactive substances), sexual (history of vaginal or anal sexual intercourse; transactional sex, multiple sex partners, use of condom at last sexual intercourse) and oral (frequency of daily tooth brushing, daily frequency of consumption of refined carbohydrate in-between-meals, frequency of use of dental floss, history of dental service utilization in the last 12 months and dental anxiety) health risk factors. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between risky oral (neglecting to brush twice daily and frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between-meals), and sexual (neglecting to use condoms during the last sex act and having multiple sex partners) health behaviours as outcome variables, and mental health status as the explanatory variables. An ordinal logistic regression model was also developed where the outcome variable was the number of risky health behaviours. The models were adjusted for the socio-demographic variables and history of dental service utilisation in the last 12 months of the survey.ResultsHigh psychological distress was significantly associated with lower odds of frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between-meals (AOR = 0.32; 95%CI 0.23, 0.47), and having multiple sex partners (AOR = 0.10; 95%CI 0.02, 0.57); but higher odds of having a higher number of risky behaviours (AOR = 3.04; 95%CI 2.13, 4.33). Having depressive symptoms was significantly associated with higher odds of neglecting to use condom at the last sexual intercourse (AOR = 7.20; 95%CI 1.94, 26.76) and having multiple partners (AOR = 95.43; 95%CI 24.55, 370.90). Suicidal ideation was significantly associated with lower odds of neglecting to use condom at the last sexual intercourse (AOR = 0.00; 95%CI 0.00, 0.00) and having multiple sex partners (AOR = 0.00; 95%CI 0.00, 0.00).ConclusionThe associations between psychological distress and oral and sexual health risk behaviours in adolescents seem complex and need to be studied further.

Prevalence of urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis among school children in South-west Nigeria.

The risk of co-infection with Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni and the potential harmful effect on morbidity and control is enhanced by the overlapping distribution of both species in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the reported high endemicity of both species in Nigeria, studies on the spread and effect of their mixed infection are limited. Therefore, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among school children in two communities in South-west Nigeria to investigate the prevalence of mixed human schistosome infection, intensity, and possible ectopic egg elimination. Urine and stool samples were collected from consenting school children in Ilie and Ore communities of Osun State, Nigeria. Schistosoma haematobium eggs were detected in urine using the urine filtration technique, while S. mansoni eggs were detected in stool using the Kato-Katz thick smear technique. The study enrolled 466 primary and secondary school children (211; 45.3% males vs. 255; 54.7% females; mean age 11.6 ± 3.16 years). The overall prevalence of schistosomiasis was 40% (185/466), with 19% (89/466) recording single S. haematobium infection while 9% (41/465) had a single S. mansoni infection. The geometric mean egg count for S. haematobium was 189.4 egg/10ml urine; 95% CI: range 115.9-262.9, while for S. mansoni, it was 115.7 epg; 95% CI: range 78.4-152.9. The prevalence of ectopic S mansoni (S. mansoni eggs in urine) was 4.7%, while no ectopic S. haematobium (S. haematobium eggs in stool) was recorded. Mixed infection of S. haematobium/S. mansoni had a prevalence of 9.5% (44/466). More females (54.5%) presented with S. haematobium/S. mansoni co-infection. For both parasites, males had higher infection intensity, with a significant difference observed with S. haematobium (p = 0.0004). Hematuria was significant in individuals with single S. haematobium infection (p = 0.002), mixed ectopic S. haematobium/S. mansoni (p = 0.009) and mixed S. haematobium/S. mansoni/ectopic S. mansoni (p = 0.0003). These findings suggest the probability of interspecific interactions between S. haematobium and S. mansoni. Scaling up of mass administration of praziquantel and control measures in the study areas is highly desirable.

Genotypes of rhinovirus detected among children in two communities of South-West Nigeria.

Rhinoviruses (RVs) are the most common etiological agent implicated in respiratory infections among infants and children. There are currently no approved antivirals and vaccine for use against the virus; hence, the need for information on the genotypes of rhinovirus from developing countries of the world with high burden of the infection. This study determined the genotypes of rhinovirus circulating among children in selected cities in Nigeria. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples were carefully collected from children showing signs of respiratory infection in two communities in South-west Nigeria. Polymerase Chain Reaction was used to amplify the hypervariable part of the 5'- non-coding region, the entire viral protein gene 4 and the 5' terminus of the VP2 gene of RV. Nucleotide BLAST and phylogenetic analyses were used to genotype the isolates. Of the samples analysed, 12.7% showed rhinovirus positivity. All the three genotypes of rhinovirus were detected with genotype C (71.4%), being the predominant. Multiple strains of rhinovirus were found circulating. We showed for the first time the genotypes and strains of rhinovirus circulating in Nigeria. Further studies are required to highlight transmission patterns and disease severity among rhinovirus species in Nigeria.