scholarly journals User frequency and microbial contaminants of traditional oral powdered herbal formulations in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Ideh ◽  
Adepoju T.J. Ogunkunle

Background: Being natural, herbal products are often perceived as safe but studies have shown that they may not be free of pathogenic microorganisms. The extent of microbial contaminants of traditional oral powdered herbal formulations (TOPHFs) in Ogbomoso, Nigeria, is not known, while the frequency of users of these drugs in the study area has not been reported.Aim: To evaluate the microbial contaminants of TOPHFs marketed in Ogbomoso Nigeria, identify the risk factors associated with their production and handling, and determine the frequency of users of the drugs.Setting: Ogbomoso, Nigeria.Methods: Fifteen manufacturers of TOPHFs listed the health conditions that are indicated for their drugs, while 125 residents provided information on their preference for those drugs. The questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency counts and percentages). Packaging and/or handling and level of personal and environmental hygiene of the manufacturers were examined and analysed for significance of their influence on contamination of drugs using chi-square test. Using pour plate method and following standard procedures, 12 samples of TOPHFs were analysed to quantify their bacterial and fungal contaminants.Results: The TOPHFs were indicated for 17 different types of health conditions with 60% of the sampled population being prolonged and regular users. The personal and environmental hygiene levels of the manufacturers fell short of acceptable standard. Ten out of the 12 samples analysed were heavily contaminated (i.e. above WHO limits) with yeasts/moulds and faecal coliforms such as Enterobacteria, 9 with Streptococcus and 6 with pathogenic bacterial species such as Staphylococcus and Salmonella. There was a significant association of TOPHFs contamination with manufacturers’ level of formal education (p = 0.001), solid waste management (p = 0.015) and methods of updating knowledge and expertise (p = 0.004), thus making these 3 the risk factors associated with contamination of the drugs.Conclusion: Use of TOPHFs is popular among the residents of Ogbomoso, but there is a high rate of contamination of these drugs with some potentially pathogenic organisms because of insufficient quality control in their production and handling.

Author(s):  
Vera Yafeh Akwa ◽  
Waetsi Nya Yusufu ◽  
Victor Ugochukwu Obisike ◽  
Amina Ojochide Hassan

One of the parasitic infection faced by school age children in developing countries is intestinal parasitic infection. This study was designed to determine risk factors associated with gastrointestinal helminthic infections among school age children. A total of 600 stool samples were randomly examined by direct smear method under microscope and formol-ether concentration technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-noneconomic status of the children’s parents and other variables. Of this, (n=252; 42%) were found to be infected with gastrointestinal helminths infections given a breakdown of male (n=148; 24.7%) and female (n=104; 17.3%). However, there was no significant difference in prevalence among the socio-economic status. Parent whose occupation was farmer (n=169; 28%) also recorded high rate of infection, the lowest prevalence was seen among civil servants (n=19; 3%). Parents with little or no knowledge of intestinal helminths were found to be statistically significant (n=199; 33.1%, p<0.02; α =0.02) The  highest  rate of infection was recorded among children who had dirty finger nails (n=232; 38.6%), followed by those who walked barefooted(28.2%),then open defecation (n=147; 24.6%),  hand washing after defecation (n=195; 30,7%,), habit of eating raw/roasted meat (n=136; 22.3%), hand washing before meal (n=102; 17.02%) and keeping of dirty clothes and bed linens (n=180; 30%) . Such a relatively high prevalence rate of helminthic infection in the study area could be used as a base line for the concern bodies to launch de-worming intervention campaigns.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Lechedem Ngunyi ◽  
Gregory Halle-Ekane ◽  
Nicholas Tendongfor ◽  
Etheldreda Leinyuy Mbivnjo ◽  
Armel Evouna Mbarga ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Postpartum febrile morbidity is relatively common, occurring in approximately 5–7% of births. Differentiating between potentially serious and benign causes of postpartum pyrexia (PP) is fundamental in curbing the mortality rate from sinister causes such as sepsis. The paucity of data on PP in Cameroon makes it difficult to access its actual burden. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence, risk factors and aetiologies of PP at a tertiary hospital in Douala, Cameroon. Methods This was a 2 – year hospital – based retrospective cohort study carried out at the Douala General Hospital (DGH), during which medical records of all postpartum admissions between January 1 st 2017 and December 31st 2018 were reviewed. The review consisted of collecting data on socio-demographic characteristics, clinical profile, investigations and final diagnoses. The collected data was analysed in SPSS 23.0. Chi-squared test was used to test the association between variables and a logistic regression analysis was fitted to identify risk factors associated to PP. Results A total of 1520 postpartum files were reviewed. The prevalence of PP was 8.82%. The most frequent causes of PP were: malaria (46.7%), urinary tract infections (18.7%), puerperal sepsis (17.9%) and pneumonia (8.7%). E. coli was the most (49.3%) cultured germ isolated in positive cultures. Onset of PP was more common (85%) within the first 3 days postpartum and malaria (60%) was the leading aetiology within this period. Five or more vaginal examinations prior to delivery (OR 59.151, 95% CI: 21.463-163.019; p<0.001), perineal tears (OR 45.157, 95% CI: 2.266-899.722; p<0.001), and duration of labour >18hours (OR 26.760, 95% CI: 7.100-100.862; p<0.001) were the most significant risk factors associated with PP. Conclusion Approximately 1 in every 12 postpartum cases in the DGH presents with PP . Malaria was the leading cause of PP at DGH especially for cases registered within 3 days postpartum. The risk factors identified were mostly associated to perinatal events, such as frequent vaginal examinations, perineal tears and prolonged labour. Efforts towards preventing identified risk factors thus becomes paramount in order to curb this high rate of PP in the DGH.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sokhna Thiam ◽  
Samuel Fuhrimann ◽  
Aminata Niang-Diène ◽  
Ibrahima Sy ◽  
Ousmane Faye ◽  
...  

