2024-07-16T07:45:00Z https://academicjournals.org/oai-pmh/handler

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:2BAA6DF672 2009-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

The role of serum markers in assessing the severity and outcome of community acquired pneumonia in Trinidadian population B. Shivananda Nayak, M. Sateesh Sakhamuri, Barry Raghunanan, Anandee Allison, Kali Uppalapati and Kishore Patcha Full Length Research Paper Our aim was to determine whether the use of serum inflammatory markers such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), either individually or in combination, is significantly associated with community-acquired pneumonia and to determine the role in assessment of the severity and outcome. This study was a prospective cohort study, included forty Trinidadian patients diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia. Blood samples were collected to measure inflammatory markers. Patients were classified according to the pneumonia severity index (PSI) scoring where after serum marker levels were compared among respective groups. Proportions test for positive predictive value of the serum marker indicated that CRP (P=0.001) and ESR (P=0.001) had higher sensitivities to community acquired pneumonia than PCT (P=0.05). There was no association between each of the serum markers and PSI. Eighty three percent low risks had a length of stay of two weeks, while only 18% of high risk stayed for the same duration. The combination of highly sensitive markers like CRP and ESR and a specific marker such as PCT emphasize their importance in better risk assessment in community acquired pneumonia patients. Key words: Community acquired pneumonia, inflammatory marker, pneumonia scoring index, procalcitonin. Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/2BAA6DF672 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000131 en Copyright © 2009 B. Shivananda Nayak, M. Sateesh Sakhamuri, Barry Raghunanan, Anandee Allison, Kali Uppalapati and Kishore Patcha

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:C9B76DE654 2009-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

Cyanobacteria and absence of cyanotoxins in a public water supply source Ludmilla Santana Soares e Barros, Fagner Correia de Souza, Luacute;cia Helena Sipauacute;ba Tavares and Luiz Augusto do Amaral Full Length Research Paper Current analysis, involving measurements of biotic and abiotic factors, determined which factor favored cyanobacteria with subsequent concentrations of microcystins in water collected from a public water supply source during the dry and rainy periods and which received residual water from agricultural production systems. Since no microcystins were detected, waters fitted within the maximum limits of 1 mg.L-1 for MC-LR. Nevertheless, if aquiculture production systems are not properly administered, especially for the diet factor, great risks will exist in the contamination and pollution of fresh water. This fact may cause intoxication to the population that use the water and to the aquatic plants and animals which make it their habitat. Key words: HPLC, nitrogen, organic matter, microcystins, phosphorus. Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/C9B76DE654 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000036 en Copyright © 2009 Ludmilla Santana Soares e Barros, Fagner Correia de Souza, Luacute;cia Helena Sipauacute;ba Tavares and Luiz Augusto do Amaral

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:EF0AB0C656 2009-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

Determinants of knowledge and awareness about AIDS: Urban-rural differentials in Bangladesh Mosiur Rahman Full Length Research Paper This study utilized data from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2004 to identify the determinants of knowledge about AIDS for women of urban and rural areas of Bangladesh, bi-variate and multivariate logistic regression methods were employed in analyzing data. This study found that a wider gap exists between urban and rural areas regarding knowledge about AIDS, where every 8 out of 10 urban women know about AIDS but almost half of the rural women still do not know about AIDS. Mass media play a major role for growing awareness about AIDS in both of these areas. In the urban area 61.6 percent women knew at least one correct way to avoid AIDS but rural women are in miserable condition because the corresponding figure for rural women was only 31.3% that means 37.7 and 67.7% among urban and rural women respectively still did not know how to avoid AIDS. Binary logistic regression method shows that education, occupation, ever use of contraception, currently using condom, permission to go to hospital/health center, mass media exposure, region of residence and wealth index significantly influence the knowledge about AIDS among rural women, whereas, in the urban areas except occupation and currently using condom all these remaining variables appear as the significant predictors of knowledge about AIDS. Key words: AIDS, mass media, Bangladesh, logistic regression analysis. Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/EF0AB0C656 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000039 en Copyright © 2009 Mosiur Rahman

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:D1FC03C658 2009-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

Simplifying mathematical modelling to test intervention strategies for Chlamydia Catherine Heffernan and Jacob A. Dunningham Full Length Research Paper In recent years, there has been a rise in applications of mathematical modelling in sexually transmitted infections. This paper outlines a new approach to ma-thematical modelling that tests intervention efforts on Chlamydia. The aim was to produce a simple model that can be used when new data comes to hand without the need to re-run the simulation. A simple model was developed to study the effects of interventions in lowering rates of Chlamydia in a high-risk population of 16 to 24 year olds. Parameters are informed by the best available data. The model was verified by running it backwards in time to see if it correctly lsquo;retrodictsrsquo; rates ofChlamydia in the past. The model predicted that Chlamydia would disappear long-term if there were 45% condom use, annual check-ups and 23.5% successful contact tracing among the high-risk 16 ndash; 24 year old age group. The modelrsquo;s expressions can be applied readily to different populations of interest and to address specific questions, indicating that the model is a quick and easy tool to apply in public health policy making. Key words: Mathematical modelling, Chlamydia, public health interventions, partner notification, annual check-up, condom use. Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/D1FC03C658 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000113 en Copyright © 2009 Catherine Heffernan and Jacob A. Dunningham

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:9B2EAF4659 2009-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

Tracking of overweight among urban school children: A 4 years cohort study in Sousse Tunisia Harrabi Imed, Maatoug Maaloul Jihene, Ben Hammouda Hamida, Gaha Rafika, Lazreg Fatma, Boussaadia Amel and Ghannem Hassen. Full Length Research Paper Our objective was to examine tracking patterns of body mass index (BMI) as well as their predictors between childhood and adolescence. A cohort of 452 Tunisian children aged 13 - 15 years was followed for 4 years (1999 - 2003). Tracking of BMI was defined as in individual maintaining a certain status or relative position (relative BMI quartile) overtime. After 4 years, almost 50% of the subjects had maintained their relative positions, but 25% had moved into a lower or higher quartile. The BMIs of thin and fat were more likely to track: 61.9 and 66.7% remained in the bottom and upper quartiles, respectively. Overweight children were 2.6 times as likely as all other children to become overweight adolescents. Individualrsquo;s initial BMIs, sex and socioeconomic status helped to predict tracking and change in BMI. Predictors of overweight tracking found in this study would be useful to select children at risk for preventive intervention. Key words: Obesity, adolescents, cardiovascular risk factor. Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/9B2EAF4659 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000133 en Copyright © 2009 Harrabi Imed, Maatoug Maaloul Jihene, Ben Hammouda Hamida, Gaha Rafika, Lazreg Fatma, Boussaadia Amel and Ghannem Hassen.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:1294C47660 2009-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

Public participation to minimize waterborne diseases in Yom riverside communities Narongsak Noosorn and Prasit Niamkamnerd Full Length Research Paper The objective of this study was to assess public participation in the implementation of simple measures taken to minimize waterborne disease in Yom riverside communities. The location of the study was the Srimsamrong district. From two sub-districts in the area, were the research team. They found that the cause of waterborne diseases in Yom riverside communities was a two step process: 1. Contamination of Yom river water with garbage and sewage from riverside communities and 2. drinking of contaminated water. The approach used to minimize waterborne disease in Yom riverside communities included: building simple sewage purification wells; providing buckets for toilets; creating garbage holes; sanctioning people who throw garbage into the river; withdrawing privilege from people who throw garbage into the river. The evaluation found that most of villagers were satisfied and expected positive changes. They thought this kind of strategy was easy to put into practice. Key words: Participation, waterborne diseases. Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/1294C47660 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000104 en Copyright © 2009 Narongsak Noosorn and Prasit Niamkamnerd

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:3EE33BB627 2009-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

The use of intermittent preventive treatment with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine in pregnancy in Ibadan, Nigeria: Implications for policy Tongo O. Olukemi, Orimadegun Adebola Emmanuel and Akinyinka Olusegun Olusina Full Length Research Paper Malaria in pregnancy (MIP) remains a major public health concern, inspite of the adoption of WHO recommended intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for its control in Nigeria. Using interviewer administered questionnaires, information on knowledge of the burden, consequences and the use of SP for malaria control in pregnancy was obtained from 800 mothers within 24 h after delivery at two health centres in Ibadan. Women who attended antenatal care (ANC) at the secondary facility were less likely to demonstrate poor knowledge of causes (OR = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.08, 0.38), consequences (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.55) and control strategies (OR = 0.32, 95% = 0.18, 0.59) compared with tertiary facility. Only 56.4% of all the mothers were aware of IPTp SP as government policy for prevention of MIP out of which 16.9% used IPTp SP in index pregnancy. Overall, only 18.4% of all mothers used IPTp SP. Being unaware of the existing government policy and educational attainment of le;9 years independently predicted non-usage of IPTp SP. This study revealed that the uptake of IPTp SP in pregnancy is poor in spite of good knowledge of burden of malaria in pregnancy and underscores the need to scale up awareness campaign and monitor implementation at all levels of health care. Key words: Malaria in pregnancy, intermittent preventive treatment, sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/3EE33BB627 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000132 en Copyright © 2009 Tongo O. Olukemi, Orimadegun Adebola Emmanuel and Akinyinka Olusegun Olusina

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:462918C661 2009-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

Prevalence of Campylobacter in poultry meat in Sokoto, North-western Nigeria M. D. Salihu, A. U. Junaidu, A. A. Magaji, M. B. Abubakar, A. Y. Adamu and A. S. Yakubu Full Length Research Paper The study was conducted in Sokoto, Nigeria from November 2007 to October 2008 to investigate the presence of Campylobacter spp. in poultry meat, by standard culture techniques. Campylobacter was detected in 558 (81.9%) of the 681 meat samples, the isolates were characterized by conventional phenotypic tests.Campylobacter jejuni was the most commonly identified species accounting for 340 (60.9%) of the positive samples and 413 (62.3%) of the total isolates, while C. coli and C. lari had 156 (28.0%) and 39 (7.0%) of the positive samples respectively. Thermophilic strains not identified as C. jejuni, C. coli, or C. lari were grouped as ldquo;other thermophilic speciesrdquo; and these account for 23 (4.1%) of the positive samples and 32 (4.8%) of the total isolates. Among these, 19 (59.4%) of the 32 strains were also identified as C. upsaliensis while 5 (15.6%) were identified as C. hyointestinalis. The most frequently identified biotype of C. jejuni, C. coli andC. lari was biotype I which accounts for 58.8, 68.0 and 59.2% respectively of the total individual isolates. The presence of Campylobacter in poultry meat may play a role as food borne pathogen of more importance than hitherto reported. Key words: Prevalence, Campylobacter, meat, poultry, biotypes, Sokoto. Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/462918C661 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000091 en Copyright © 2009 M. D. Salihu, A. U. Junaidu, A. A. Magaji, M. B. Abubakar, A. Y. Adamu and A. S. Yakubu

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:DFA80FD663 2009-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

Chromium and copper in toenails of some Kano inhabitants J. T. Ayodele and I. C. Ajala Full Length Research Paper Toenail chromium and copper concentrations in toenails of some inhabitants resident in Kano for at least six months were assessed by atomic absorption spectrometry. Average toenail chromium and copper concentrations were 1.33 plusmn; 0.68 and 27.62 plusmn; 13.29 g/g respectively. Both chromium and copper concentrations in nails decreased with age indicating that these metals may be playing some physiological functions during the formative years. Their concentrations were inversely related to age with approximate average of 10% decline with each decade of age. Key words: Chromium, copper, toenails, Kano, Nigeria Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/DFA80FD663 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000026 en Copyright © 2009 J. T. Ayodele and I. C. Ajala

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:7EBD9FC664 2009-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2009

Desire for pain relief in labour in Northeastern Nigeria Bala Audu, Usman Yahaya, Mohammed Bukar, Aliyu El-Nafaty, Hadiza Abdullahi and Othman Kyari Full Length Research Paper Labour pain is a distressing and psychologically traumatizing experience to the parturient but little data exist in the Northeastern part of Nigeria regarding pain relief in labour, despite its many advantages. To determine the knowledge, desire and access to pain relief in labour as well as perception of labour pain. This is a cross sectional study of two hundred and fifty five women in two tertiary institutions in north-eastern Nigeria. Patients attending the antenatal clinics or staying in the lying in ward of the hospital after delivery were interviewed and questionnaires filled. One hundred and ninety (74.5%) were undelivered while 65(25.5%) were in the immediate postpartum period. One hundred women were interviewed at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) while 155 were interviewed at the Federal medical Centre Gombe. The interviews centred on their perception of pain and duration of labour. The mean age and parity were 27.6 plusmn; 5.7 and 2.8 plusmn; 2.1 respectively. About 80% of those interviewed rated labour pain as severe to agonizing, 82% had no knowledge of pain relief in labour while 81.6 and 78.8% would like pain relief and recommended same, respectively. Only 11% of those interviewed were given pain relief in labour. The majority of women, 64.7% considered their labour as not prolonged. Parity (P = 0.0002), ethnicity (P = 0.020) and duration of labour (P = 0.00017) significantly influenced pain perception in labour while education (P = 0.25) and age (P = 0.4) had no significant influence on pain perception in labour. Although many of the women were not aware of pain relief in labour, the overwhelming majority would want and have recommended pain relief in labour. Key words: Labour pain, knowledge, desire Academic Journals 2009 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/7EBD9FC664 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000038 en Copyright © 2009 Bala Audu, Usman Yahaya, Mohammed Bukar, Aliyu El-Nafaty, Hadiza Abdullahi and Othman Kyari

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:C597421666 2010-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

The European union micro-projects program in water and sanitation and reduction in the incidence of some diseases in the rural communities of Imo State Edmund E. Nkwocha and Ralph O. Egejuru Full Length Research Paper Many studies in the rural communities in Imo State have revealed that the levels of water and sanitation services are generally unsatisfactory. This has led to high prevalence of many diseases associated with water scarcity and poor hygiene. This study examined the role of the European Union Micro-Projects Program in water and sanitation in the reduction of the incidence of some of these diseases in the rural areas of Imo State. 540 subjects were randomly selected and interviewed in 15 rural communities that benefited from water and sanitation projects between 2003 and 2007. Impacts were evaluated in the areas of water supply and sanitation in terms of quality, quantity, incidence of diseases and their rate of reduction among the local population. Results showed considerable improvements in the quantity of water supply (62%), sanitation (52%), as well as reduction in the incidence of diseases (40%). The success recorded in this externally funded program resulted from many factors, of which the most important is the adoption of the participatory development model by the donor agency in project execution. Key words: Diseases, donor agency, micro-projects, participation, sanitation, water. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/C597421666 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000125 en Copyright © 2010 Edmund E. Nkwocha and Ralph O. Egejuru

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:B06A7F0668 2010-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Laparoscopic repair of ventral hernia an early experience at Khyber teaching hospital Peshawar Rooh-Ul-Muqim, Qutb-E-Alam Jan, Mohammad Zarin, Faryal Gul, Jawad Ahmed, Javeria Iqbal and Aziz Wazir Full Length Research Paper To analyze the results and outcome of laparoscopic ventral hernia repair as a relatively new technique in our setup. Prospective study from June 2007 to June 2008. Surgical-D Unit, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. All the patients undergoing laparoscopic ventral hernia repair. The patients were evaluated clinically and by investigations. After appropriate preparation, laparoscopic mesh repair was performed. Intra and post operative complications and the outcome were noted and the whole data analyzed. Out of the total 54 cases, 7 (12.96%) were umbilical Hernia, 13 (24.07%) para umbilical, 9(16.66%) epigastric and 25 (46.29%) were incisional hernia. All patients had mesh repaired, the operating time ranged from 35 min to 2 h in difficult cases with adhesions. All cases were successfully carried out laparoscopically. The complication rate was low with only 3 patients having portsite bleeding, 2 (3.7%) seroma, 3 (5.55%) had superficial infection. Severe pain in 11 (20.37%) requiring injectable analgesics and only 1(1.85%) patient had recurrence at 4 months. No mortality or major complication. LVHR is a safe procedure with acceptable operating time, few complications, short hospital stay, few recurrence and better patient satisfaction, as compared to open surgical procedures. Key words: Ventral hernia, incisional hernia, umbilical hernia, epigastric hernia, mesh repair, laparoscopic repair, outcome, complications. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/B06A7F0668 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000067 en Copyright © 2010 Rooh-Ul-Muqim, Qutb-E-Alam Jan, Mohammad Zarin, Faryal Gul, Jawad Ahmed, Javeria Iqbal and Aziz Wazir

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:9F82EA2669 2010-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Pleomorphic appearance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis S. Malhotra, N K. Bhatia, M. Kaushal, N. Kaur and A. Chauhan Case Report Mycobacterium tuberculosis still remains a substantial global threat due to ill defined mechanisms that enable this organism to persist and replicate. Although molecular methods have revolutionized the diagnostic techniques in tuberculosis, yet a conventional simple microscopy remains the most cheap, easy and simple method for its diagnosis. The only requirement for the same is a trained eye to identify different pleomorphic forms of acid fast bacilli from the clinical specimen. We present here a case report of tubercular lumbar abscess with an unusual morphology. Key words: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, morphology, microscopy. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/9F82EA2669 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000085 en Copyright © 2010 S. Malhotra, N K. Bhatia, M. Kaushal, N. Kaur and A. Chauhan

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:13E33DD671 2010-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Emerging health threats among a primitive tribal group of Central India Satwanti Kapoor Renu Tyagi, Kiran Saluja, Anumeha Chaturvedi, A. K. Kapoor Full Length Research Paper A cross-sectional study was conducted among adult Saharia, a primitive tribal group (PTG) of Madhya Pradesh. A total of 364 subjects (168 males and 196 females) ranging in age group 18 - 60 years were divided into two groups based on their random blood sugar level. Stature, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, skin fold thicknesses, fat percent, blood pressure and blood sugar level were measured for all the subjects. 8.9% males and 7.1% females were found to be having more than 140 mg/dl random sugar level. All the skin fold thicknesses, body circumference, indices of adiposity, fat percentage and blood pressure were found to be significantly higher among the lsquo;pre-diabetic malesrsquo;. The picture was not so clear among females. Saharia is a socio-economically weaker population with very low literacy level but the clustering of higher blood sugar level, higher blood pressure and higher fat percentage is an indicator of a beginning of metabolic syndrome among this primitive tribal group showing a paradoxical situation. Key words: Adiposity, subcutaneous fat, blood sugar, primitive tribal group, India. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/13E33DD671 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000044 en Copyright © 2010 Satwanti Kapoor Renu Tyagi, Kiran Saluja, Anumeha Chaturvedi, A. K. Kapoor