Rapid urbanisation, particularly in secondary cities in Africa, brings along specific challenges for global health, including the prevention and control of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea. Our purpose was to visualise urbanisation trends and its effect on risk factors associated with childhood diarrhoea, e.g. water supply, sanitation, wastewater and solid waste management in Mbour, a secondary city in south-western Senegal. Our visualisation is facilitated by epidemiological and geographical surveys carried out in 2016. A deeper spatial and visual understanding of the urbanisation trends and the disparities of diarrhoea-associated risk factors might lead to the implementation of suitable health interventions and preventive measures. Our visualisation is aimed to serve as a basis for discussion and as a decision support tool for policymakers, municipal officials and local communities to prioritise interventions related to water, sanitation and waste management with a view to reduce the environmental and health risks in the rapidly growing city of Mbour, which is set as an example for other similar secondary cities across low- and middle-income countries in Africa.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (07) ◽  
pp. 511-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muayad Aghali Merza ◽  
Parissa Farnia ◽  
Payam Tabarsi ◽  
Mehdi Khazampour ◽  
Mohammad Reza Masjedi ◽  
...  

Introduction: This study aimed to determine first-line anti-tuberculosis drug resistance rates in new and previously treated cases and to identify risk factors associated with multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) at the National Reference Tuberculosis Laboratory of Iran. Methodology:  This was a retrospective analysis of all confirmed TB patients from December 2000 to June 2005. Drug susceptibility testing to isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide was performed on Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium according to the proportion method. Results: Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains were isolated from 1,742 patients with TB, of whom 935 (53.7%) were male. The mean age of patients was 44.2 ± 17.4 years (SD). A total of 1,074 patients were native Iranians while 668 (38.3%) were immigrant patients. Out of 1,139 (65.4%) new cases, 340 (29.9%) had at least one drug resistance. Of 603 (34.6%) previously treated cases, 416 (69.0%) had resistant strains. There were 263 patients (15.1%) with MDR-TB, 72 of whom were new (6.3% of all new cases) and 191 were previously treated (31.7% of all previously treated cases). Factors associated with MDR-TB included age under 45 years, male sex, previous TB treatment, immigration, poor living conditions, and unemployment. Conclusions: The high rate of initial resistance in MDR-TB cases and the high rate of MDR-TB in a young age group were indicators of recent transmission. Therefore, closer monitoring of transmission trends of drug resistant strains should be considered as priority, to ensure a successful TB control programme.


Author(s):  
Phu H. Doan

Canine parvovirus type-2 (CPV-2) is one of the most contagious viral agents causing acute enteritis in pups with high rate of morbidity and mortality. The study aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with canine parvovirus (CPV) occurrence in dogs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A total number of 132 dogs less than six months of age were recruited in the study and split into two groups: ‘CPV diseased dogs’ included 44 (33.3%) dogs positive with canine parvovirus confirmed by rapid immune-migration test, and ‘normal dogs’ consisted of 88 (66.7%) healthy dogs. Results indicated that the unvaccinated dogs had 11.76 times more risk of CPV infection than vaccinated dogs (OR = 11.76,P<0.001). The risk of CPV in dogs raised with others at the same age was 5.01 times (OR = 5.01,P= 0.027) higher than those raised singly. The risk of CPV infection of dogs interacting with neighbour dogs was 3.13 times (OR = 3.13,P= 0.028) higher than the dogs having no contact with other dogs living nearby. Briefly, our study highlights potential factors for CPV disease prevention, especially CPV vaccination is the most important driver affecting the occurrence of parvovirus in young dogs


2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Adam Brooks ◽  
Melissa Meinhart ◽  
Luma Samawi ◽  
Trena Mukherjee ◽  
Ruba Jaber ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The mental health of refugee women is often affected by multiple risk factors in their social ecology. Assessing these risk factors is foundational in determining potential areas for intervention. We used the social ecological model to examine risk factors associated with self-reported mental health symptoms among clinic-attending Syrian refugee women in Jordan. We hypothesize that individual (older age, unmarried, have more children under 18, difficulty reading/writing with ease), interpersonal (intimate partner violence [IPV]), community and societal level risk factors (greater number of postmigration stressors), will be associated with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Methods We surveyed 507 women using a cross-sectional clinic-based systematic sampling approach between April and November 2018. We used multivariable regressions to examine associations between different risk factors in the social ecology on depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Additional multivariable regressions explored associations between specific postmigration stressors and mental health conditions. Results We found rates of depression among our sample to be 62.92%; anxiety 57.46%; and PTSD 66.21%. Our hypothesis was partially supported. At the individual level, age was directly associated with anxiety (aOR 1.04, 95% CI [1.02, 1.06]) and PTSD (aOR 1.03, 95% CI [1.01, 1.06]), while marriage decreased odds for depression (aOR 0.41, 95% CI [0.19, 0.92]) and PTSD (aOR 0.36, 95% CI [0.15, 0.87]). IPV was associated with depression (aOR 2.78, 95% CI [1.72, 4.47]); anxiety (aOR 3.30, 95% CI [2.06, 5.27]); and PTSD (aOR 5.49, 95% CI [3.09, 9.76]). Each additional community and societal risk factor (postmigration stressor) increased the odds for depression (aOR 1.32, 95% CI [1.22, 1.42]), anxiety (aOR 1.28, 95% CI [1.19, 1.39]), and PTSD (aOR 1.46, 95% CI [1.33, 1.60]). Conclusion Understanding social ecological risk factors associated with mental health conditions of Syrian refugee women is vital to addressing their mental health needs. IPV and postmigration stressors are consistently impactful with all mental health conditions. IPV resulted in the largest odds increase for all mental health conditions. Multilevel interventions are needed to address mental health risk factors at multiple levels of the social ecology.


Housing ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adekunle Fakunle ◽  
Johnson Ogundare ◽  
Linda Olayinka-Alli ◽  
Mayowa Aridegbe ◽  
Temilade Bello ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Lechedem Ngunyi ◽  
Gregory Halle-Ekane ◽  
Nicholas Tendongfor ◽  
Etheldreda Leinyuy Mbivnjo ◽  
Armel Evouna Mbarga ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Postpartum febrile morbidity is relatively common, occurring in approximately 5–7% of births. Differentiating between potentially serious and benign causes of postpartum pyrexia is fundamental in curbing the mortality rate from sinister causes such as sepsis. The paucity of data on PP in Cameroon makes it difficult to access its actual burden. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence, risk factors and aetiologies of PP at a tertiary hospital in Douala, Cameroon. Methods This was a 2 – year hospital – based retrospective cohort study carried out at the Douala General Hospital (DGH), during which medical records of all postpartum admissions between January 1st 2017 and December 31st 2018 were reviewed. The review consisted of collecting data on socio-demographic characteristics, clinical profile, investigations and final diagnoses. The collected data was analysed in SPSS 23.0. Chi-squared test was used to test the association between variables and a logistic regression analysis was fitted to identify risk factors associated to PP. Results A total of 1520 postpartum files were reviewed. The prevalence of PP was 8.82%. The most frequent causes of PP were: malaria (46.7%), urinary tract infections (18.7%), puerperal sepsis (17.9%) and pneumonia (8.7%). E. coli was the most (49.3%) cultured germ isolated in positive cultures. Onset of PP was more common (85%) within the first 3 days postpartum and malaria (60%) was the leading aetiology within this period. Five or more vaginal examinations prior to delivery (OR 59.151, 95% CI: 21.463-163.019; p<0.001), perineal tears (OR 45.157, 95% CI: 2.266-899.722; p<0.001), and duration of labour >18hours (OR 26.760, 95% CI: 7.100-100.862; p<0.001) were the most significant risk factors associated with PP.Conclusion Approximately 1 in every 12 postpartum cases in the DGH presents with PP. Malaria was the leading cause of PP at DGH especially for cases registered within 3 days postpartum. The risk factors identified were mostly associated to perinatal events, such as frequent vaginal examinations, perineal tears and prolonged labour. Efforts towards preventing identified risk factors thus becomes paramount in order to curb this high rate of PP in the DGH.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liwen Peng ◽  
Lok Sum Yang ◽  
Perri Yam ◽  
Chun Sing Lam ◽  
Agnes Sui-yin Chan ◽  
...  