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:AE3C7CB675 2010-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Beta thalassemia major: The Moroccan experience Agouzal , A. Arfaoui, A. Quyou and M. Khattab Full Length Research Paper Thalassemia has been described originally around the Mediterranean Sea. The main objective of this study is to find out how Morocco deals with it. It is a retrospective study which has been done in the hemato-oncology service that treats patients with beta thalassemia major who are registered for receiving blood transfusions. With sample size of 78, demographics, clinical and family data were collected and descriptive statistics were done in the Biological Assays Laboratory in Kenitra, which lasted for three months. Age ranges from 5 to 10 years. 20 and 30 kg is the most common weight of patients with thalassemia. 61% are issued from consanguineous marriages. All patients are transfused but only 14% are not chelated as they have a ferritinnemia rate lt; 1000 ng/ml. Among these patients 74% are low-income earners. These results confirm that thalassemia is a reality in our country. A public health policy towards this disease is highly recommended. Key words: Beta thalassemia major, complications, treatments, consanguinity, Morocco. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/AE3C7CB675 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000022 en Copyright © 2010 Agouzal , A. Arfaoui, A. Quyou and M. Khattab

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:F170E6B680 2010-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Staphylococcal enterotoxins: Molecular aspects and detection methods Nathalie Gaebler Vasconcelos and Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro de Souza da Cunha Full Length Research Paper Members of the Staphylococcus genus, especially Staphylococcus aureus, are the most common pathogens found in hospitals and in community-acquired infections. Some of their pathogenicity is associated with enzyme and toxin production. Until recently, S. aureus was the most studied species in the genus; however, in last few years, the rise of infections caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci has pointed out the need for further studies on virulence factors that have not yet been completely elucidated so as to better characterize the pathogenic potential of this group of microorganisms. Several staphylococcal species produce enterotoxins, a family of related proteins responsible for many diseases, such as the toxic-shock syndrome, septicemia and food poisoning. To this date, 23 different enterotoxin types have been identified besides toxic-shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1), and they can be divided into five phylogenetic groups. The mechanism of action of these toxins includes superantigen activity and emetic properties, which can lead to biological effects of infection. Various methods can detect genes that encode enterotoxins and their production. Molecular methods are the most frequently used at present. This review article has the objective to describe aspects related to the classification, structure and regulation of enterotoxins and toxic-shock syndrome toxin-1 detection methods. Key words: Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, enterotoxins, TSST-1, PCR, molecular detection. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/F170E6B680 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000116 en Copyright © 2010 Nathalie Gaebler Vasconcelos and Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro de Souza da Cunha

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:4680777682 2010-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Bovine trypanosomosis and its impact on cattle in derived savanna areas of Ogun State, Nigeria S. O. Sam-Wobo, A. J. Igenezoa, O. A. Idowu, E. B. Otesile, U. F. Ekpoand O. O. Kehinde Full Length Research Paper Parasitological evaluation of bovine trypanosomosis to assess its impact in 113 cattle from Ogunola, Olodo, and Imeko in derived savanna areas of Ogun State were carried out. Blood samples were collected aseptically and screened using Standard Trypanosome Detection Methods in addition to packed cell volume (PCV) determination. Results showed that mean prevalence rate of bovine trypanosomosis was 31.62% with varying prevalence across the communities Olodo (42.85%), Ogunola (39.13%) and Imeko (13.33%). Assessing age and infection status revealed that animals over 60 months (5 years) had higher infection rate across all study locations with a statistical significant difference (p lt; 0.05) in infection. Infection were higher among the females than the males but not statistically significant (p gt; 0.05). The PCV values of infected cattle in all locations were lower than the non-infected. Trypanosoma vivax prevalence was higher thanTrypanosoma congolense, and Trypanosoma brucei brucei across communities. The common breeds identified were the red Bororo (37.6%), Sokoto Gudali (25.6%) and the white Fulani (36.8%). The white Fulani had higher infection status (18.8%) than the Gudali (9.8%) and Red bororo (3%). The high rate of T. vivax and the zoonotic nature of T. b. brucei call for urgent control action for humans and cattle. Key words: Trypanosomosis, derived savanna areas, Ogun State. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/4680777682 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000023 en Copyright © 2010 S. O. Sam-Wobo, A. J. Igenezoa, O. A. Idowu, E. B. Otesile, U. F. Ekpoand O. O. Kehinde

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:27FE954683 2010-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Parasitic infections and anaemia during pregnancy in the Kassena-Nankana district of Northern Ghana Godwin Fuseinisup;, Dominic Edohsup;, Bugre Gumah Kalifasup;, Abdul-Wahab Hamidsup; and Dave Knight Full Length Research Paper Anaemia is often an adverse outcome of severe parasitic infections during pregnancy in developing countries. This study examined the association between anaemia and Plasmodium and or intestinal helminth infections during pregnancy. A hospital based survey was conducted on 300 pregnant women on their first consultation to antenatal services in the Kassena-Nankana district of Northern Ghana from August-November 2005. Stool specimens were examined by the concentration method whilst the blood specimens were examined microscopically. One in four women were found to be infected with one or two of the following helminths: Schistosoma mansoni (12.3%), hookworm (7.0%), Strongyloides stercoralis (2.3%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.7%) and Trichostrongylus (0.7%). More than half of the women were found with the Plasmodium parasite (58%). Whilst the mean haemoglobin of mothers without any parasite was within the normal range, mothers with co-infections on the other hand, were within the moderately anaemic range. Whereas, Plasmodium and S. mansoni infections alone cause mild anaemia, hookworm infections alone cause moderate anaemia. However, the anaemia caused by these parasites on a whole, are not severe (Hb lt; 7.0 g/dl). An integrated programme for the control of these parasites is recommended in order to reduce the degree of anaemia during pregnancies. Key words: Anaemia, parasitic infection, pregnancy, Northern Ghana. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/27FE954683 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000079 en Copyright © 2010 Godwin Fuseinisup;, Dominic Edohsup;, Bugre Gumah Kalifasup;, Abdul-Wahab Hamidsup; and Dave Knight

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:6EEE1D5685 2010-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

The effect of intermittent preventive treatment using sulphadoxine pyrimethamine in the control of malaria in pregnancy: A cross-sectional study in the Offinso district of Ghana Emmanuel Osei Tutu, , Easmon Otupiri, John Larbi, Charles Brown,Edmund Browne and Bernard Lawson Full Length Research Paper Malaria infection during pregnancy causes maternal anaemia and placental parasitaemia both of which pose substantial risks to the mother, the foetus and the newborn. This study assessed the effects of intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) using sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) to control malaria in pregnancy in the Offinso district, Ghana. Pregnant women attending antenatal clinics (ANC) between October 2005 and June 2006 in five health facilities in the District were studied. The effects of SP on parasitaemia, haemoglobin level and adverse effects on pregnant women were assessed. Of the 444 pregnant women studied, 190 (43%) took SP. The influence of SP intake on malaria infection was insignificant (r = 0.0008, p = 0.986). However, there was a tendency towards reduced parasitaemia as number of SP doses increased; one dose: 29/82 (35%), two doses: 18/57 (32%) and three doses: 11/57 (22%). The mean Hb level (10.4 plusmn; 1.69 g/dl) for the SP group (all doses combined) was significantly higher than that (9.9 plusmn; 1.64 g/dl) in the no SP group (p = 0.002). Further, there was a significant association between IPTp using SP and haemoglobin level (p = 0.01) with a dose-response relationship. SP usage had no significant adverse effects on the pregnant women. Effective implementation of IPTp using SP is an evidence-based measure for control of malaria-related anaemia in pregnancy. Key words: Malaria, intermittent preventive treatment, pregnant women, sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/6EEE1D5685 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000124 en Copyright © 2010 Emmanuel Osei Tutu, , Easmon Otupiri, John Larbi, Charles Brown,Edmund Browne and Bernard Lawson

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:E653E75686 2010-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Professional analysis of medical staff in public hospitals in China Abdul K. Mbawah, Peng Xiaoming and Chen Shaoxian Full Length Research Paper To analyze the efficiency of public hospitals in Guangdong Province, China, and to compare the differences by region and levels of care. To carry out a survey of selected hospitals in different cities by the method of cluster sampling and to analyze the efficiency of these hospitals using data envelopment analysis (DEA). 254 public hospitals were surveyed with a 100% response rate. About 184 (72.4%) completed the survey and gave realistic responses. 22 (11.96%) of the hospitals and facilities were totally efficient. The average total efficiency value was 0.727 (range 0.251 to 1), which indicated that the total efficiency of most of these hospitals were below average. There were also differences between hospitals in different regions. Comparatively, the proportion of efficient hospitals between regions and the levels of care were not significantly different. The average efficiency values in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) area hospitals were significantly higher than those in the non PRD area. This suggested that the prevalence of low efficiency and the wastage of resources were more serious in the non PRD area. Most of the hospitals in the non PRD area had increasing level efficiency and thus their level could be increased without loss of efficiency. More than half of the hospitals in PRD area had declining level efficiency suggesting they need downsizing to achieve better efficiency. There were no significant differences in the level of care in the different hospitals (tertiary, city secondary and county secondary hospitals). The lack of case-mix data for these hospitals could have been a major difficulty in the analysis. Waste of useful Resources was prevalent in public hospitals in Guangdong Province. The efficiency of hospitals in the PRD area was better than that in the non-PRD area. The management level and the efficient utilization of the current facilities and resources require further improvement. Key words: Public hospital efficiency, resources, DEA analysis, Guangdong, Pearl River Delta, China. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/E653E75686 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000101 en Copyright © 2010 Abdul K. Mbawah, Peng Xiaoming and Chen Shaoxian

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:FE5F9F3688 2010-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Hypertension-related knowledge, attitudes and life-style practices among hypertensive patients in a sub-urban Nigerian community Godfrey B. S. Iyalomhe and Sarah I. Iyalomhe Full Length Research Paper Hypertension (htn) is an important public health challenge at Auchi, Nigeria. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological survey was to determine hypertensive patientsrsquo; knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and life-style practices so as to optimize their health and treatment needs. We examined a cohort of 108 randomly selected hypertensive by means of a self-structured questionnaire and a detailed interview. Analysis was by statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and chi-square of the GraphPad Prism software was used for significance tests at 0.05 level. More males 60 (55.6%) than females 48 (44.4%) were assessed. Their age range was 35 ndash; 80 years (mean = 59.05 plusmn; 9.06 years), the modal age group was 56 ndash; 60 years (24.1%). Sixty-six respondents (61%) knew htn to be high blood pressure (BP), 22 (20%) thought it meant excessive thinking and worrying while 57 (53%) claimed it was hereditary. Forty-three (40%) felt it was caused by malevolent spirits, 32 (30%) believed it was caused by bad food or poisoning. A few (18%) knew some risk factors. Symptoms attributed to htn were headache, restlessness, palpitation, excessive pulsation of the superficial temporal artery and ldquo;internal heatrdquo;, but 80 (74%) attested to its correct diagnosis by BP measurement. Although 98 (90.7%) felt the disease indicated serious morbidity, only 36 (33.3%) were adherent with treatment and fewer practiced life-style modification. Thirty-two (30%) knew at least one antihypertensive drug they use. Psychosocial factors like depression and anxiety, fear of addiction and intolerable drug adverse effects impacted negatively on patientsrsquo; attitude to treatment. We conclude that patientsrsquo; knowledge of htn in Auchi is low and their attitudes to treatment negative. Patient education, motivation and public enlightenment are imperative. Key words: Hypertension-related knowledge, perception, attitudes, life-style practices, hypertensive Nigerian patients. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/FE5F9F3688 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000060 en Copyright © 2010 Godfrey B. S. Iyalomhe and Sarah I. Iyalomhe

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:6D5010A689 2010-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

The impact of health facility monitoring on cold chain management practices in Lagos, Nigeria A. Munir Bankole, Kola-Korolo Olusegun, N. Bankole Marian, Iboma Godswill, O. Adeluola Adebowale, A. J. Shittu Lukeman, Olonire Olufemi, Tayo Adetokunbo and A. Mariam Odunaiye Full Length Research Paper About 1000 privately owned health facilities (HFs) were (re)-visited between September 2007 and September, 2009. A total of 2,100 health workers (HWs) were interviewed in these HFs to evaluate their knowledge on vaccine management and administration. Cold chain assessment form was completed for each HF revisited. Health Workers that were deficient in cold chain management knowledge were given on the spot training. Between September 2007 and March 2009, 90% of fridges in the HFs monitored were non-functioning. 95% of HWs interviewed had little or no knowledge about vaccine vial monitor (VVM) while 80% of vaccines screened were either in stage 3 or 4 of VVM or with VVM indicator removed. During revisits, between March - September, 2009, 92% of fridges were in good functioning state, 84% of HWs had good knowledge of VVM with 9.3% of vials in stage 3 or 4 of VVM or with VVM indicators removed. Key words: Vaccine, monitoring, cold chain, VVM, immunization. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/6D5010A689 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000128 en Copyright © 2010 A. Munir Bankole, Kola-Korolo Olusegun, N. Bankole Marian, Iboma Godswill, O. Adeluola Adebowale, A. J. Shittu Lukeman, Olonire Olufemi, Tayo Adetokunbo and A. Mariam Odunaiye

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:C3EB7AD691 2010-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Refuse disposal practices in three major motor parks in Ibadan municipality, Nigeria S. Ibekwe Titus, E. Dongo Andrew and K. C. Sridhar Mynepalli Full Length Research Paper Transportation and human mobility have become a part of development in many developing countries. In Nigerian cities, this vital activity has also led to problems associated with large quantities of waste generation and became a management issue for Local and State Governments. This work was carried out at three major motor parks, viz. Akinyele, Iwo Road, and New Garage, in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State in South-western Nigeria. To assess the nature of wastes generated and the current disposal practices in the selected motor parks. Data was collected through key informant interviews (KII); transect walk and personal observations, focus group discussions (FGD) and available reports and publications. The findings revealed a generally poor environmental hygiene, as the waste is disposed on to open dumps, streams or open burning. These practices apparently are unhygienic and to mitigate such public health issues, a proper organizational structure and supervision by a designated officer is found to be effective in keeping the motor parks safe and hygienic in the interest of public health. Most of the respondents, though aware of such problems could not do much due to lack of funds, tools and support from the government. The waste problems in the motor parks are neglected by the various tiers of government and there is need for greater attention as it is a public health concern in Nigerian cities. Key words: Waste, disposal, motor parks. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/C3EB7AD691 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000107 en Copyright © 2010 S. Ibekwe Titus, E. Dongo Andrew and K. C. Sridhar Mynepalli

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:80103C4797 2010-08-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Perspective: Filling in the gaps of the global research agenda for eliminating malaria Sonia Menon Review Despite the scaling-up of existing control measures and the commitment to controlling malaria the global situation has worsened. Concurrently, the drug, which was hailed as the biggest hope for eradicating malaria, Artemisinin by having significant activity against developing gametocytes, is showing signs of resistance at the Thailand-Cambodia border. This article purports to draw on lessons learnt from this epicentre of drug resistance and raise a red flag for sub-Saharan Africa. Firstly, the limitations of the current weapons of the WHO Global Malaria Control Strategy will be highlighted in both low transmission and high transmission settings. Secondly, it will be explored how a malaria-transmission blocking vaccine (TBV) as a community approach would have a high value in combination with drug treatment and other stage vaccines to break the vicious cycle of antimalarial drug resistance. Thirdly, it will be argued that prioritising vaccine development over improving diagnostic capacity may constitute a threat to the control strategy. Finally, it will be argued that if the ambitious aim of achieving malaria elimination is to be pursued, investment in TBV research should be stepped up. Key words: Artemisinin combination therapy, transmission blocking vaccine, drug resistance, improving diagnostic capacity. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/80103C4797 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000083 en Copyright © 2010 Sonia Menon

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:4842B6D800 2010-08-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Prevalence and constraints of typhoid fever and its control in an endemic area of Singida region in Tanzania: Lessons for effective control of the disease Allen Malisa and Honest Nyaki Full Length Research Paper Typhoid fever (TF) is an important communicable disease that is endemic to Tanzania, quite often complicated with malaria co-infection leading to diagnostic complications and significant mortality. Despite considerable control efforts, the disease continues to persist in Singida urban leading to significant morbidity and mortality. This paper retrospectively examines morbidity and mortality trend of typhoid infection for the past five years in Singida urban. By using questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and direct observational methods, the authors report interview results of 120 respondents from the study community, regarding their awareness of TF and its control methods. Results showed that, the TF prevalence records revealed a fluctuating trend with annual incidence rate of 580 ndash; 1,400/100,000 persons, and an overall increase from 771 ndash; 942 cases/100,000 persons (p le; 0.0001) between 2003 and 2007. While 88% of the respondents were aware of TF disease, 53% were unaware of its control methods. The study also revealed an acute shortage of diagnostic laboratory services which indicated that, 75% of health facilities had no such services. In adequate knowledge about personal hygiene, scarcity or lack of access to safe water, improper drainage systems and problems of unsanitary toilets in Singida urban were some of the obstacles to effective TF control. Effective TF control measures in the study district, as in other areas in the tropics, requires integration of intensive health education as a public health tool, provision and access to safe water supply and adequate strengthening of health systems. Key words: Typhoid fever, prevalence, Singida urban, control measures. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/4842B6D800 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000088 en Copyright © 2010 Allen Malisa and Honest Nyaki

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:EF317BD803 2010-08-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Factors influencing the sero-prevalence of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense sleeping sickness in Juba District, Central Equatoria State, Southern Sudan Yassir Osman Mohammed, Khitma Hassan ElMalik, Mohammed Musa Mohammed-Ahmed and Intisar Elrayah Full Length Research Paper A surveillance of the Gambian type of Human African Trypanosomosis (HAT) conducted in Juba area using the Card Agglutination Test for Trypanosomosis (CATT) showed that 257 (11.1%) out of 2322 individuals were sero-positive. The sero-positive rate in the pooled adults was higher but not significanty different from that of the pooled children. The adult females sero-prevalence rate was significantly higher than those of adult males, male or female children. There were no significant differences in the sero-prevalence rates between adult men and male or female children. The internally-displaced group and the military personnel showed statistically higher sero-positive rates than the resident groups regardless of the presence or absence of the only extant tsetse species, Glossina fuscipesfuscipes. The proportions of sero-positives differed significantly between locations in the study area. The respondents examined along the riverine vegetation had a statistically higher encounter with the disease than those in the derived savanna and the open savanna woodland. There was no significant correlation between the density of G. fuscipes fuscipes and the incidence of Trypanosoma bruceigambiense. Key words: CATT, sero-prevalence, sleeping sickness, HAT, Gambian type. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/EF317BD803 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000056 en Copyright © 2010 Yassir Osman Mohammed, Khitma Hassan ElMalik, Mohammed Musa Mohammed-Ahmed and Intisar Elrayah

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:5D78EBC807 2010-08-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Socio-economic implications of Simulium damnosum complex infestation in some rural communities in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria M. A. Adeleke, , I. K. Olaoye and A. S. Ayanwale Full Length Research Paper Simulium damnosum sensu lato constitutes serious public health hazard and socio-economic problem in many areas of West Africa. The present study was carried out to document the socio-economic implications of black fly infestation in some rural communities of Odeda Local Government. Structured questionnaires were administered to thirty randomly selected people aged 18 years and above in three selected communities. All the respondents agreed that black fly is a problem in their communities and 63 (70%) out of 90 respondents attributed body itching/ swelling to black fly bite. Majority of the respondents (60%) lost 14 working days in a year due to illness caused by black fly bites. Those who lost between 7 and 14 days in a year due to black fly bites constituted (37.8%). While in the sick bed, each to 46 (51.1%) respondents had at least one person detailed to stay with them and the majority of them up to $100 in treating the ailment. The results emphasize the need to break man/fly contact considering the fact that most of the affected people are subsistence farmers with low incomes. Key words: Socio-economic implications, Simulium damnosum complex, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/5D78EBC807 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000114 en Copyright © 2010 M. A. Adeleke, , I. K. Olaoye and A. S. Ayanwale

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:A43021E826 2010-09-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Epidemiological characteristics of Bancroftian filariasis and the Nigerian environment B. E. B. Nwoke, E. A. Nwoke, , C. N. Ukaga and M. I. Nwachukwu Review Bancroftian filariasis, caused by Wuchereria bancrofti is widespread in Nigeria. It is a serious public health problem as well as a major cause of acute and chronic morbidity in Nigeria. Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus are the main vectors in the rural Nigeria while Culex quenquifasciatus is the vector in the urban and semi-urban areas. Although these mosquito vectors breed and transmit bancroftian filariasis in Nigeria, human behaviour and activities, urbanization and overcrowding as well as industrialization in Nigeria have created abundant breeding sites. The availability and proximity of human settlement to these numerous breeding sites for the vectors play important role in the disease transmission and intensity in both rural and urban areas. Our quick drive and desire to develop some of the river basins into hydroelectric dams and irrigation schemes in the country has, in some cases led to increased threat to public health including aggravation of bancroftian filariasis. Together with other careless engineering practices, these projects have either aggravated the prevalence of bancroftian filariasis or directly introduced it into new areas by providing new and permanent habitat for the vector species. The epidemiological significance of these is discussed. Key words: Bancroftian filariasis, Anopheles gambiae, Culex quenquifasciatus, public health, human behavior, urbanization. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/A43021E826 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000046 en Copyright © 2010 B. E. B. Nwoke, E. A. Nwoke, , C. N. Ukaga and M. I. Nwachukwu

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:7C667B2835 2010-09-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Zoonotic tuberculosis: A review of epidemiology, clinical presentation, prevention and control Nwanta John Anaelom, Onunkwo Joseph Ikechukwu, Ezema Wilfred Sundayand Umeononigwe Chukwunonso Nnaemeka Review The current increasing incidence of tuberculosis in humans, particularly in immunocompromised persons, has given a renewed interest in the zoonotic importance of Mycobacterium bovis, especially in developing countries. The roles of meat and milk, the commonest source of protein to man, in the transmission of the disease remain significant. Due to the grave consequences of M. bovisinfection on animal and human health, it is necessary to introduce rigorous control measures to reduce the risk of the disease in human and animal populations. The institution of proper food hygiene practices and stronger intersectoral collaboration between the medical and veterinary professions is vital to the control of the disease. Key words: Tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, cattle, human, developing countries, control. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/7C667B2835 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000141 en Copyright © 2010 Nwanta John Anaelom, Onunkwo Joseph Ikechukwu, Ezema Wilfred Sundayand Umeononigwe Chukwunonso Nnaemeka

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:E7D0BD2840 2010-09-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Disease surveillance and reporting in two Southwestern states in Nigeria: Logistic challenges and prospects M. D. Dairo, J. O. Bamidele and W. O. Adebimpe Full Length Research Paper Disease surveillance has been recognized as an effective strategy in the control and prevention of diseases most especially communicable diseases. An effective surveillance system allows early intervention for the prevention and reduction of the mortality and morbidity that may result from epidemics of communicable diseases. This study assesses the adequacy of training of disease surveillance and notification officers (DSN) officers and identifies the logistic factors that may hinder their effective functioning in the local government areas in the Ekiti and Osun States in Nigeria. A cross sectional descriptive study of the disease surveillance and notification officers in Osun and Ekiti states of Nigeria was carried out. Total sampling was done. Questionnaires sought information on demographic data, regularity of reporting and the availability of logistic facilities in the respective local government areas (LGAs). Out of 42 DSN officers surveyed, 38 (90.5%) were medical records officers. 32 (76.2%) had appropriate training in disease surveillance and notification. Most had received training from the WHO. Over 90% knew the process of reporting. 45.8% reported that there were penalties for defaulting officers. Logistic support was inadequate in more than half of the local governments surveyed. Inadequate funds and lack of surveillance forms were significantly associated with reporting of outbreaks by the officers. Only 13 of the officers had ever recorded episodes of epidemics in their LGAs. Majority of DSN officers had appropriate training on disease surveillance, reporting and notification. However, logistics for effective functioning was poor. Local and state governments need to put more effort into provision of logistic support for their DSN Officers to sustain the apparent improvement in surveillance activities. Key words: Surveillance, logistic support, training, epidemics. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/E7D0BD2840 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000042 en Copyright © 2010 M. D. Dairo, J. O. Bamidele and W. O. Adebimpe

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:A755AD2848 2010-09-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

The impact of antenatal voluntary counseling and testing for HIV on future fertility intentions, desired family size and contraception in Uganda B. C. Businge, , B. M. J. Nannozi, , C. Biryabarema, T. Mutyaba, J. Wandabwa, F. Mirembe, C. Kigundu and B. Longo-Mbenza Full Length Research Paper This study aimed is at assessing the impact of voluntary counseling and testing for HIV on family planning in a setting of high HIV prevalence and high TFR. An intervention study was conducted between January and March 2004 among women who had been counseled about HIV, STI and contraception during pregnancy followed with voluntary HIV testing. 121 HIV positive and 206 HIV negative attending antenatal clinic aged 24.6 plusmn; 5.4 years (range 17 - 36 years) participated in this study. The independent and significant (P lt; 0.01) determinants of future fertility after current pregnancy were HIV sero-negative status (OR = 7.9 95% CI 4 - 16.1), monogamy (OR = 2.795 CI 1.2 - 5.5), ideal family size as ge; 4 children (OR = 2.7 95% CI 1.3 - 5.5) and current number of live children = 0 (OR 5.8 95% CI 3.1 - 10). Knowledge of HIV serostatus had significant impact on ideal family size, but no impact on the choice of contraception method. Key words: Uganda, HIV/AIDS, contraception, family planning. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/A755AD2848 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000127 en Copyright © 2010 B. C. Businge, , B. M. J. Nannozi, , C. Biryabarema, T. Mutyaba, J. Wandabwa, F. Mirembe, C. Kigundu and B. Longo-Mbenza

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:8079B6B851 2010-09-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Priority families for health care according to family socio-demographic risks Doarsquo;a Ahmed Saleh, Sahar Yassin, Hend Aly Sabry and Madiha Said Abdelrazik Full Length Research Paper Socio-economic inequalities have been shown to be associated with disease burden in developing as well as developed countries. The aim of the study was (1) to test the association between family socio-demographic risks and health problems, and (2) to identify a ldquo;family sociodemographic risk linerdquo; above which families are at significant risk of developing health problems. A cross sectional community-based study was conducted in two districts in Cairo, Egypt. Socio-demographic status was assessed for 5400 families by a family socio-demographic risk score (FSRS) calculated according to the crowding index, family size, age and sex structure, education, economic dependency, smoking and addiction. The continuous FSRS (range: 0 - 12) was transformed into 5 quintiles. Association between FSRS and 21 health problems was done for the studied families using unconditional logistic regression analysis. It was found that increased FSRS was associated with a progressive increase in the prevalence of family health problems. The risk of health problems was significantly higher for the 5th compared to the 1st FSRS quintile families (odds ratio: 1.8 and 95% confidence interval: 1.41 ndash; 2.35) which represented about 15% (784/5400) of the studied families. These would be considered the priority families for health services. Thus, the FSRS ldquo;7rdquo; was considered the ldquo;family socio-demographic risk linerdquo;. Key words: Socioeconomic status, family socio-demographic risk, health problems, health status, risk line. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/8079B6B851 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000100 en Copyright © 2010 Doarsquo;a Ahmed Saleh, Sahar Yassin, Hend Aly Sabry and Madiha Said Abdelrazik

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:09D4B9A859 2010-09-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Symptomatic vulvovaginal candidiasis and genital colonization by Candida species in Nigeria G. T. A. Jombo, S. O. Opajobi, D. Z. Egah, E. B. Banwat and P. Denen Akaa Full Length Research Paper Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a common clinical finding among women especially the sexually active group, even though there has been a sustained increase in both the variety and potency of antifungal drugs over the past three decades. The disease apparently appears not to have sufficiently yielded to these breakthroughs nevertheless. The study was therefore set up to ascertain the prevalence of vaginal candidiasis among women in Jos. The study was retrospective in nature: Data generated from analysis of endocervical and high vaginal swab (ECS/HVS) specimens by the Microbiology laboratory of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) for a period of five years (July 1999 - June 2004) was compiled. Samples were collected, transported, stored and processed using standard laboratory procedures. Additional information was obtained from patientsrsquo; case notes in the records department. Results were analyzed using Epi Info 6 statistical software. The prevalence of Candida infection was found to be 29.1% (n = 2458); no isolate was recovered from those less than 10 years of age, while the peak age-group of infection was 30 - 39 years 11.8% (n = 997); the age-group 20 - 49 years accounted for over 25% of the entire infections. Common clinical manifestations were: Nil symptoms, 24.7% (n = 607); itching and rashes, 29.4% (n = 723). Due to the importance of the results, sex education workshops should be conducted for adolescents and young adults in order to educate them on the clinical importance of candidal infections. Key words: Candida species, colonization, female, vaginal. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/09D4B9A859 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000120 en Copyright © 2010 G. T. A. Jombo, S. O. Opajobi, D. Z. Egah, E. B. Banwat and P. Denen Akaa

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:D83FE0D873 2010-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Epidemiological features of a GIS-supported investigation of cholera outbreak in Abeokuta, Nigeria O. B. Shittu, I. Akpan, T. O. S. Popoola, J. A. Oyedepo and E. O. Ogunshola Full Length Research Paper This study seeks to assess the epidemiological features of a GIS supported investigation of a cholera outbreak in Abeokuta. Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria with an area of 1256 km2 and a population of 605, 451 people had an outbreak of cholera from 20th November, 2005 to 1st of January, 2006. The outbreak affected the Abeokuta North Local Government area where the municipal waterworks is located. Municipal water consumption was found to be associated with illness [McNemarrsquo;s Chi square (X2 = 20.5; p lt; 0.001) and Odds ratio 10]. The epidemiological surveillance data showed a total of one hundred and fifteen cases and 11 deaths with case fatality rate of 9.6%. Male specific and female specific case fatality rates were 11.9 and 7.1%, respectively. The age group of 15 years and above accounted for 68.3% of the cases and 90.9% of the deaths. Post epidemic environmental investigation showed progressive contamination along distribution points. Cholera is still a major cause of morbidity and mortality among youth and ageing population in Nigeria. Key words: Cholera, epidemiological studies, outbreak investigation, Vibrio cholerae, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/D83FE0D873 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000048 en Copyright © 2010 O. B. Shittu, I. Akpan, T. O. S. Popoola, J. A. Oyedepo and E. O. Ogunshola

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:D2DD783884 2010-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Epidemiological characteristics of liver cancer in Niger (1992 - 2006) Mamoudou Garba Salamatou, Arfaoui Amine, Mastere Mohamed, Soulaymani Abdelmajid, Nouhou Hassan and Quyou Ali Full Length Research Paper The present work aims to bring out the epidemiological characteristics of liver cancer in Niger, especially as no previous studies have worked on the national epidemiology of cancer in Niger. This is a retrospective study in the period 1992 to 2006. The data were collected from the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy and Cytology of the Faculty of Health Sciences of Niamey, which receives all the swabs intended for the histological analysis from all the Nigerien territory. Among the 5238 cases of cancer, the liver cancer represented 12.3% and came in the second position behind the breast cancer. 242 deaths were registered among liver cancer patients, which makes a specific lethality of 37%. The sex-ratio for males to females of liver cancer cases was 2.3 and the difference was highly significant. However, the specific lethality, which was 37.03% in male patients and 37.69% in female ones, did not display any significant sex difference. The mean age of liver cancer patients was 47.67 plusmn; 14.20 years, and the comparison of the means of age did not display any significant difference between males and females in terms of age. The farmers were the socio-professional group the most affected by liver cancer with 61% of all cases. The patients practicing household activities showed the highest specific lethality, followed by farmers. The study of the repartition of patients according to their origin showed that the major part was from Niamey region with 69%. Because of the seriousness of the liver cancer problem in Niger, the health authorities should pay more attention to this pathology through efficient fight strategies. Key words: Cancer, liver, epidemiological profile, lethality, Niger. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/D2DD783884 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000047 en Copyright © 2010 Mamoudou Garba Salamatou, Arfaoui Amine, Mastere Mohamed, Soulaymani Abdelmajid, Nouhou Hassan and Quyou Ali

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:184C112892 2010-10-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Prevalence and epidemiology of pandemic H1N1 strains in hospitals of Eastern India Anupam Mukherjee, Tapasi Roy, Anurodh S Agrawal, Mehuli Sarkar, Renu Lal, Sekhar Chakrabarti and Mamta Chawla-Sarkar Full Length Research Paper A novel Influenza A (pH1N1) virus which emerged in April, 2009, spread rapidly across the continents to become pandemic by June, 2009. In Eastern India, testing for influenza was initiated in June, 2009 and continued through July, 2010 to determine prevalence and epidemiological character of circulating pandemic H1N1 strain. Real time PCR was done on nasal and throat swab samples of patients with influenza like symptoms of those who sought medical care in local government hospitals. Of 2971 patients tested, 382 (12.86%) were positive for influenza A and 103 (3.47%) for influenza B. Of 382 influenza A positives, 284 (74.35%) and 98 (25.65%) were subtyped as pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) and seasonal H1N1 and H3N2, respectively. The novel pH1N1 virus followed typical influenza seasonality in Eastern India and revealed a unimodal peak in July and August, correlating with the rainy season. Most of the positive cases presented with mild ILI symptoms with minimal serious complications. Though four deaths were attributed to pH1N1 infection in 2010, all four had underlying serious medical complications. Infection rate was highest in age group of gt;55 years followed by 5 - lt;18 years of age group. Key words: Pandemic, H1N1, influenza. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/184C112892 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000090 en Copyright © 2010 Anupam Mukherjee, Tapasi Roy, Anurodh S Agrawal, Mehuli Sarkar, Renu Lal, Sekhar Chakrabarti and Mamta Chawla-Sarkar

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:4A37EB2908 2010-11-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Comparison of various immunoassay kits for rapid screening of pandemic influenza H1N1-2009 viruses Binod Kumar, Bhavna Sharma, Madhu Khanna, Varinder Singh, Mradul K Daga, V. K. Vijayan, A. C. Mishra, M. S. Chadha, Mamta Chawla-Sarkarand Harpreet Kaur Full Length Research Paper The success of therapeutic measures is predicted on the basis of rapid and precise diagnosis of infection. A comparison of three rapid influenza immunoassay (RIIA) kits, the Directigen Flu A+B test, QuickVue influenza A+B test and the Quick S-INFLU A.B, for detection of pandemic influenza H1N1 (2009) viruses, have been made on 105 patients with flu like syndrome. The sensitivity, specificity and ability to screen influenza type A and B viruses were evaluated. The clinical specimens detected positive by real-time RT-PCR for pandemic influenza H1N1 (2009) viruses and the reference influenza strain [A/PR/8/34 (H1N1)] were cultured in MDCK cells to determine TCID50 and the performance of kits were compared against the current gold standard, real-time RT-PCR. The diagnostic sensitivity of Directigen kit was 103 TCID50/ml where as the QuickVue and Quick S-INFLU A.B were 103.5 TCID50/ml in case of the pandemic H1N1 viruses which was comparable to the reference H1N1 virus (103 TCID50/ml for QuickVue and Directigen and 103.5 TCID50/ml for Quick S-INFLU A.B). Our findings suggest that although RIIA kits are not as sensitive as the conventional and real-time RT-PCR yet they are very useful in preliminary bedside screening of large number of critically ill patients during pandemic situation. Key words: Pandemic influenza virus (H1N1), Rapid influenza immunoassay (RIIA), Real-time RT-PCR, sensitivity, specificity. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/4A37EB2908 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000030 en Copyright © 2010 Binod Kumar, Bhavna Sharma, Madhu Khanna, Varinder Singh, Mradul K Daga, V. K. Vijayan, A. C. Mishra, M. S. Chadha, Mamta Chawla-Sarkarand Harpreet Kaur

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:23DFA27915 2010-11-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Contraception among persons living HIV with infection attending an HIV care and support centre in Kabale, Uganda Othman Kakaire, Dan K. Kaye and Michael O. Osinde Full Length Research Paper The choice of contraception in people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is constrained by the need to prevent both sexual transmission of HIV and unwanted pregnancies. We assessed contraceptive use among 400 HIV- positive persons attending a care and support centre in Kabale, Uganda. Participants completed a structured questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, sexuality, contraceptive use, sero-status disclosure and antiretroviral therapy. Bivariate analysis and multivariate modeling were conducted to analyze factors associated with contraceptive use. The rate of dual contraceptive use was low. On bivariate analysis, sex and age of respondents, education level, marital status, drinking habits, whether participant had a stable relationship, number of sexual partners in previous 6 months and frequency of sexual intercourse were significantly associated with contraceptive use. Likewise, disclosure of sero-status to sexual partners, partnerrsquo;s HIV positive status, history of new sexual partners in previous 3 months and whether respondent had been treated for STD since HIV diagnosis were significantly associated with contraceptive use (p-value lt; 0.05). Factors independently associated with contraceptive use were level of educational attainment and whether respondent had changed partners since HIV diagnosis. Key words: People living with HIV, contraception, antiretroviral therapy, Uganda. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/23DFA27915 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000033 en Copyright © 2010 Othman Kakaire, Dan K. Kaye and Michael O. Osinde