BackgroundIncreasing attention has been dedicated to investigate modifiable risk factors of late effects in survivors of childhood cancer. This study aims to evaluate neurocognitive and behavioral functioning in a relatively young cohort of survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Hong Kong, and to identify clinical and socio-environmental factors associated with these outcomes.MethodsThis analysis included 152 survivors of childhood ALL who were ≥5 years post-diagnosis (52% male, mean [SD] age 23.5[7.2] years at evaluation, 17.2[7.6] years post-diagnosis). Survivors completed performance-based neurocognitive tests, and reported their emotional and behavioral symptoms using the Child/Adult Behavior Checklist. Socio-environmental variables (living space, fatigue, physical activity, family functioning, and academic stress) were self-reported using validated questionnaires. Clinical variables and chronic health conditions were extracted from medical charts. Multivariable linear modeling was conducted to test identify factors associated with neurocognitive/behavioral outcomes, adjusting for current age, sex, age at diagnosis and cranial radiation. An exploratory mediation analysis was performed to examine the mediating effects of risk factors on neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes.ResultsAs compared to population norms, a minority of survivors developed mild-moderate impairment in motor processing speed (36.2%), memory (9.2%) and attention measures (4.0%-10.5%). Survivors also reported attention problems (12.5%), sluggish cognitive tempo (23.7%) and internalizing (depressive, anxiety and somatic symptoms) problems (17.1%). A minority of survivors developed mild-moderate treatment-related chronic conditions (n=37, 24.3%). As compared to survivors without chronic conditions, survivors with chronic conditions had more executive dysfunction (B=5.09, standard error [SE]=2.05; P=0.014) and reported more attention problems (B=5.73, SE=1.43; P&lt;0.0001). Fatigue and poor family functioning was associated with multiple measures of behavior problems (all P&lt;0.001). A lower level of physical activity was correlated with more self-reported symptoms of inattention (B= -1.12, SE=0.38, P=0.004) and sluggish cognitive tempo (B=-1.22, SE=0.41, P=0.003). Exploratory analysis showed that chronic health conditions were associated with behavioral measures through fatigue as the mediator.ConclusionThe majority of young Chinese survivors of ALL had normal cognitive and behavioral function. Regular monitoring of behavioral function should be performed on survivors who develop treatment-related chronic conditions. Health behavior and socio-environment factors may be potentially modifiable risk factors associated with health outcomes in survivors.


2020 ◽  
pp. 194589242095890
Author(s):  
Aria Jafari ◽  
Ashton E. Lehmann ◽  
Sarek A. Shen ◽  
Catherine G. Banks ◽  
George A. Scangas ◽  
...  

Background Endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (EN-DCR) is an increasingly common procedure performed by otolaryngologists. While EN-DCR has a high rate of success at relieving blockage of the lacrimal system, little is known regarding associated postoperative infection (POI) rates and risk factors. Objective The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with the occurrence of postoperative orbital and rhinologic infection in a large cohort of patients undergoing EN-DCR. Methods A retrospective review of 582 patients who underwent EN-DCR was performed. All patients received antibiotic prophylaxis as a single intraoperative intravenous administration and a ten-day postoperative oral course. Clinical and demographic information was reviewed, including the occurrence of acute orbital or rhinologic infection within 30 days of surgery. Multivariable analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with POI. Results Fifteen of 582 patients (2.6%) developed POI following EN-DCR. The most common POI was acute rhinosinusitis (10/15, 66.7%), followed by acute dacryocystitis (2/15, 13.3%), preseptal cellulitis (2/15,13.3%), and acute bacterial conjunctivitis (1/15, 6.7%). The majority of patients (464/582, 79.7%) underwent concurrent endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). In most cases (302/464, 65.1%), ESS was performed to address comorbid rhinosinusitis, whereas 7.8% (36/464) of patients underwent surgery to enhance surgical access to the lacrimal sac. Patients who underwent concurrent ESS were less likely to develop POI (OR: 0.17, CI: 0.04-0.80, p < 0.05). Evidence of mucopurulence at surgery increased the likelihood of POI (OR: 6.24, CI: 1.51-25.84, p < 0.05). Conclusion Mucopurulence at the time of surgery significantly increased the risk of POI, whereas concurrent ESS, performed most commonly to address comorbid rhinosinusitis, significantly decreased the risk of POI. Awareness of risk factors for POI and appropriate surgical management of concurrent rhinosinusitis can lead to reduced infectious complications after EN-DCR.


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