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:29D97B8923 2010-11-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Community social capital and the use of health care services in Uganda Bakeera S. K., Petzold M., Pariyo G. W., Galea S., Tomson G. and Wamala S., Full Length Research Paper Evidence mainly from high and middle income countries shows that community social capital is associated with positive health outcomes. The current policy interest in social capital stems from the anticipation that investing in it will enhance improvements in population health and some governments in high income countries have promoted initiatives to enhance its generation. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence from low income countries on the utility of social capital for health outcomes. To assess the role of social capital in the use of health care services in Uganda, a low income country. The study sample included nine hundred and thirty six febrile children with complete data on place of treatment, caregiver social capital and socio-demographic variables; child demographic variables and household socioeconomic status were selected from the Iganga-Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site data base. The association for each dimension of social capital and use of a public health facility was explored using bivariate and multivariable regression models, controlling for potential confounding factors and other social capital variables at the individual caregiver and community levels. The study found that high levels of trust (OR 2.75, 1.50 to 5.02) and medium levels of informational support (OR 1.68, 1.12 to 2.50) were positively associated with the use of a public health facility. In contrast, high levels of reciprocity (OR 0.69, 0.49 to 0.97) were associated with non-use of a public health facility. This exploratory study shows an independent effect of community social capital on treatment choices made by child caregivers in a predominantly rural area of a low income country. This observation places social capital amongst the other contextual level factors that influence use of health care services in this setting. Such information can be used retrospectively or prospectively by health planners to enhance the response of communities to new policies and strategies. Key words: Social capital, health care service use, children, community, Uganda. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/29D97B8923 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000029 en Copyright © 2010 Bakeera S. K., Petzold M., Pariyo G. W., Galea S., Tomson G. and Wamala S.,

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:1E42950935 2010-11-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Influenza surveillance results during 2008 - 2009 season in Turkey Nurhan Albayrak, Meral A. Ciblak, Ayse Basak Altas, Melis Kanturvardar, Yavuz Odabas, Bahadir Sucakli, Gulay Korukluoglu, Selim Badur and Mustafa Ertek Full Length Research Paper National influenza surveillance was performed by two institutions in Turkey, Refik Saydam National Public Health Agency (RSNPHA) and Istanbul Faculty of Medicine (IFM), which both are National Influenza Reference Laboratories. RSNPHA received samples from 9 sentinel Provinces and IFM received samples from 5 sentinel Provinces. We report the 2008 to 2009 surveillance results from October 2008 - May 2009. As many as 1,980 clinical specimens received from 14 sentinel and non-sentinel Provinces of which 257 nasal-nasopharyngeal samples were positive for influenza viruses. The predominant virus type was influenza B (67.5% of total detections), and the dominant sub-type among Influenza A viruses was H3 (98.8%). Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity started around the 42nd week, decreased around the 23rd week and the laboratory confirmed seasonal Influenza activity started around 48th week and ended around 22nd week. The 2008 - 2009 influenza seasons in Turkey was characterized by moderate clinical activity and a dominance of influenza B. In Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test, the majority of influenza A/H3 viruses were closely related to the vaccine virus strain of the 2008 to 2009 season, Influenza A Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2) like virus. However, Influenza B viruses were antigenically different from the vaccine strain and more closely related to Influenza B Malaysia/2560/2004 (Victoria lineage). It is concluded that knowledge about the influenza activity in Turkey, which is at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, contributed to monitoring the movement of influenza virus epidemiology. Key words: Influenza, surveillance, Turkey. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/1E42950935 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000064 en Copyright © 2010 Nurhan Albayrak, Meral A. Ciblak, Ayse Basak Altas, Melis Kanturvardar, Yavuz Odabas, Bahadir Sucakli, Gulay Korukluoglu, Selim Badur and Mustafa Ertek

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:1307F44941 2010-11-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Adolescent suicidal behaviors, self rated health and multiple health risk behaviors: Exploring new perspectives in suicide prevention research Stephen Nkansah-Amankra, Abdoulaye Diedhiou, Ashley Dawn Walker, Harry Agbanu and Alena Clark Full Length Research Paper We sought to evaluate the extent to which self-rating of health, gender, and the co-occurrence of other health risk behaviors were related to suicidal behaviors among adolescents. Cross-sectional survey data of Colorado middle and high school students aged 12 to 18 years were analyzed using logistic regression. Main outcome variables were suicide ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempt. Predictors included self-rated health, self-reported health behaviors, perception of body image, expression of sadness and hopelessness, self-reported sexual abuse, self-reported access to lethal weapon, and expression of school safety concerns. Adjusted results showed respondents with poor health rating had significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation (OR: 2.22), suicidal planning (OR: 1.35), and suicide attempt (OR: 2.23). Reporting of hopelessness was the most consistent predictor of suicidal behaviors with odds ratios ranging from 5.57 (for suicidal ideation) to 17.40 (for suicidal attempt). Factors associated with different adolescentsrsquo; suicidal behaviors were different for boys and girls. Findings suggest the need to consider gender differences as regards self assessment of health in order to improve the effectiveness of suicide interventions among adolescents. Key words: Self-rated health, suicidal behaviors, suicide ideation, suicide attempt, suicide planning, adolescents. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/1307F44941 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000006 en Copyright © 2010 Stephen Nkansah-Amankra, Abdoulaye Diedhiou, Ashley Dawn Walker, Harry Agbanu and Alena Clark

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:B19771D946 2010-11-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Environmental risk factors and hospital-based cancers in two Nigerian cities Godson R. E. E. Ana, Mynepalli K. C. Sridhar and Michael C. Asuzu Full Length Research Paper This ecologic study assessed disparities between environmental risk factors and cancers in two Nigerian cities. Environmental data were obtained for Port Harcourt (highly industrialized) and Ibadan(less industrialized) cities respectively. Ten- year cancer records were also obtained from the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt and the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi square and t-test statistics at 5% level of significance. Environmental risk factors particularly levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in air was higher in Port Harcourt than Ibadan locality (p lt;0.05). Both skin and lung cancers were higher in Port Harcourt area (19.0 and 3.7%, respectively) than Ibadan (10.4 and 3.2%, respectively) for the combined group (p lt; 0.001). Therefore, people living in highly industrialized communities with increased environmental risk factors are likely to have a higher probability to develop cancers. In-depth studies are required to establish empirical links between the identified environmental risk factors and the prevalence of cancers. Key words: Environmental quality, industrialized communities, cancer. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/B19771D946 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000045 en Copyright © 2010 Godson R. E. E. Ana, Mynepalli K. C. Sridhar and Michael C. Asuzu

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:31C5F5F962 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Preterm delivery and low birth weight among neonates born to HIV-positive and HIV-negative Ghanaian women Laar A. K., Ampofo W., Tuakli J. M., Norgbe G. K. and Quakyi I. A. Full Length Research Paper In sub-Saharan Africa, several hundreds of pregnancies are exposed to both malaria and HIV infections annually. Adverse perinatal outcomes as a result of these infections include preterm delivery (PTD), and low birth weight (LBW). These are not well characterized in Ghana. We determined whether malaria and HIV infections during pregnancy increase the risk of delivering a preterm or a LBW neonate. We enrolled 1,154 women at their first antenatal visit (443 HIV-positive and 711 HIV-negative), and prospectively collected data at delivery on 761 mother-infant pairs. Malaria parasitemia status, HIV status, hemoglobin concentration, and CD4+ cell count were determined using standard methods. We observed a significantly increased risk of LBW among HIV-positive women with malaria at recruitment, odds ratio (OR) = 4.4, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] (2.3 to 8.4), at delivery, OR = 2.5, 95% CI (1.1 to 3.7). The risk among those who were dually-infected at recruitment and at delivery was more pronounced; OR = 11.3; 95% CI (4.6 to 27.4). Dual infection was also associated with a 4-fold risk of delivering preterm; OR = 3.96; 95% CI (1.8 to 8.5). These findings demonstrate that neonates of HIV-positive women with multiple malaria infections are at particular risk of PTD and LBW in Ghana. Key words: HIV, malaria, preterm delivery, low birth weight, adverse perinatal outcomes, Ghana. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/31C5F5F962 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000087 en Copyright © 2010 Laar A. K., Ampofo W., Tuakli J. M., Norgbe G. K. and Quakyi I. A.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:716BD01970 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Application of Gis-Rs in bacteriological examination of rural community water supply and sustainability problems with UNICEF assisted borehole: A case study of Alabata community, South-western Nigeria Shittu O. B., Akpan I., Popoola T. O. S., Oyedepo J. A. and Oluderu I. B. Full Length Research Paper Alabata is a community with no electricity and comprehensive topographic or administrative map. They also depend on a fuelled generating set to power the pumping machine for the UNICEF assisted borehole. The citizens often had to resort to an unsafe alternative water source for domestic purposes. In March 2006 an observational study trip through which data on sanitation, health and water sources were acquired was made to Alabata community. Coordinates of relevant facilities and water sampling points were taken and plotted in a Geographic Information System (using ArcView 3.2a GIS software). A base map for the study area was generated from satellite imagery (IKONOS). Sample points of water were overlaid on the base map that was produced from the satellite image. Water was collected from alternative water sources and analysed for bacteriological quality in the Microbiology laboratory. The bacteriological analysis of the different water sources with the exception of deep protected well with no recorded growth, showed that coliform count (gt; 1100 MPN/1000 ml), total Escherichia coli count (3-6 log cfu/ml), and total heterotrophic count (3-5 log cfu/ml). In all, the water samples generally exceeded the WHO and EPA standards of acceptable limit for drinking and domestic use. Key words: Geographical information system (GIS), rural water, sustainability problem, South-western Nigeria. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/716BD01970 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000014 en Copyright © 2010 Shittu O. B., Akpan I., Popoola T. O. S., Oyedepo J. A. and Oluderu I. B.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:2C1084A978 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Vaginal douching practice in Eskisehir in Turkey Didem Arslantas, Hatice Karabagli and Filiz Koc Full Length Research Paper The objective of the study was to identify the vaginal douching habits and the factors that would have a connection with this practice in women from Eskisehir Province in Turkey. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 May to 30 June, 2005. In present study, any sampling technique was not used. The subjects were women belonging to the 15 - 49 age groups who were admitted to No. 2 Family Planning Center and Sultandere Primary Health Care Center. A survey containing such questions about the socio-demographic and reproductive characteristics was conducted on these women via a face-to-face interview method. Among the statistical tests, chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were utilized. A total number of 503 women with an average age of 33.18 plusmn; 7.50 were attended at the health center. Vaginal douching was performed in 47.7% women and the most common the method was cleansing (66.6%) and post-intercourse (71.8%). The information about these methods was obtained mostly from their mothers (31.6%). In accordance with the results obtained from the study, the vaginal douching practice is a widespread conventional attitude among women and should be given the necessary importance. It was concluded that it is necessary to provide health education for women who state that they get information concerning the practice mostly from their mothers and this wrong attitude change needs to be corrected. Since vaginal lavage is directly linked with low education levels and the state of unemployment, it is resolved that such measures should be taken to increase the socio-economic levels of women. It is also concluded that special importance should be attached to the health education of the primary health care profession concerning the vaginal lavage. Key words: Vaginal douching, practice, attitude, knowledge, Turkish women. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/2C1084A978 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000138 en Copyright © 2010 Didem Arslantas, Hatice Karabagli and Filiz Koc

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:F5061A6982 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Risk assessment of cardiovascular disease among staff of the University of Buea, South Western Cameroon Eric A. Achidi and Delphine A. Tangoh Full Length Research Paper Current changing lifestyles of Africans may impact on their risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed at identifying the pattern of the major risk factors of CVD and the total risk of CVD among workers of the University of Buea. A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 313 teaching and support staff of the institution. Fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, Triglycerides and HDL cholesterol levels were measured by spectrophotometry. LDL cholesterol was calculated. Calculation of Risk Scores Estimation of the individual risk of developing subsequent cardiovascular disease and the absolute risk of CHD within 10 years was done using the Framingham Heart Study Prediction Score charts. The mean (plusmn; SEM) age of the workers was 39.8 plusmn; 0.48 years (range of 23 ndash; 64 years). 38.7% (121) of the workers were overweight, while 27.8% (87) were obese. Total cholesterol level was significantly different among the different age groups (F = 4.776, P = 0.003). There was a significant positive correlation between total cholesterol (r = 0.144, P = 0.011) and TG (r = 0.242, P lt; 0.001) levels with age. Total cholesterol, LDL-C and triglycerides significantly correlated with BMI. Ten-year CHD absolute risk score correlated positively with average quantity of alcohol consumed per unit time (r = 0.248, p lt; 0.001). The prevalence of the risk factors of CVD was relatively low among the workers of the University of Buea, except for overweight and obesity, alcohol consumption and low HDL-C. Key words: Cardiovascular disease, lipid profile, cholesterol, triglycerides, risk factors. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/F5061A6982 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000110 en Copyright © 2010 Eric A. Achidi and Delphine A. Tangoh

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:4510C11995 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Factors associated with disease outcome in children at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Gichobi D., Wanzala P., Mutai J. and Kamweya A. Full Length Research Paper Globally, 10.5 million children die annually. Approximately 6 million of Kenyarsquo;s population are under five years with a child mortality rate of 74 per 1000 live births. Children attending Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) have preventable and treatable illnesses. The aim of the study was to assess care taker factors associated with disease outcome among children at KNH. A cross sectional study was conducted; questionnaires were administered to the caretakers of the 156 children recruited in the study. Data entry was done in Microsoft Access and analyzed using statistical package for Social Science (SPSS). There was a significant association between diseases outcome and length of exclusive breast-feeding (P lt; 0.025), occupation of both fathers and mothers (Plt; 0.026 and P lt;0.001, respectively) in the priority disease outcomes. There was a statistically significant association between duration of illness and that of seeking treatment before visiting KNH, (P lt; 0.001). Children who stayed more than 2 months before seeking health care at KNH had a 3-fold risk of becoming priority cases. Using formal education as the reference category for mother occupation, the odds of priority outcome for unemployed compared to formal education was 10.4 and informal education compared to formal education was 7.6. Caretakers delayed in seeking health care, prior to admission. Results from this study suggest that occupation of parents was a major determinant in regard to disease outcome. Communities need to be empowered to obtain and access basic health care services. More studies need to be done to identify specific caretaker factors associated with childhood illnesses. This will enable to evaluate further the possible interventions in the health care delivery among children. A longitudinal study is crucial to follow up children post admission addressing specific illnesses. Occupation of parents, occupation of parents and length of exclusive breast-feeding was a major determinant in regard to disease category. Key words: Disease outcome, cross sectional, priority, emergency category. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/4510C11995 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000055 en Copyright © 2010 Gichobi D., Wanzala P., Mutai J. and Kamweya A.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:2ED4021999 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2010

Childhood leprosy: A retrospective study Sandeep Sachdeva, S. Suhail Amin, Zulfia Khan Seema Alam and Pranav Kumar Sharma Full Length Research Paper Leprosy remains an important public health and social issue in South Asia, particularly in India. Its presence in childhood is an immense social burden on account of the associated disabilities and widely prevalent misconceptions regarding communicability and treatment potential. Besides, the prevalence of leprosy among children suggests possible lacunae in the operation of the national programmes aimed at elimination of leprosy from the society. This paper reports a ten year retrospective study of childhood leprosy in a tertiary care hospital setting (2000 to 2009). Selected socio epidemiologic correlates of pediatric leprosy patients presenting to the hospital over the past ten year period were also studied. The results indicated that childhood leprosy was 5.1% of total leprosy patients registered in the given time frame. Majorities (76.3%) of them were males and had paucibacillary leprosy (74%). Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) scar was absent in 53% of children. More than a third (35%) cases had a household contact with leprosy. Childhood leprosy remains an important public health problem and bears a significant social impact. Early detection and appropriate prophylactic measures in susceptible children is pivotal to the real success of the National leprosy elimination programme. Key words: Leprosy, childhood, society. Academic Journals 2010 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/2ED4021999 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000025 en Copyright © 2010 Sandeep Sachdeva, S. Suhail Amin, Zulfia Khan Seema Alam and Pranav Kumar Sharma

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:FFEA0951047 2011-01-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Contraceptive knowledge and usage amongst female secondary school students in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria Adetokunbo Tayo, Oluwarotimi Akinola, Abiola Babatunde, Adeniyi Adewunmi, Dele Osinusi and Lukeman Shittu Full Length Research Paper The high maternal mortality and morbidity rate in Nigeria is a major concern for every stakeholder in the health sector and unsafe abortion is a major cause. As a remedy, it was suggested that active efforts to promote sexuality education and contraceptive use should be intensified among Nigerian adolescents. In this regard, we studied the level of contraceptive knowledge and use among adolescents in three secondary schools in Lagos between January to March 2010. Results showed that 5% of 1155 students with knowledge of contraception are users, 85% of sexually active respondents were non-users while condom is the most common contraceptive method used. Also, nearly 45% of respondents obtained knowledge about contraception from their parents. We believe that there is a need for aggressive advocacy on adolescent reproductive health (ARH) before initiation of sexual activity and dissemination of information on family planning methods among the teenage. Key words: Contraceptive knowledge and usage, sexual behaviour, adolescent, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/FFEA0951047 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000034 en Copyright © 2011 Adetokunbo Tayo, Oluwarotimi Akinola, Abiola Babatunde, Adeniyi Adewunmi, Dele Osinusi and Lukeman Shittu

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:52377731055 2011-01-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Disasters in Kenya: A major public health concern Marion W. Mutugi and Samuel G. Maingi Full Length Research Paper A disaster is defined as an event or series of events, which give rise to casualties and/or damage or loss of property, infrastructure, essential services or means of livelihoods on a scale which is beyond the normal capacity of the affected community to cope with unaided. This event or events disrupt the normal patterns of life (or ecosystem) and extraordinary emergency interventions are required to save and preserve human lives and/or the environment. Disasters can either be manmade or natural, and either of slow or rapid onset. The objective of this work was to review disasters that have happened in Kenya in the last twenty five years in respect to their public health impact, community perceptions and preparedness. Results indicate that there is inadequate preparedness and responses despite the repetitive nature of specific disaster episodes. This may be due to economic, social, and cultural barriers prevent effective devolution of mitigating institutional and policy frameworks from central institutions to local communities. Key words: Disasters, Kenya. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/52377731055 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000040 en Copyright © 2011 Marion W. Mutugi and Samuel G. Maingi

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:B5776DA1045 2011-01-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

The impact of parental education on infant mortality in Gaza strip, Palestine Mazen Abuqamar, Danny Coomans and Fred Louckx Full Length Research Paper A society#39;s infant mortality rate is considered an important indicator of its health status. Maternal education has been accepted almost unanimously as a major socio-economic factor in infant mortality. In addition, it is one of the few measures of health status for which data are widely available in most countries. Many research studies have been done on this topic, but never in Palestine. This study was carried out in 2008 with the objective of determining the relationship between educational level of parents and infant mortality in the Gaza Strip. Face to face interviews were carried out on 550 mothers of infants (275 dead infants and 275 live births) in the Gaza Strip. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify the relationship between health behavioral factors and infant mortality. The result of this study showed that the families with lower educational level had a much higher risk of infant mortality. There was a positive statistical association between parental education and survival of infants. The findings underscore the importance of explicit attention to health education. Key words: Parental education, social factor, infant mortality, Gaza strip. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/B5776DA1045 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000129 en Copyright © 2011 Mazen Abuqamar, Danny Coomans and Fred Louckx

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:3C169221028 2011-01-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Evaluation of health status of pre-menarcheal and post-menarcheal girls by Rohrer index in Purulia, West Bengal Sudip Datta Banik Full Length Research Paper Undernutrition in children and adolescents is a major problem in India. Age at menarche is a significant indicator of growth in girls. The present study records age at menarche, prevalence of under nutrition measured by Rohrer Index in both pre-menarcheal (n=107) as well as post-menarcheal (n = 131) girls (n = 238) aged 6.01 to 14.63 years. In this cross-sectional study, mean age at menarche is estimated to be 12.60 years. The comparative statements between these two sections indicate significant difference in height, weight and Rohrer Index. This Index indicates very high prevalence of low health profiles of the girls. Key words: Menarcheal age, undernutrition, Rohrer index. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/3C169221028 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000051 en Copyright © 2011 Sudip Datta Banik

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:2B4C2541008 2011-01-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

The cost of double standard risk communication during the swine-flu epidemic: Reflections from Norway John E. Berg Full Length Research Paper The pandaemia of swine influenza 2009 released a multitude of reactions and actions of public authorities and private enterprises. After the first announcement of a probable new epidemic in May 2009 WHO issued a pandaemia warning in June 2009. Norwegian health authorities reacted swiftly to the WHO recommendations and Norway became the first country opting for buying vaccines for the whole population. The background of the strategy in Norway is described using paper media communications and with reference to television broadcasts. The emanating maximizing and minimizing strategy followed by the Norwegian health authorities was followed. Tests of the swine flu virus were not performed on a scale sufficient to indicate the magnitude of the purported pandaemia. Both strategies were followed simultaneously. WHO indicated in June 2010 that hitherto 18 337 people died of the H1N1 influenza virus compared to some 500 000 from the common flu each year (Aftenposten 25th July 2010, p. 2). More than $ 14 billion had been spent on vaccines and other medical tasks (gt; $ 750 000 per fatality). In Norway the cost of 9.4 mill. doses of vaccines bought was equivalent to $ 3.7 mill. per fatality in 2009. An initial communication of immense risk and purchase of two vaccine doses for the total population led to rationing of vaccines when people subsequently wanted them. The cost of this decision was far above accepted limits for resource spending on health care. This was followed by communicating a small risk of infection for most of the population. Experts exposed differing views on the developing epidemic. Risk communication from high decision levels was inadequate. Strategies for handling emerging high risk epidemics must be developed and applied in order to reduce fear in the population and huge costs to society. Key words: Swine influenza, pandaemia, risk communication, cost effectiveness of public health. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/2B4C2541008 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000123 en Copyright © 2011 John E. Berg

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:2FA78111023 2011-01-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Epidemiology of malaria and insecticide resistance burden in Nigeria I. O. Oyewole, A. A. Ogunnowo, C. A. Ibidapo, H. I. Okoh, T. S. Awolola and M. A. Adedayo Full Length Research Paper Anopheles mosquito larvae were collected from the natural breeding sites in five of the six ecological zones in Nigeria between 2002 and 2004. The larvae were reared to adulthood in a standard insectary. Susceptibility tests were conducted on non - blood fed, 2 to 3-day-old emerged adult female mosquitoes using standard WHO procedures, diagnostic kits and test papers (WHO, 1998). PCR assays were used for the identification of the species and for characterization of the kdr allele. The mosquito samples from all the zones were susceptible to the diagnostic doses of insecticides tested, although, a significant level of resistance was recorded particularly in forest- savanna mosaic and Guinea savanna. However, there was no significant difference in knock down effects of insecticides in all the zones (F4, 15=6.49, P=0.0001). There was a level of correlation between the frequency of the kdr allele and frequency of resistance among the survivor and exposed samples (F = 22.05; P = 0.0037). This may indicate that kdr is associated with resistance in Anopheles mosquito to the tested insecticides. This study forms a baseline data for insecticide resistance status of the local anopheline mosquitoes which can be used to formulate control programmes in Nigeria. Key words: Anopheles, malaria, pyrethroid resistance, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/2FA78111023 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000049 en Copyright © 2011 I. O. Oyewole, A. A. Ogunnowo, C. A. Ibidapo, H. I. Okoh, T. S. Awolola and M. A. Adedayo

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:77DFAC01037 2011-01-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Male perspective(s) on condom use: Context of STI/HIV prevention in the University of Ghana community Daniel Yaw Fiaveh Full Length Research Paper This study examined the influence of condom use on menrsquo;s sexual behaviour in the University of Ghana community. In all, 600 men were sampled for this study using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The ages of respondents ranged from 17 to 74 years with a mean age of 24 years. The study found that while 80% men have ever used condom, a little over 50% of them used condom at their last sexual encounter. The study established that education and condom use is not related (p gt; 0.05). Key words: Male perspective, condom use, sexually transmitted infections/diseases, HIV and AIDS, University of Ghana. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/77DFAC01037 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000068 en Copyright © 2011 Daniel Yaw Fiaveh

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:38F0BCD1065 2011-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Prevalence and correlates for tobacco smoking among persons aged 25 years or older in Lusaka urban district, Zambia Seter Siziya, Olusegun Babaniyi, Peter Songolo and Mutale Nsakashalo-Senkwe Full Length Research Paper Tobacco use is the leading cause of non communicable diseases. There is paucity of information on correlates for tobacco smoking among adults in Zambia. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of tobacco use and its correlates in Lusaka urban district. A total of 1928 individuals aged 25 years or older participated in the survey, of which 33.0% were males. About half (53.2%) of the participants were of age 25 to 34 years, and 35.8% of them had attained secondary level of education. Overall, 6.8% of the participants currently smoked cigarettes (17.5% among males, and 1.5% among females). Female respondents were 90% (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.10, 95% CI [0.05, 0.23]) less likely to smoke cigarettes compared to males. Compared to respondents who had lt;18.5 Body Mass Index (BMI), respondents who had higher BMI were less likely to smoke (AOR = 0.30 (95% CI [0.15, 0.61]) for 18.5 to 24.9 BMI; AOR = 0.12 (95% CI [0.05, 0.31]) for 25.0 to 29.9 BMI; and AOR = 0.03 (95% CI [0.00, 0.26]) for 30+ BMI. We conclude that the tobacco smoking epidemic is in its early stage in Zambia. Zambia must act now to curtail the epidemic. The association between smoking and body mass index should further be explored so that an intervention can be designed that addresses both smoking and nutrition. Key words: Tobacco smoking, body mass index, adults. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/38F0BCD1065 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000089 en Copyright © 2011 Seter Siziya, Olusegun Babaniyi, Peter Songolo and Mutale Nsakashalo-Senkwe

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:28A64BC1072 2011-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Bacteria contamination of raw meat sold in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State Nigeria Iroha I. R., Ugbo E. C., Ilang D. C., Oji A. E. and Ayogu T. E. Full Length Research Paper Frequency of contamination in retail meat sold in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State was examined in the present study. Three hundred raw meat samples including beef (n = 100), chicken (n = 100), chevron (n = 100) were collected from Abakaliki abattoir and were analyzed for microbiological contamination using standard Microbiological methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated microbes was determined using the Kirby and Bauer method of disc diffusion. Out of the 300 samples, 79 (29.3%) were contaminated with bacteria species including Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae and Staphylococcus aureus. Of these,E. coli had the highest occurrence (8%), followed by K. pneumoniae (5.3%), S. typhi (5%),S. dysenteriae 2.6%, P. aeruginosa 2.0%, B. cereus 2.0% and S. aureus (1.3%). The antibiotic susceptibility studies showed an alarming level of resistance to all the tested antibiotics reflecting multi-drug resistant strains. Our data confirms the circulation of antibiotic resistant pathogens in raw meat sold in Abakaliki abattoir and market, which could possibly play a role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance amongst food-borne bacteria. Key words: Meat, abattoir, contamination, antibiotic resistance. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/28A64BC1072 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000021 en Copyright © 2011 Iroha I. R., Ugbo E. C., Ilang D. C., Oji A. E. and Ayogu T. E.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:14555781084 2011-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Urban solid waste management based on geoinformatics technology Elmira Shamshiry, Behzad Nadi, Mazlin Bin Mokhtar, Ibrahim Komoo and Halimaton Saadiah Hashim Full Length Research Paper The solid waste materials in cities are the natural outcome of human activities. Provision of such system appears to be a major problem due to the complication and the wide nature of waste production. Due to the different parameters involved, deciding upon a suitable location is also very complicated, costly and time consuming. Different criteria are working in determination of an appropriate place for disposal; each of them is of high importance and may cause specific restrictions as to the selection of the location. The ultimate aim of these criteria is the selection of a site that is likely to have at least possible detrimental environmental effect on the nearby area. The pollution of underground water and soil of surrounding area can be considered as some of these bad effects. However, geospatial system can serve as an efficient way of employing and managing various data that can be utilized in locating more appropriate places for the disposal of solid waste. The methodology being implemented utilized geospatial technology for management and visualization of spatial data while fuzzy logic sets is used in searching the best location for landfill. Key words: Geospatial technology, sanitary landfill, fuzzy logic sets. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/14555781084 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000136 en Copyright © 2011 Elmira Shamshiry, Behzad Nadi, Mazlin Bin Mokhtar, Ibrahim Komoo and Halimaton Saadiah Hashim

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:03281F51095 2011-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Patient satisfaction and expectations of the quality of service of University affiliated dermatology clinics Abdullateef A. Alzolibani Full Length Research Paper Patient satisfaction is the major indicator of quality of care provided by a health facility. To determine the level of patient satisfaction with medical care at the Dermatology Clinics affiliated to Qassim University, Saudi Arabia and to identify the socio-demographic characteristics of patients that might influence the level of satisfaction. A cross-sectional survey of 741 patients attending the Outpatient Dermatology Clinics affiliated to Qassim University, Saudi Arabia during the time period from January 1st to March 30th 2010. An Arabic language questionnaire was used to assess various domains of patient satisfaction. The satisfaction rate for overall quality of dermatology services was 66.1% in our patients. High levels of satisfaction were expressed about the general maintenance and hygienic conditions of the clinic. About 38% of patients indicated their dissatisfaction regarding the waiting time for appointment and about 40% were not satisfied about the information they received about their problems. About 48% felt that the consultation time was inadequate and 36.7% felt that they were not allowed to express their symptoms in detail. A significantly high level of satisfaction was associated with female gender, age below 40, single status, low education, low socioeconomic status and rural residence. We also found that patients coming on their first visits were significantly more satisfied than those on follow up visits. Majority of our patients were satisfied with overall care. However, specific questioning exposed certain areas that need to be improved such as reducing waiting period for appointments, providing more information about the disease and by ensuring that patients have the opportunity to ask questions. Key words: Patient satisfaction, dermatology clinic, satisfaction score, quality of care. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/03281F51095 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000080 en Copyright © 2011 Abdullateef A. Alzolibani

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:BCFA38B1103 2011-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Congenital infection with Toxoplasma gondii: A case control study of Tehran, Iran Nastaran Khosravi, Samileh Noorbakhsh Mohammad Farhadi and Azardokht Tabatabaei Full Length Research Paper The prevalence of antibodies in Toxoplasma gondii ranges from 24 to 57.7% in Iran. Children who acquire T. gondii in intrauterine period are at increased risk of sequels and need prolonged treatment. The aim of the study is to compare serum specific T. gondiiantibodies (IgM and IgG ELISA) between infants suspected to have intrauterine infections (lt; 1year) and control infants. This case control study was done in the pediatrics department of Rasul hospital in Tehran (2007 to 2008). We compared specific T. gondii antibodies (IgM and IgG) in serum by ELISA in 50 infants (lt; 1year) suspected to have intrauterine infections based on diagnostic criteria for intrauterine infections (WHO-TORCH) and 30 healthy controls. Mean age in these cases was 4.7 + 3.7 months; and in the controls was 5.3 + 3.1 months. Acute T. gondii infection (IgM) was detected in 10% (5/51) of the cases, but none (0/30) in the controls; while previous immunity for T. gondii (IgG) was found in 18% (9/50) of the cases and 60% (18/30) of the controls. Although the rate of acute infection was higher in the cases but was not significant (P-value = 0.09), previous immunity (IgG) was significantly higher in the controlrsquo;s healthy group (P-value = 0.00). However, T. gondii infection (IgM) was confirmed in at least 10% of the cases. As such, we prefer to consider seropositive (T. gondii - IgM) infants (clinically for intrauterine infection) in congenital form, by adding the symptomatic cases with negative IgM and IgG (PCR studies are needed for R/o of intra uterine infection). Probably, T. gondii infection is at least the 2nd common cause of intrauterine infection in studied infants with serology (lt;1 year old), like cases with hearing loss (after CMV). Post natal screening program (serology) may be beneficial for rapid diagnosis, but negative symptomatic cases should be followed up by the PCR study. We recommend prevention and treatment of T. gondii in pregnant women for prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis. At least, 1 year treatment is needed in infants (positive IgM) for prevention of its sequels. Key words: Toxoplasma gondii, congenital toxoplasmosis, ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), intrauterine infection, TORCH (Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes). Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/BCFA38B1103 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000032 en Copyright © 2011 Nastaran Khosravi, Samileh Noorbakhsh Mohammad Farhadi and Azardokht Tabatabaei

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:FF1CC8B1113 2011-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Avian influenza news from China and Hong Kong William Y. Y. Lai and Adrian Weisell Full Length Research Paper We compared avian influenza coverage in two English-language newspapers from China and Hong Kong, and a third from the United States as a control. We collected bird flu stories for one year between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007 from Chinarsquo;s government-sanctioned China Daily (CD) and Hong Kongrsquo;s South China Morning Post (SCMP). The New York Times (NYT) was the control. We quantified five media characteristics: (1) Number of stories; (2) Use of full articles or briefs; (3) News sources; (4) Story outlook, and (5) geographic focus. Of 236 bird flu stories, 79 were from CD, 111 from SCMP and 46 from NYT. Compared with SCMP, CD produced significantly more briefs, non-local reports and government sources (Pearsonrsquo;s Chi-square test, P=0.01, Plt;0.001 and P=0.01, respectively). Compared with the NYT, CD produced significantly more reports from government sources (P=0.001), and SCMP produced significantly more local reports (P=0.006). Avian influenza coverage is significantly different between newspapers from China and Hong Kong. This has implications to the international community when considering public health news reports of emerging disease outbreaks from this region. Key words: Avian influenza, bird flu, H5N1, infectious diseases, media, news coverage, news stories. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/FF1CC8B1113 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000019 en Copyright © 2011 William Y. Y. Lai and Adrian Weisell

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:60DBBE51114 2011-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Avian influenza news from China and Hong Kong William Y. Y. Lai and Adrian Weisell Full Length Research Paper We compared avian influenza coverage in two English-language newspapers from China and Hong Kong, and a third from the United States as a control. We collected bird flu stories for one year between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007 from Chinarsquo;s government-sanctioned China Daily (CD) and Hong Kongrsquo;s South China Morning Post (SCMP). The New York Times (NYT) was the control. We quantified five media characteristics: (1) Number of stories; (2) Use of full articles or briefs; (3) News sources; (4) Story outlook, and (5) geographic focus. Of 236 bird flu stories, 79 were from CD, 111 from SCMP and 46 from NYT. Compared with SCMP, CD produced significantly more briefs, non-local reports and government sources (Pearsonrsquo;s Chi-square test, P=0.01, Plt;0.001 and P=0.01, respectively). Compared with the NYT, CD produced significantly more reports from government sources (P=0.001), and SCMP produced significantly more local reports (P=0.006). Avian influenza coverage is significantly different between newspapers from China and Hong Kong. This has implications to the international community when considering public health news reports of emerging disease outbreaks from this region. Key words: Avian influenza, bird flu, H5N1, infectious diseases, media, news coverage, news stories. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/60DBBE51114 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000020 en Copyright © 2011 William Y. Y. Lai and Adrian Weisell

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:72CECBA1119 2011-02-28T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Patient waiting time in a tertiary health institution in northern Nigeria Umar I., Oche M. O. and Umar A. S. Full Length Research Paper The amount of time a patient waits to be seen, is one factor which affects the utilization of health care services. Patient satisfaction has emerged as an increasingly important parameter in the assessment of quality of health care; hence, healthcare facility performance can be best assessed by measuring the level of patientrsquo;s satisfaction. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out at the out patientsrsquo; departments of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. A total of 384 new patients were randomly selected into the study. A set of pretested questionnaires was used to extract information from the respondents, descriptive statistics was used for analysis. A total of 118 (31%) of the patients waited for less than an hour in the waiting room, while 371 (96.6%) spent less than 30 min with the doctor. More than half, 211 (55%) of the respondents were satisfied with the service delivery in the hospital, while only 63 (16%) of the respondents admitted to being given health talks while waiting to be seen by the doctor. Although majority of the patients waited for more than 1 h before being attended to, more than half of them were however satisfied with the services rendered to them. There is the need for health care institutions and providers to put in place measures aimed at reducing waiting time and ensuring patient satisfaction. Key words: Waiting time, outpatient department, satisfaction, Sokoto. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/72CECBA1119 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000081 en Copyright © 2011 Umar I., Oche M. O. and Umar A. S.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:14F40311126 2011-03-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Meta-analysis of the prognostic role of p53: Playground for solution or source of confusion? Georgia Levidou, Paraskevi Fragkou, Efstratios Patsouris and Penelope Korkolopoulou Review Deregulation of the p53 gene is considered to be a prognostic marker in patients with tumours. In this review we are summarizing the results of meta-analyses dealing with the prognostic role of p53 status published in the literature. We found 7 studies examining 5 different tumours (osteosarcoma, ovarian carcinomas (OC), astrocytomas, urothelial bladder carcinomas and non-small lung cell carcinomas (NSCLC)). Significant results are reported in four of the studies (OC and NSLCC). However, most of the studies found significant heterogeneity, particularly those that reported significant results, whereas the majority used the results of univariate survival analysis for quantitative synthesis. Despite the significant information published the last decades regarding the role of p53 alterations in the clinical course of patients with malignant tumours, it could be argued that there is a huge amount of studies that cannot be combined in order to provide more valid and aggregated results. Key words: Overexpression, tumours, p53 protein, immunohistochemistry. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/14F40311126 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000070 en Copyright © 2011 Georgia Levidou, Paraskevi Fragkou, Efstratios Patsouris and Penelope Korkolopoulou

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:C2EF2B61133 2011-03-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Immunization coverage of antenatal and immunization clinics attendees in the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital Adekunle Kunle-Olowu, Onyi Euphemia Kunle-Olowu and Ugwu Moses Emeka Full Length Research Paper The purpose of this study was to determine the coverage for immunization in the first year of life and maternal tetanus toxoid administration in the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Bayelsa State; this will help in establishing ways of improving coverage. A total of 528 were surveyed retrospectively using the immunization register, 521 (98.7%) had BCG, 512(97.0%) had OPV0, 372 had (70.5%) had OPV1/DPT1/HEPBV1, 313 (59.3%) had OPV2/DPT2/HEPBV2, while only 251(47.5%) had OPV3/DPT3/HEPBV3. Only 94(17.8%) had measles /yellow fever vaccines. However 14.3% of the surveyed children had the complete doses of vaccines. For maternal tetanus toxoid administration, a total of 601 mothers were surveyed using the antenatal and immunization registers. Out of the 601 surveyed, 151(25.2%) and 82(13.6%) had TT1 and TT2 respectively while 368 (61.2%) had both TT1 and TT2 in that pregnancy. The low immunization coverage for children may be detrimental to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal, aimed at reducing child mortality by 2/3rd in 2015. However the immunization of mothers will contribute effectively to the elimination of neonatal tetanus. Key words: Immunisation, coverage, teaching, hospital. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/C2EF2B61133 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000061 en Copyright © 2011 Adekunle Kunle-Olowu, Onyi Euphemia Kunle-Olowu and Ugwu Moses Emeka

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:632A51E1145 2011-03-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Evaluation of prescription pattern in Osun State (Southwest) Nigeria Babalola C. P., Awoleye S. A., Akinyemi J. O. and Kotila O. A. Full Length Research Paper Drug therapy is the most commonly used method of any disease treatment in general practice. However, the patterns of drug prescription are often inappropriate and the need for registration of these patterns is essential in an effort to improve prescription standards. Retrospective analysis of prescriptions written by various cadres in primary health care department with emphasis on primary health care centers, dispensaries and health posts in four randomly selected local government areas were collected over a period of one year (March 2006 to February 2007). Data was collected using a standardized WHO instrument for studies of rational drug use. The average number of drugs per encounter was 6.11 with 69.81% drugs prescribed by generic names. The use of antibiotics (50.10% of encounters) and injections (72.70% of encounters) was relatively high. About ninety four percent(94%) of drugs prescribed were from the essential drugs list. It is obvious that poly pharmacy is high at the grassroots level coupled with shortage of high skilled manpower. The use of antibiotics and injections is also very high. Recruitment of skilled personnel and continuing educational programs for primary health care workers is recommended. Key words: Prescription pattern, injections, antibiotics, primary health care. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/632A51E1145 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000052 en Copyright © 2011 Babalola C. P., Awoleye S. A., Akinyemi J. O. and Kotila O. A.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:D86D4ED1148 2011-03-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Healthcare waste management in Nigeria: A case study Stephen Obekpa Abah and Elijah Ige Ohimain Full Length Research Paper Healthcare Waste (HCW) constitutes a special category of waste because they contain potentially harmful materials. The problem of how to manage HCW has become one of critical concerns in developing countries. A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out between June and September 2008 at a tertiary health facility (Teaching Hospital) in Nigeria with the aim of assessing the current practices and commitment to sustainable HCW management in a tertiary healthcare facility. The study approach involved the estimation of the quantity of HCW generated, evaluation of the waste segregation practices and determination of the knowledge of healthcare workers regarding HCW management. Daily waste inventory of each ward was carried out. A total of 52 health workers, including doctors and nurses were interviewed to determine their knowledge and practice with regards to HCW. An evaluation of the status of the waste management practice in the health facility was carried out using the following criteria: waste management (responsibility, segregation, storage and packaging); waste transport; waste recycling and reuse; waste treatment and final disposal. Results show that the average amount of HCW was 0.62 kg/person/day at the out -patient units and 0.81 kg/bed/day in the in- patient wards. The proportion of respondents who had received specific training in the management of HCW was 11.5% (6/52). The number who understood the importance of HCW management in the provision of safety to the public was 46% (24/52). The level of healthcare waste management practice was found to be 0 (that is, unsustainable). This paper has highlighted the pitfalls of HCW management in Nigeria, a developing country where resources are limited. The paper concluded by recommending measures to improve the HCW management practices in the country. Key words: Healthcare waste, microbial infections, public health, waste segregation, sustainability. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/D86D4ED1148 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000059 en Copyright © 2011 Stephen Obekpa Abah and Elijah Ige Ohimain

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:9E8C91E1151 2011-03-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Age at menarche and menstrual cycle pattern among schoolgirls in Kassala in eastern Sudan Abdel Aziem A. Ali, Duria A. Rayis, Mona Mamoun and Ishag Adam Full Length Research Paper A cross-sectional school survey was carried out during January to February 2010 in 8 schools to investigate the age at menarche, menstrual cycle pattern among school girls in Kassala, eastern Sudan. Structured questionnaires were used to gather the socio-demographic data, age at menarche, regularity of the menstrual cycle and associated symptoms. Out of 900 schoolgirls investigated their age ranges between 9 to 19 with mean plusmn; SD of 14.0 plusmn; 4.7 years. Only 73% experienced menarche by the time of interview. The mean age plusmn; SD of 13.07 plusmn; 1.0 years, which was 0.9 year younger in the urban girls. The majority of girls (76.4%) experienced delayed menarche. The period was regular in 68.5% of these girls with the cycle length ranges between 21 to 35 days the mean plusmn; SD duration of blood flow was 4 plusmn; 1.2 days. The overall prevalence of dysmenorhea was 83.1 and 59.8% of the subject experienced premenstrual symptoms. In conclusion the menarcheal age was delayed in our study, it varies with residence, dysmenorrhea was a common health problem among the school girls. Key words: Menarche, menstrual cycle, school girls, Sudan. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/9E8C91E1151 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000007 en Copyright © 2011 Abdel Aziem A. Ali, Duria A. Rayis, Mona Mamoun and Ishag Adam

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:D73CAE41237 2011-03-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Mobile phone use by drivers in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies Abiodun Olukoga, George Legall and Abayomi Odekunle Full Length Research Paper A cross-sectional study to determine the pattern of mobile phone use by drivers in Trinidad and Tobago. Data were obtained using a self-administered questionnaire that was completed by 1150 drivers. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, Chi square test and multinomial logistic regression analysis. Overall, 91% of the drivers use a mobile phone while driving. Amongst these drivers, 86% use hand-held and 14% use hands-free mobile phones. The phone calls by the drivers were reported as routine (70%) and emergency (30%). The calls were of general nature (58%), family matters (23%) and work-related (19%). The drivers believe that using a mobile phone while driving is extremely dangerous (50%) and moderately dangerous (31%). But, 25% of the drivers make no change in their driving behaviour when using a mobile phone while driving, 53% reduce their speed, 10% drive on the road shoulder and only a mere 2% stop the vehicle. There is a high level of mobile phone use by drivers in Trinidad and Tobago with the attendant challenges for road safety. There is a need for public education in Trinidad and Tobago on the hazards of mobile phone use while driving, and a concurrent need for the enactment and enforcement of legislation to curb this practice. Key words: Hand-held, hands-free, mobile phone use, drivers, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/D73CAE41237 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000071 en Copyright © 2011 Abiodun Olukoga, George Legall and Abayomi Odekunle

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:8CC16831246 2011-03-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Promotion of knowledge and attitude towards premarital care: An interventional study among medical student in Fayoum University Salwa Tawfik Abd Al Azeem, Eman Taher Elsayed, Naglaa Abd El Khalek El Sherbiny and Lamiaa Abd El Gawad ahmed Full Length Research Paper Premarital care (PMC) is a worldwide activity aiming to diagnose, treat unrecognized disorders, and reduce transmission of diseases to couples. The study was an interventional educational prospective study; its aim was to assess and improve knowledge and attitude of 200 medical students in Fayoum University towards premarital care services; through health education intervention in the form of lectures and brochures that address important issues of premarital care. The involved students were interviewed by using closed-ended questionnaires, which were distributed twice, just before the intervention and then after 2 months. A special scoring system was used. Total knowledge score showed significant improvement from 62.44plusmn;4.98 to 69.37plusmn;3.43, especially as regards components of reproductive health, contents of premarital counseling and the role of PMC in prevention of certain diseases especially hepatitis (significant increase in correct response from 58 to 72%). The main source of knowledge was TV (65.5%). Total attitude score showed significant improvement from 7.89plusmn;1.1 to 13.1plusmn;.81 especially favorable attitudes towards importance of PMC services, convention to receive such services, and refusal of marriage person with untreated infectious diseases with increase in the percentages to reach 94, 92.5 and 90%, respectively. Females showed better attitudes than males towards PMC. The results reflected the importance of health education as a cornerstone element in improving knowledge and attitude towards premarital care. There is need of continuous health education programs for students to increase their awareness and attitude. Key words: Premarital care, knowledge, attitude, medical students. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/8CC16831246 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000102 en Copyright © 2011 Salwa Tawfik Abd Al Azeem, Eman Taher Elsayed, Naglaa Abd El Khalek El Sherbiny and Lamiaa Abd El Gawad ahmed

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:31E14641343 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Reasons for incomplete vaccination and factors for missed opportunities among rural Nigerian children Abdulraheem I. S., Onajole A. T., Jimoh A. A. G. and Oladipo A. R. Full Length Research Paper Mothers play an important role in immunization of their children. A target of 95% immunization coverage is necessary for the sustained control of vaccine preventable diseases. Partial immunization coverage against vaccine preventable diseases is a significant public health problem especially in rural areas in Nigeria. The reasons for partial immunization and factors responsible for missed opportunities are poorly understood and little data is available to explain the phenomenon that could support the decision making. This study aimed at finding out the reasons for partial immunization and factors responsible for missed opportunities for immunization in children less than one year of age. Mothers of children within one year of age were the study subjects using a cross-sectional study design. The immunization card was utilized to check for completeness and correctness of immunization schedule, and also for identifying the appropriate use of all available opportunities for immunization. About two-third (62.8%) of the children were not fully immunized by one year of age, 33.4% had experienced a missed opportunity for immunization and 36.4% were partially and incorrectly immunized. Parents objection, disagreement or concern about immunization safety (38.8%), long distance walking (17.5%) and long waiting time at the health facility (15.2%) are the most common reasons for partial immunization. Missed opportunities for immunization and partial immunization need to be avoided in order to enhance the fully immunized percentage for those children who reach the health facility, especially in rural areas where the immunization coverage is below the expected national coverage (minimum 80%). Key words: Incomplete vaccination, reasons and factors, rural Nigerian children. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/31E14641343 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000106 en Copyright © 2011 Abdulraheem I. S., Onajole A. T., Jimoh A. A. G. and Oladipo A. R.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:11A467F1336 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Monitoring the influenza pandemic of 2009 in Thailand by a community-based survey Chakrarat Pittayawonganon, Hathaikan Chootrakool, Sopon Iamsirithaworn, Pilaipan Puthavathana, Sukhum Chaleysub, Prasert Auewarakul, Somkid Kongyu, Kumnuan Ungchusak and Pasakorn Akarasewi Full Length Research Paper As an international traveling hub of South-East Asia, Thailand was one of the countries hardest and earliest hit by the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 pandemic. In order to understand the epidemic spread in the country, we conducted community-based surveys in metropolitan, urban, and rural areas using questionnaire interviews. We also determined sero-positive rates from randomly selected samples within the surveyed population. Recalled incidences of fever and acute respiratory symptoms in the survey correlated well with systematic reports of 2009 pandemic influenza cases from hospitals in the same areas, giving a ratio of total cases extrapolated from the surveyed data for persons who sought medical attention reported in the hospital-based surveillance system at 275:1. Conducting a large scale survey of the influenza outbreak is time consuming and also can be difficult to complete in a short time. Therefore, we used the survey for monitoring the outbreak of respiratory disease in the early pandemic phase. The seroprevalence rate was 8 to 10%, with higher rate for younger age groups, and suggests that sufficient herd immunity may have been reached in Thailand, especially in urban areas, while others may still be vulnerable to the second wave of the pandemic. Key words: Pandemic, influenza, survey, Thailand. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/11A467F1336 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000073 en Copyright © 2011 Chakrarat Pittayawonganon, Hathaikan Chootrakool, Sopon Iamsirithaworn, Pilaipan Puthavathana, Sukhum Chaleysub, Prasert Auewarakul, Somkid Kongyu, Kumnuan Ungchusak and Pasakorn Akarasewi

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:40CDFF81329 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Prevalence of depression and role of support groups in its management: A study of adult HIV/AIDS patients attending HIV/AIDS Clinic in a tertiary health facility in South-eastern Nigeria Ndu A. C., Arinze-Onyia S. U., Aguwa E. N. and Obi I. E. Full Length Research Paper The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of depression among adult HIV/AIDS patients attending HIV/AIDS clinic in a tertiary health facility in Southeastern Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in June 2007. A consecutive sampling method was used to recruit participants for assessment of the prevalence of depression among HIV/AIDS patients. A pre-tested questionnaire and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used to collect data. A total of 122 patients were studied and majority of the respondents (86.9%) were between 18 and 40 years with a female preponderance (65.6%). Fifty four percent were married. Almost half of respondents were either traders (27%) or students (22.1%) and majority (80.3%) had a minimum of secondary education. Using HADS, 21.3% were depressed and 21.3% had borderline depression. The main causes of depression were stigmatization and the disease being terminal in nature. Only 53.3% of the total population were aware of HIV support groups, and of this percentage only 46.2% belonged to any support group. Though more of the respondents who do not belong to a support group were more likely to be depressed, the difference was not significant (c2 = 1.40, P = 0.236).Depression is very high among HIV/AIDS patients and belonging to support groups may help in its reduction and should be encouraged. Key words: Prevalence, depression, HIV/AIDS, support groups, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/40CDFF81329 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000093 en Copyright © 2011 Ndu A. C., Arinze-Onyia S. U., Aguwa E. N. and Obi I. E.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:D548B3F1325 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

The pattern of skin disorders in a Nigerian tertiary hospital D. D. Atraide, M. R. Akpa and I. O. George Full Length Research Paper We analyzed the data of patients with skin disorders attending the Dermatology Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, Nigeria with the aim of identifying common skin disorders in our community. All patients attending the Dermatology Clinic of the UPTH, Nigeria from January 2005 to December 2008 were included in this retrospective analysis. The medical records of the patients (dermographics, history, physical examination and laboratory investigations) were analysed to ascertain the diagnosis. All patients were evaluated by qualified dermatologists. A total of 1,333 patients attended the Dermatology Clinic of UPTH. There were more females 812 (60.9%) than males 521 (39.1%). More than three quarter of the cases were aged above 16 years while less than a quarter were children below 16 years. Infectious diseases 317 (23.8%), mostly fungal 207 (15.5%) were the most common cause for attendance, followed by dermatitis 207 (15.5%) and pigmentary disorders 98 (7.4%). Preventable skin diseases are common in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Health education is therefore necessary to curb their spread, reduce the associated morbidity, and improve the health status of the population. Effort should be made to train health workers in the diagnosis and treatment of the more common dermatologic conditions. Key words: Pattern, skin disorders, infectious diseases, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/D548B3F1325 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000130 en Copyright © 2011 D. D. Atraide, M. R. Akpa and I. O. George

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:6E776661321 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Concurrent sexual partnerships among Chinese men: Evidence from a national population-based survey Wenjuan Wang, Cheng Huang, Ha Nguyen and Henry Mosley Full Length Research Paper We sought to determine the pattern of the concurrent sexual partnerships among Chinese men and its correlates with individual, partnership and community factors. Using data from the Chinese Health and Family Life Survey, we examined the prevalence and distribution of sexual concurrency of 1689 men. A two-level logistic regression was employed to assess variables associated with sexual concurrency. Nine percent of men had concurrent sexual partnerships in preceding year. Sexual concurrency was associated with higher income (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.48), longer traveling time (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.44 to 2.87), and more frequent socializing activities (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.30). Men who perpetrated domestic violence (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.20 to 3.08) and perceived partners having other concurrent partners (OR, 4.19; 95% CI, 1.95 to 9.02) were more likely to have concurrent sexual partnerships. Tolerant community attitude towards sexual behavior and community education level showed effects on menrsquo;s concurrency involvement. The results contribute to a better understanding of the potential role of concurrent sexual partnerships in the spread of HIV and other STIs in China. Key words: Concurrent sexual partnerships, risk factors, human immunodeficiency virusprevention, Chinese men. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/6E776661321 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000031 en Copyright © 2011 Wenjuan Wang, Cheng Huang, Ha Nguyen and Henry Mosley

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:EED8A201311 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Visceral fat with its risk factors amongst the Indonesian Javanese elderly Fatmah, Yusran Full Length Research Paper Direct and indirect risk factors are implied in increased eldersrsquo; visceral fat level, namely socio-economic, gender, age, workload, physical activities and eating pattern. The aim ofstudy was to get the information on visceral fat level and its risk factors amongst TheIndonesian Javanese elderly. A total of 812 elderrsquo;s (517 women and 295 men) participated in the cross sectional study. Results showed that 12.8% of respondents with high level of visceral fat and 26.7% almost reach high level. Rural and urban areas, educational background, workload when aged 25 and 55 years, and physical activities aged 25 and 55 years had significant correlation with the visceral fat. Body Mass Index (BMI), weight, and height had a significant association with the visceral fat whereas the highest on the BMI (r = 0.896). A decreased visceral fat pattern following reduced weight and height according to sex. Mild physical workload aged 55 years had the opportunity of 2.29 times greater than those who had the heavy workload level at the same age. Nutrition education for elderly should include advice to increase physical activity in order to reduce high level of visceral fat. Key words: Visceral fat, risk factors, elderly, physical activity, workload. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/EED8A201311 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000139 en Copyright © 2011 Fatmah, Yusran

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:9E8880A1304 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Nurses’ knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS: Effects of a health education intervention on two nursing groups in Cairo University, Egypt Eman Taher and Rehab Abdelhai Full Length Research Paper Information education and communication (IEC) programs are the most effective available approaches for combating the HIV pandemic especially among nurses. The aim of this study is to assess knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS before and after an IEC intervention program. The study used a prospective interventional design that was conducted on two different nursing groups: post-graduate nursing staff (67 nurses) and undergraduate nursing students (73 students). A significant improvement in the general knowledge and perceptions score was observed (from 7.29 plusmn; 1.2 to 8.01 plusmn; 1.5 with P lt;0.001). The intervention also succeeded to improve the mode of transmission knowledge score significantly from 6.83 plusmn; 0.9 to 7.21 plusmn; 0.8 (P lt;0.001). Furthermore, the intervention significantly improved the prevention knowledge score. The main source of information was television (66.7%). Although favorable attitudes increased after the intervention it did not reach the desired level. A planned HIV/AIDS education program significantly improved the HIV/AIDS knowledge, and to a lesser extent the perceptions and attitudes toward patients with HIV/AIDS. Further structured education should be conducted emphasising the role of mass media. Key words: HIV/AIDS, knowledge, perceptions and attitudes, health education intervention. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/9E8880A1304 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000076 en Copyright © 2011 Eman Taher and Rehab Abdelhai

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:755E7581300 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Zoonotic helminth parasites in faecal samples of household dogs in Jimma Town, Ethiopia Hailu Degefu, Abyot Tefera and Moti Yohannes Full Length Research Paper A cross sectional study was conducted in Jimma town from October 2009 to April 2010 to determine the occurrence and prevalence of zoonotic gastrointestinal helminth parasites in household dogs. For the purpose, faecal samples from 334 dogs were collected and examined using faecal floatation and Mac-master egg counting parasitological tools. Among the animals examined, helminth parasite infection was detected in 215 (64.4%) dogs, and the species of helminth parasites found with their relative frequencies were: Ancylostoma caninum (58.8%), Toxocara canis (25.8%), Dipylidium caninum (25.8%), Taenia spp. (18.3%), Toxocara leonina (16.8%) and Trichuris vulpis (0.6%). There was a significant difference in the overall prevalence between adult and young animals (P lt; 0.05). The species specific prevalences similarly showed a significant variation between the two age groups, being high in young dogs. Both the overall and parasite specific prevalences were statistically insignificant between genders. The overall and parasites specific prevalence showed a decreasing trend as the host age increases. The overall mean faecal egg counts for T. canis, T. leonina, A. caninum and D. caninum were: 657.5 plusmn; 76.4, 674.5 plusmn; 96.2, 3368.2 plusmn; 258.3 and 622.1 plusmn; 51.8, respectively. In conclusion, the prevalence and intensity of gasterointestinal parasites were high; all of the parasites identified were potential public health risks. It implies the necessity of providing education to the public about the potential health risks associated with owning pet animals and how to prevent and minimizing the risk of acquiring helminth zoonotic parasites from dogs. Key words: Zoonotic, helminth parasites, dog, faeces, Ethiopia. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/755E7581300 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000140 en Copyright © 2011 Hailu Degefu, Abyot Tefera and Moti Yohannes

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:ADB01121266 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Modern practice in orthognathic and reconstructive surgery – Craniofacial distraction osteogenesis Kumar Dheeraj, Namrataa Rastogi and Meenakshi Singh Review Distraction osteogenesis (DO) techniques have been widely accepted and practiced in orthopaedics, traumatology, and craniofacial surgery. Over the last two decades, using DO methods, many previously untreatable conditions have been successfully managed with outstanding clinical outcome. Although the mechanism of DO is still not fully understood, it is generally accepted that mechanical stimulation is the key in promoting and maintaining tissuesrsquo; regenerating capacities. In the management of severe maxillomandibular deformities, orthognathic surgery produces less than optimum outcome with greater chances of relapse. Inadequate bone contact, insufficient fixation, stability and partial or total relapse due to excessive muscle stretching are often observed. To overcome these disadvantages a path breaking work in the field of distraction, osteogenesis occurred. The present article aims at highlighting the advantages of this newly developed technique over previous surgical remedies. Key words: Distraction osteogenesis, orthopaedics, craniofacial surgery, orthognathic surgery. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/ADB01121266 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000072 en Copyright © 2011 Kumar Dheeraj, Namrataa Rastogi and Meenakshi Singh

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:93A81751315 2011-04-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Perception on bioecology of onchocerciasis vectors around Osun River, South-western Nigeria Adeleke, M. A., Sam-Wobo, S. O., Mafiana, C. F. and Olatunde, G. O. Full Length Research Paper Human onchocerciasis still remains one of the public health problems in Africa despite the colossal resources committed by International organizations in combating its menace in the affected communities. The burden of the disease is intense mostly around the riverine areas where the Simulium vectors of the disease profusely breed. The proper knowledge of the communities on bioecology of the Simulium vectors is imperative towards planning the effective methods of breaking man-fly contact. As part of longitudinal studies on bioecology of black flies along Osun River, the present study utilized structured questionnaires and focus group discussions to assess the perception of the people on bioecology of black flies in three selected communities around the river. All the respondents at the three communities acknowledged that the blackflies bite in their communities but had poor knowledge of the breeding site of the flies as majority of the respondents at Osun Eleja and Osun Budepo (33 and 58%) claimed that the flies breed in tree-holes as compared with stagnant water and flowing river. Though, most of the respondents knew that black flies transmit disease, only 2, 5 and 11% of the respondents at Osun Budepo, Osun Eleja and Osun Ogbere respectively knew that black flies transmit onchocerciasis. The poor knowledge of the respondents on some aspects of bioecology of the flies poses threat to the effective control of onchocerciasis and black flies nuisance at the study communities. There is therefore need for proper health education in order to stem the risk of man-fly contact at the study area. Key words: Black flies, perception, onchocerciasis, Osun River, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/93A81751315 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000082 en Copyright © 2011 Adeleke, M. A., Sam-Wobo, S. O., Mafiana, C. F. and Olatunde, G. O.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:723E47D1399 2011-05-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Knowledge of hypertension among the staff of University of Ibadan, Nigeria Ali Arazeem Abdullahi and Jimoh Amzat Full Length Research Paper Several lines of evidence have suggested that hypertension and its related complications are major health problems not only in Nigeria but the entire world. Thus, this study examined the awareness about the risk factors and complications associated with hypertension at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Questionnaire instrument was used to collect data from a randomly selected 556 subjects selected across faculties, departments and sectional units of the University. The descriptive statistics showed that some members of staff demonstrated a relatively high level of knowledge about the complications associated with hypertension but knowledge about the risk factors and attitude towards the illness was still low. However, level of education significantly influences awareness of complications (at 0.05) and knowledge of risk factors (at 0.05). On-job screening and educative programmes are fundamental ways to improve knowledge about hypertension at the work-place. Key words: Awareness, knowledge, hypertension, high blood pressure, risk factors, complications. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/723E47D1399 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000066 en Copyright © 2011 Ali Arazeem Abdullahi and Jimoh Amzat

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:9D6DDBF1409 2011-05-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Antenatal care services in rural areas of Aligarh, India: A cross-sectional study M. Athar Ansari and Z. Khan Full Length Research Paper The present study was carried out to find out the current status of antenatal care services. A cross-sectional study was carried out in rural areas of Aligarh taking WHO 30 cluster methodology. The required number of villages from each stratum was selected with probability proportional to size (PPS). There were 154 currently pregnant women (CPW) and 248 recently delivered women (RDW), of these, a majority of CPW (72.1%) and RDW (59.7%) did not have any ANC checkup. 65.1% of CPW and 40.0% of RDW had their first ANC checkup in the first trimester. Majority of CPW (53.9%) did not receive any TT vaccination. On the contrary, most of the RDW (73.0%) had two doses of TT vaccination. Similarly, large number of the CPW (75.3%) and 52.4% of RDW did not receive iron folic acid (IFA) tablets. In CPW, weight was measured only in 16.3% women. However, height was measured in 41.9%, B. P. was recorded in 46.5%, The same pattern was observed in RDW. Preferred place of delivery was home in CPW (64.9%) and RDW (81.4%) and mostly conducted by trained birth attendant (TBA). It is concluded that among the aspects ignored during antenatal period, patient education is of vast importance and even a low level of counseling can improve utilization of health services by mothers. Key words: Currently pregnant women (CPW), recently delivered women (RDW), ANC checkup, trained birth attendant (TBA). Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/9D6DDBF1409 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000012 en Copyright © 2011 M. Athar Ansari and Z. Khan

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:05F004B1416 2011-05-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Antibiotic self-medication among university medical undergraduates in Northern Nigeria Joseph O. Fadare and Igbiks Tamuno Full Length Research Paper Self-medication is becoming a common type of self-care behavior among the population of many countries. Many international studies have investigated the prevalence and nature of self-medication practices at the population level. In Nigeria, some workers have also looked at the population prevalence of self-medication in general; however the prevalence of antibiotic self-medication among medical undergraduates has not yet been studied. The interest in studying this practice among this select group is due to the fact that they are the future prescribers and health educators of the population of Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional pre-tested questionnaire-based study carried out among medical students of the Bayero University, Kano, North-West Nigeria during a two-week period in August 2008. The information from the returned questionnaire were coded, entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 12 statistical software. A total of 183 students filled and returned the questionnaire giving a response rate of 83.2%. Out of these respondents, 120 (65.6%) were males and the mean age of respondents was 23.2 plusmn; 2.5 years (Range 17 to 31). 71 (38.8%) of the medical students admitted to the practice and there was no statistically significant difference among the different levels of medical education (p gt;0.05). Antibiotics from the penicillin group (ampicillin/cloxacillin, amoxicillin and ampicillin) were the most frequently used. Self-medication with antibiotics is prevalent among medical undergraduates in Northern Nigeria. There is a need for an intervention to address this practice. Key words: Antibiotics, self-medication, medical undergraduates, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/05F004B1416 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000013 en Copyright © 2011 Joseph O. Fadare and Igbiks Tamuno

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:B64CD771436 2011-05-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Psychosocial survey on erectile dysfunction among diabetic and non-diabetic attributes, Penang, Malaysia Syed Wasif Gillani, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman, Yaseen Khalid, Yelly Oktavia Sari, Mirza Baig and Atif Amin Full Length Research Paper Sex is a natural and basic drive of human beings. In Malaysia, erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common problem, affecting 16 to 47% of men above 40 years old. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common complication of diabetics, with prevalence ranging between 27 and 75%. Knowledge and perception are essential precursors of ED related quality of life. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, to produce the preliminary information to compare the knowledge and the perception of diabetic and non diabetic population towards sexual activity and the effect of ED on quality of life. Population based survey includes the entire male respondent in the community with age of 18 years and above. Investigator personally approached the respondents and asked them to complete self administered and anonymous pre-validated questionnaire. Statistical package for social sciences (version 15reg;) was used to analyze the data by adopting chi-square, univariate and multivariate analysis, ANOVA, T-test techniques, respectively. Data was collected from 1700 males aged between 20 years and above with response rate of 88.35%. The mean total knowledge score obtained by diabetics was significantly (plt;0.001) higher (63.7% of the maximum possible total knowledge score) than non-diabetics score (53.8 %). Diabetics scored significantly (p=0.021) lower, regarding perception towards sexual activity (65.1%) than non diabetics (70%), also, diabetics scored non significantly higher scores regarding perception towards effect of ED on quality of life (61.3%) compared with non diabetics (59.7%). Mean score of total knowledge of non-diabetics was 10.23 plusmn; 4.73 (that is, 53.8%) with maximum possible score of 19, while mean score of total perception of non-diabetics was 34.08 plusmn; 5.51 (that is, 63.1%) with maximum possible score of 54. There was significant association between diabetics using medicine for ED (plt;0.001). Viagrareg;(Seldenafil) was the most commonly used medicine between diabetics and non diabetics. It was concluded that although diabetics patients are more knowledgeable regarding ED, they have lower perception towards sexual activity and less satisfaction with their sexual life. Their perception regarding the effect of ED on their quality of life is more than that of non-diabetics. Key words: Diabetics mellitus, perception and quality of life, erectile dysfunction, erectile and diabetics, diabetics and quality of life, erectile dysfunction treatment. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/B64CD771436 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000103 en Copyright © 2011 Syed Wasif Gillani, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman, Yaseen Khalid, Yelly Oktavia Sari, Mirza Baig and Atif Amin

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:A74FADE1468 2011-05-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Technical competence of tutors in pre-service health training institutions on the Expanded Programme on Immunization in North-Western Nigeria A. S. Umar, A. O. Olatunji, A. O. Abiola, A. Yakubu and M. Oche Full Length Research Paper The study was conducted to assess the knowledge and skills of tutors on the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in some pre-service health training institutions in Nigeria to identify their training needs. The study was a cross sectional survey using a structured self-administered questionnaire and an observational checklist. A total of 62 tutors from 5 pre-service health training institutions were selected. The level of knowledge was assessed using a scoring system as adequate or in adequate. Overall, 25 (40.3%) of respondentsrsquo; had adequate knowledge on basic knowledge on immunization concepts, principles and components of Reaching Every Ward approach (REW). The overall mean score was 24.4 plusmn; 2. In all the 5 schools studied, there were no teaching aids (vaccine carriers, ice packs, cold box, AD syringes, safety box, IEC materials and data tools) and no reference materials (REW field guide or immunization in practice) in the school library. In-service training is the only variable that have demonstrated significant statistical association on overall knowledge of respondentsrsquo; (df = 1; F = 8.62; Plt;0.0001). There is significant gap in knowledge of the tutors on all components of REW and hence the need for training intervention. Key words: Tutors, pre-service health training institutions, knowledge, teaching aids, Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/A74FADE1468 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000121 en Copyright © 2011 A. S. Umar, A. O. Olatunji, A. O. Abiola, A. Yakubu and M. Oche

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:DA713F41475 2011-05-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Physical violence among intimate partners in Nigeria: A multi level analysis Yusuf O. B., Arulogun O. S., Oladepo O. and Olowokeere F. Full Length Research Paper Gender based violence is gaining more and more recognition, the world over. The prevalence and factors associated with physical violence as it affects both men and women taking into account the hierarchical nature of the data was reported in this study. A descriptive cross sectional survey was carried out on adult women and men in three selected states of Nigeria. A random effect logistic model was fitted. More female respondents had experienced physical violence compared with males. Behavioural factors of partners were found to greatly influence domestic violence against females such as young age and partnerrsquo;s smoking and drinking status. These results would provide more insights into the determinants of violence in developing country settings. Key words: Physical violence, intimate partners, multilevel analysis, determinants. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/DA713F41475 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000084 en Copyright © 2011 Yusuf O. B., Arulogun O. S., Oladepo O. and Olowokeere F.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:AC2DB351553 2011-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Knowledge and practices relating to malaria in Ndu community of Cameroon: Signs and symptoms, causes and prevention Dickson Shey Nsagha, Anna Longdoh Njunda, Henri Lucien Fouamno Kamga, Jules Clement Nguedia Assob, Charles Shey Wiysonge, Sarah Mboshi Nsagha, and Alfred Kongnyu Njamnshishy; Full Length Research Paper More than 90% of deaths due to malaria occur in Sub-Saharan Africa where it kills a child below five years every 30seconds. In Cameroon, malaria accounts for 40-45% of medical consultations, 57% of hospitalization days and 40% of mortality among children below 5 years. The objective of this study was to understand how people recognize malaria, its cause, prevention and modifiable risky behaviours that are important in planning approaches for its control. Questionnaire was administered to inhabitants of Ndu in a cross-sectional study. The respondentrsquo;s consent was sought and those who could not read, write or understand English language were communicated to in the local lsquo;Limbumrsquo; dialect. Data was analysed using SPSS. Majority (97.6%) [95% confidence interval (CI): 95.7-99.5%] of the 253 respondents knew at least a symptom of malaria. The commonest symptom mentioned was headache (15%). Seventy (27.7%) participants knew the cause of malaria to be mosquito bites. Incorrect causes of malaria cited included bad whether (9.5%), curse from an elder (7.1%), witchcraft (3.5%), bad food (9.0%), unclean water (5.9%) and drinking alcoholics (2.4%). 153(60.5%) [95% CI:54.5-66.5%]respondents practiced a correct malaria preventive measure. Prominent correct preventive measures stated included environmental sanitation (21.3%), aerosol insecticides (10.3%), mosquito coil (7.9%), chemoprophylaxis (5.9%), mosquito net (1.2%) and traditional medicines (13.8%).Incorrect malaria preventive methods included avoiding the early morning hot sunrays (9.5%). Malaria prevention was related to the educational status of the participants (p=0.04). Proper health education messages on malaria determinants are required to improve upon the understanding of the disease. Keywords: Malaria, knowledge, practices, cause, signs and symptoms, prevention, Cameroon. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/AC2DB351553 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000065 en Copyright © 2011 Dickson Shey Nsagha, Anna Longdoh Njunda, Henri Lucien Fouamno Kamga, Jules Clement Nguedia Assob, Charles Shey Wiysonge, Sarah Mboshi Nsagha, and Alfred Kongnyu Njamnshishy;

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:DB728CC1542 2011-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

No HIV infections despite high numbers of hepatitis B and C virus infections in Dutch prisoners Imke Schreuder, Marianne A. B. van der Sande, Albert D. M. E. Osterhaus, Charles A. B. Boucher, John Pinxt, Christian J. P. A. Hoebe, Nicole H. T. M . Dukers-Muijrers, Femke D. H. Koedijk, Anneke Westerhof, Esther A. Croes and Maaike G. van Veen Full Length Research Paper International studies show high prevalences of blood-borne infections in prisoners but little is known about infectious diseases in Dutch prisoners. This study assessed the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections in Dutch prisoners and contributing risk factors. A cross-sectional serosurvey was conducted among male prisoners, using blood samples and questionnaires. Overall, 229 prisoners participated (77%). No prisoner was HIV seropositive. Nineteen prisoners (8.3%) were anti-hepatitis B core (anti-HBc) positive, three of whom were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive. Fifty (22%) were anti-HBs positive, either after vaccination or previous infection. The prevalence of antibodies to Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was 7.4%, of whom 4.8% was HCV-RNA positive. Over half of the prisoners reported drug use, 36% reported drug use in prison. The predictor for HBV was IDU (plt;0.001); the predictors for HCV were higher age and injecting drug users (IDU)(plt;0.05). Prevalences among injecting drug users (IDUs) were significantly higher than among non-IDUs (plt;0.001). While we did not identify any HIV infected prisoners, the study showed that seroprevalences of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HCV infections among Dutch prisoners were up to twenty times higher than estimated for the Dutch general population. IDU was the most commonly reported route of transmission. Since only a minority of prisoners was immune to HBV, vaccination coverage in prisoners should be enhanced. Key words: Epidemiology, blood-borne infection, hepatitis, HIV infection, injecting drug use, prison, seroprevalence. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/DB728CC1542 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000075 en Copyright © 2011 Imke Schreuder, Marianne A. B. van der Sande, Albert D. M. E. Osterhaus, Charles A. B. Boucher, John Pinxt, Christian J. P. A. Hoebe, Nicole H. T. M . Dukers-Muijrers, Femke D. H. Koedijk, Anneke Westerhof, Esther A. Croes and Maaike G. van Veen

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:BBC3DCA1535 2011-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

A cohort study on obstetric care for HIV positive women in Addis Ababa: Intrapartum transfers and associated delays Alemnesh H. Mirkuzie, Sven Gudmund Hinderaker, Mitike Molla Sisay, Karen Marie Moland and Odd Moslash;rkve Full Length Research Paper Despite the importance of safe obstetric practice in reducing mother-to-child HIV transmission and adverse perinatal outcomes, little is known about access to intrapartum obstetric care for HIV positive women. A cohort of HIV positive women were followed to assess the rate of intrapartum transfers and associated adverse outcomes in Addis Ababa. Overall, 282 HIV positive pregnant women were followed, 75% gave birth at Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care facilities, 42% of them transferred between health facilities during the intrapartum period and 36% were transferred two or more times. Sixty four percent of the first time transfers were due to obstetric complications, while all subsequent transfers were due to practical constraints. Women in their second pregnancy were less likely (OR 0.3 95% CI 0.2-0.6) to be transferred than women in their first pregnancy. Transferred women experienced more stillbirths than women who were not transferred. The rate of stillbirths was not significantly associated with the syphilis test result, the CD4count and initiating antiretroviral therapy. There appeared to be serious challenges within the health care system compromising the intrapartum care for our participants and increasing the risk of stillbirth and MTCT. Undue transfers during the intrapartum period should be addressed at all levels of the health care system. Key words: Delay, EmONC, Ethiopia, intrapartum, MTCT, stillbirth, transfer, PMTCT. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/BBC3DCA1535 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000001 en Copyright © 2011 Alemnesh H. Mirkuzie, Sven Gudmund Hinderaker, Mitike Molla Sisay, Karen Marie Moland and Odd Moslash;rkve

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:69CE7581518 2011-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Evolutionary characteristics of swine-origin H1N1 influenza virus that infected humans from sporadic to pandemic Lei Han, Wenying Lu, Yifang Han, Shuhua Li, Jianhua Yin, Jiaxin Xie, Tong Su and Guangwen Cao Full Length Research Paper Evolutionary process of swine-origin H1N1 influenza A viruses that infected humans from sporadic to pandemic is of high epidemiological significance but still remains obscure. To understand this process, we performed phylogenetic, bootscan, and adaptive evolution analyses using the sequences of the 8 gene segments from swine-origin H1N1 influenza A viruses that infected humans and the reference viruses. Classic swine H1N1 viruses occasionally infected humans before 1998. Sporadic human infection with the triple-reassortant swine-origin H1N1 viruses was firstly identified in 1998 and has become increasingly frequent since 2005. Except genes encoding the neuraminidase and matrix protein of swine influenza viruses of Eurasian lineage, other 6 genes of A/H1N1/2009 pandemic strain were most closely linked to those of A/Iowa/CEID23/2005(H1N1), a representative swine-origin triple-reassortant virus that infected humans sporadically. Potential positive selections acting on the haemagglutinin gene evolved from classic swine H1N1 viruses to the triple-reassortant H1N1 viruses and on the neuraminidase gene evolved from Eurasian swine viruses to A/H1N1/2009 pandemic viruses might play a role in cross-species transmission and human infection. Surveillance of genetic evolution of influenza A viruses in swine workers might provide useful clues of influenza pandemic. Key words: Swine, H1N1 influenza virus, evolution, sporadic, pandemic. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/69CE7581518 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000053 en Copyright © 2011 Lei Han, Wenying Lu, Yifang Han, Shuhua Li, Jianhua Yin, Jiaxin Xie, Tong Su and Guangwen Cao

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:37B747E1499 2011-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

The ability of the all patient refined (APR) and centres for medicare (CMS) diagnosis related groups (DRG) systems to evaluate clinical and functional outcomes of hospitalized elderly patients: A multicentre, prospective study Alberto Pilotto, Marilisa Franceschi, Mauro Di Bari, Franco Rengo, Roberto Bernabei, Luca Lorenzoni, Niccolograve; Marchionni and Antonio Greco Full Length Research Paper Aim of the study was to compare the ability of the all patients refined diagnosis related groups (APR-DRG) with the centre for medicare and medicaid services diagnosis related groups (CMS-DRG) in predicting multidimensional impairment of elderly patients. Cases discharged from 20 geriatric units were grouped by the CMS-DRG and the APR-DRG. A comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) was performed using the activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), short portable mental status questionnaire (SPMSQ), comorbidity index rating scale (CIRS), mini nutritional assessment (MNA), geriatric depression scale-short form (GDS-SF) and exton smith scale (ESS). Number of drugs at admission (DPA) and length of stay (LOS) were also recorded. CMS-DRG and APR-DRG relative weights (RW) were used for comparisons. 1273 patients were included. With increasing the APR-DRG-RW, a significant increase in the prevalence of impaired patients was found in ADL, IADL, SPMSQ, CIRS, GDS-SF and ESS. The CMS-DRG-RW subgroups showed a significant difference for MNA and GDS-SF. LOS was significantly different for both APR and CMS DRG. The number of CGA domains in which APR showed a more significant trend in disability when compared to CMS DRG demonstrates that the former was a better predictor of multidimensional impairment. Key words: All patients refined diagnosis related groups (APR-DRG), centre for medicare and medicaid services diagnosis related groups (CMS-DRG), comprehensive geriatric assessment, elderly. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/37B747E1499 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000122 en Copyright © 2011 Alberto Pilotto, Marilisa Franceschi, Mauro Di Bari, Franco Rengo, Roberto Bernabei, Luca Lorenzoni, Niccolograve; Marchionni and Antonio Greco

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:06373441527 2011-06-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Assessment of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage to enhance male sexual performance in Ogbomoso metropolis Oyekunle Olanrewaju Akinloye and Raji Yinusa Full Length Research Paper This work is aimed at comparing availability, affordability, patronage and adverse effects of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with orthodox medicines [such as Sildenafil citrate (Viagra)] as remedy for enhancing sexual performance in Ogbomoso metropolis, Nigeria. 530 adult men were interviewed at random across the city with a structured open- and close-ended questionnaire. The information obtained include demographic status, experience of sexual dysfunction, choice of remedy and reasons, sources of remedies, efficacy and accompanying side effects of the of the chosen remedy. There were 420 (79.24%) CAM users, 38 (7.18%) Orthodox remedy users and 72 (13.58%) neither use herbal nor orthodox remedy to enhance sexual performance all with mean age of 32plusmn;2.4 years. The data obtained indicated a significant patronage of CAM as remedy for male sexual dysfunction. Also significant percentage (Plt;0.05) of orthodox remedy users indicated unpleasant experience when compared with CAM users. The use of CAM is quite common among sexually active men in Ogbomoso metropolis and usage is independent of socio-economic status. Research efforts should be geared towards finding natural products with aphrodisiac potentials, readily available, affordable and with little or no side effect. Key word: Sexual dysfunction, alternative medicine, Sildenafil citrate, herbal products, complications, Ogbomoso. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/06373441527 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000016 en Copyright © 2011 Oyekunle Olanrewaju Akinloye and Raji Yinusa

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:4AEACA71588 2011-07-30T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Anaemia, malaria burden and its control methods among pregnant women in a semi-urban community of northern Nigeria Jombo G. T. A., Mbaawuaga E. M., Ayegba A. S. and Araoye M. A. Full Length Research Paper The study was carried out to ascertain the incidence of malaria parasitaemia and associated anaemia among pregnant women in a semi-urban community nine years after commencement of roll back malaria (RBM) initiative. The study was hospital-based among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at a central hospital. Structured questionnaires were administered containing relevant information on age, educational level, number of previous pregnancies and methods used for malaria control. Thick and thin blood films from capillary blood were stained with Giemarsquo;s stain and examined microscopically for malaria parasites. Packed cell volume (PCV) and blood groups were also carried out while body temperatures were measured using mercurial thermometers. Ethical clearance and informed consents were appropriately obtained. Data was analysed using Epi info 6 statistical software. The incidence of malaria parasitaemia was found to be 308 (42.4%);Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium malariae accounted for 302 (98%) and 6 (2%) of the isolates respectively. Anaemia was detected in 221 (71.6%) of the subjects with malaria parasites (Plt; 0.001). The rate of use of insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) was 165 (22.7%) with a significantly lower rate of infection (22.2%) among them compared to other control methods (Plt; 0.001); there was a corresponding significantly higher rate of infection 253 (67.1%) among the uneducated compared to the educated (Plt; 0.001). Malaria is still a major health problem among pregnant women in Otukpo. Efforts should be intensified towards provision of insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) and provision of adequate facilities for formal and informal adult education. Key words: Malaria, parasitaemia, insecticide treated bed nets, pregnant women, Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/4AEACA71588 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000010 en Copyright © 2011 Jombo G. T. A., Mbaawuaga E. M., Ayegba A. S. and Araoye M. A.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:5C2D8F51666 2011-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Multiresistant faecal indicator bacteria in stream and well waters of Ile-Ife City, Southwestern Nigeria: Public health implications O. Oyedeji, P. O. Olutiola, K. D. Owolabi and K. A. Adeojo Full Length Research Paper This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of multiple antibiotic-resistant faecal indicator bacteria in streams and wells which serve as major sources of water for inhabitants of Ile-Ife City in Southwestern Nigeria. Water samples from 2 streams and 10 wells situated at different parts of the city were collected over a 6-month period. The total heterotrophic bacteria, faecal coliform and enterococci counts were performed using standard procedures, and the sensitivity of the isolates to antibiotics was tested. The study indicated high faecal indicator concentrations exceeding quality standards for drinking and recreational waters according to World Health Organization (WHO) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). All the faecal coliforms and enterococci isolates presented multiple antibiotic resistances. The water sources pose a threat to human health due to the danger of waterborne diseases and potential for the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes to pathogens. Effective public health education aimed at creating awareness of the implications of consumption of contaminated and untreated water is imperative. Antibiotics should only be administered based on physiciansrsquo; prescription. Key words: Antibiotic resistance, faecal indicator bacteria, Southwestern Nigeria, stream water, waterborne diseases, well water. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/5C2D8F51666 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000074 en Copyright © 2011 O. Oyedeji, P. O. Olutiola, K. D. Owolabi and K. A. Adeojo

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:086BCCB1611 2011-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Analysis of factors related to complaints in medical schemes Michael Mncedisi Willie Full Length Research Paper Medical schemes are insurance institutions that cover medical expenses in South Africa. These institutions reimburse their members for actual expenditure on health. The Medical Schemes Act (Act 131 of 1998) defines the business of a medical scheme as the business of undertaking liability in return for a contribution in order to make provision for obtaining any relevant health service. The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) is an autonomous statutory body created by parliament to regulate the medical schemes industry in South Africa. The CMS handles complaints from members of medical schemes. The objective of the study was to assess factors that impact on the response time to complaints by members of medical schemes. Survival analysis techniques were employed to assess these factors. The regression models controlled for factors such as, medical scheme type, medical scheme size, severity of complaints and effects of the analysts. The model revealed the effect of analysts as a significant factor to response time to complaints. The findings of the study revealed useful results in terms of identifying analysts that take longer to resolve complaints. The study also revealed that the nature of complaints as an important factor to the response time. There is a need for the complaints department to be properly resourced and continuously train staff to ensure effective resolution of complaints in medical schemes. Key words: Survival analysis, Kaplan-Meier, Tarone-Ware test, Cox proportional hazard model, log-rank test. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/086BCCB1611 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000011 en Copyright © 2011 Michael Mncedisi Willie

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:9900D211604 2011-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Retrospective study of bovine and human tuberculosis in abattoirs and hospitals in Enugu State, Southeast Nigeria Nwanta J. A., Umeononigwe C. N., Abonyi G. E. and Onunkwo J. I. Full Length Research Paper A study to generate epidemiological data on tuberculosis in cattle and humans in Enugu State, through a retrospective survey of abattoir and hospital records for a five-year period (2004 to 2008) was undertaken. A total of 748 and 2452 cases of tuberculosis were recorded in cattle and humans respectively. Statistical analysis showed that a variation in seasonal prevalence in both studied population, but the variation was not statistically significant. Sex-associated prevalence differed in both studied populations. Cows and male persons were both significantly (plt;0.05) affected in cattle and humans, respectively. Patients within the age-group of 21 to 40 years had statistically significant (plt;0.05) higher proportion of tuberculosis in humans. Overall mean prevalence of 1.4% and 12.9% was recorded for cattle and humans, respectively. This prompts intensification of control programmes against tuberculosis in both cattle and humans in the state. Key words: Cattle, humans, tuberculosis, Enugu State, prevalence. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/9900D211604 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000109 en Copyright © 2011 Nwanta J. A., Umeononigwe C. N., Abonyi G. E. and Onunkwo J. I.

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:A954F871581 2011-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Prevalence, distribution and behavioural determinants of coital activity among High School students in Namibia: A cross-sectional study Kazhila C. Chinsembu, Choshi D. Kasanda and Cornelia N. Shimwooshili-Shaimemanya Full Length Research Paper Although HIV transmission among Namibian in-school adolescents is mainly heterosexual, previous data on sexual activity are not disaggregated, making it difficult to target interventions. This study conducted a disaggregated analysis of coital activity and explored various factors associated with coital activity among Namibian High School students. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 18 schools located in six education regions. Data were collected from 829 students through a structured questionnaire. Pearson chi;2 analysis was used to determine the distribution of coital activity for students from different regions, rural-urban areas, ethnic groups, and gender. Factors associated with coital activity were established by the use of odds ratios and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Overall, 50.2% of the students never had sex before and 29.2% were sexually active. Pearson chi;2analysis showed that coital activity was significantly high among students in the Caprivi region, urban areas, Lozi, Herero and Damara-Nama ethnic groups, and male gender. Multivariate logistic regression showed that the only significant factors positively associated with coital activity were Herero ethnicity, male gender, testing for HIV, thinking one could not get HIV if they were faithful to a single sexual partner, having a boyfriend of girlfriend, and drinking beer. These disaggregated results will help design targeted HIV/AIDS preventive programmes for High School students in Namibia. This can be done by targeting messages that reduce studentsrsquo; coital activity by way of altering personal, peer, and social behaviours. Key words: Prevalence, distribution, determinants, coital activity, students. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/A954F871581 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000099 en Copyright © 2011 Kazhila C. Chinsembu, Choshi D. Kasanda and Cornelia N. Shimwooshili-Shaimemanya

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:2E94A271576 2011-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Disease dynamics, distribution and surveillance of malaria in arid ecology of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India during 2002 to 2006 P. K. Anand, L. Swarn, S. P. Yadav and H. Singh Full Length Research Paper Malaria is under regular and ongoing surveillance, to detect changes in its trends or distribution in order to initiate investigative or control measures in the country. Owing to limited availability of resources and rational use under the program, prevention and control activities against malaria varies in areas with different intensity of malaria transmission. Transmission dynamics, surveillance, mapping of disease burden for malaria in arid ecological setting of Jodhpur, Rajasthan has described in this study. Monthly epidemiological reports of Jodhpur City, district Jodhpur and all its community health centres were obtained from the office, Chief Medical and Health Officer district Jodhpur for the period 2002 to 2006. Secular trend of malaria incidence, transmission dynamics, mapping of disease burden areas and surveillance of malaria was described. The range of annual parasite incidence (API) was from 0.52 to 2.85 in district Jodhpur, with API lt;2 in the last consecutive 3 years (2004 to 2006). The slide positivity rate (SPR) ranged from 0.59 to 2.29 in district Jodhpur with continuous decline from 1.51 in 2004 to 0.56 in 2006. Transmission dynamics of total malaria varies from one year to another. Total malaria cases during each year reached at peak in the different months in the duration of 2002 to 2006. Malaria is a persistent health problem in district Jodhpur with variation in its transmission dynamics within and between the years. District Jodhpur with its rural and urban areas is a low risk area for malaria. Malaria prophylaxis and management strategies as applicable in low risk area would be appropriate for district Jodhpur. Key words: Malaria, Rajasthan, arid ecology, low risk area, desert. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/2E94A271576 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000041 en Copyright © 2011 P. K. Anand, L. Swarn, S. P. Yadav and H. Singh

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:036616D1595 2011-07-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

A study of travel medicine among National and International travellers in Egypt Naglaa A. El Sherbiny and Ghada M. Wafik Full Length Research Paper Travel medicine has emerged as a new field of medicine that involves pre-travel evaluation, contingency planning during travel, and post-travel care. Its implementation showed major discrepancies among different countries. This study aims to assess the health information given to travelers and detect their sources of information. This is a cross sectional analytical observational study of 397 travelers implemented on different travel destinations all over Egypt. It adopts self-administered structured questionnaires according to the International Travel Health Questionnaire (ITHQ) and in-depth interviews with managers in the Ministry of Tourism. The results showed that 17.5% of the international travelers and none of the national travelers heard about the ITHQ; whereas, 58.9% of the international travelers and 26.8% of the national travelers took information about safety measures from different sources. However, there was a lack of travelersrsquo; knowledge about safety measures with no obvious role of travel agencies. Key words: Travel medicine, traveler safety, travel agent health advice. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/036616D1595 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000003 en Copyright © 2011 Naglaa A. El Sherbiny and Ghada M. Wafik

oai:academicjournals.org:JPHE:AF39E5B1670 2011-08-31T00:00:00Z AcademicJournals JPHE JPHE:2011

Prevalence of waterborne infections in Northwest Nigeria: A retrospective study Raji M. I. O. and Ibrahim Y. K. E. Full Length Research Paper Northwest Nigeria is frequently beset with inadequate water supply. The safety of drinking water to the people in this part of the country has been of major concern as a result of frequently reported incidences of waterborne infections. To ascertain incidences of waterborne infections in this study, patient medical records in several primary health care centres in Sokoto, Shuni and Tambuwal towns in Northwest Nigeria were examined to collect data on incidences of waterborne infections and bio-data of the patients. Simple statistical analysis (Percentage) of collated data was carried out. The records showed that there are high incidences of waterborne infections namely typhoid, cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis in the three towns, and that these are more frequent in children below the age of 5 years. Gender distribution of diarrhoea and dysentery cases in 2004 and 2005 showed on average that more female than male residents contracted the infections. The number of cases of waterborne infections in the three towns increased from 10.03% in 2004 to 14.14% in 2005. Diarrhoea, constituting 6.23% in 2004 and 10.04% in 2005 was the most commonly reported cases of waterborne infection in the three towns. Shuni recorded the highest (8.95%) incidences of diarrhoea infection in 2004, followed by Tambuwal (6.23%) and Sokoto had the least (4.81%) while in 2005 Sokoto had the highest (11.99%) followed by Tambuwal (10.23%) and Shuni had the least (7.55%). Pre-study investigations have shown that people in this part of the country lack wholesome drinking water, government should therefore endeavour to make potable water abundant and accessible to its people. Key words: Waterborne infections, drinking water, diarrhoea, Northwest Nigeria. Academic Journals 2011 TEXT text/html https://academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-abstract/AF39E5B1670 http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPHE.9000098 en Copyright © 2011 Raji M. I. O. and Ibrahim Y. K. E. 2024-07-17T06:45:39Z|100|oai_dc|jphe