Compliance With Guidelines on Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention in Kwara State, Northcentral Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is an effective strategy for reducing malaria morbidity and mortality in children aged 3-59 months in areas with seasonal malaria transmission. Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine is given to an eligible child at monthly intervals during the peak malaria transmission season. The aim of this study was to determine the level of compliance with SMC guidelines by community drug distributors during SMC implementation in Kwara State. METHOD: Caregivers of eligible children from six Local Government Areas were interviewed using a structured questionnaire on the KoboCollect app downloaded on hand-held android devices. The questionnaire was composed of questions on caregiver's demographics, SMC drug administration, and adherence to SMC protocol. RESULTS: A total of 1,314 caregivers were interviewed, most of them were female 1076 (81.9%), married 1200 (91.3%) and literate 795 (60.5%). The mean SMC coverage for the 4 cycles was 1183(88.5%). SMC information was received by 1166 (88.7%) of caregivers. Most of the caregivers 1166 (88.7%) heard about SMC. Overall, SPAQ administration was directly observed in most cases 1169 (91.5%), second dose was given 1226 (96.0%) and drugs were fully ingested 1140(89.3%). Poor compliance was observed in home visits by lead mothers 988 (77.4%). The report of adverse drug reactions was low 132 (10.3% [95% CI: 8.8-12.3%]), the commonest being severe vomiting 50 (37.9%). There were significant (P<0.05) variations in SMC implementation across the 6 LGAs in virtually all the performance indicators. SPAQ administration to over-age children was low 128 (10.0%). CONCLUSION: Overall, the compliance with SMC implementation guidelines in Kwara state was good though significant differences in performance were observed across the six LGAs. Home visits by lead mothers were generally poor. The self-reported coverage of SMC by caregivers was commendable.

CONTEXTE: La chimioprévention saisonnière du paludisme (CSP) est une stratégie efficace pour réduire la morbidité et la mortalité liées au paludisme chez les enfants âgés de 3 à 59 mois dans les zones à transmission saisonnière du paludisme. La sulfadoxine-pyriméthamine associée à l'amodiaquine est administrée à un enfant éligible à intervalles mensuels pendant la saison de transmission maximale du paludisme. L'objectif de cette étude était de déterminer le niveau de conformité aux directives de la CSP par les distributeurs de médicaments communautaires lors de la mise en œuvre de la CSP dans l'État de Kwara. MÉTHODE: Les aidants des enfants éligibles de six zones de gouvernement local ont été interrogés à l'aide d'un questionnaire structuré sur l'application KoboCollect sur des appareils android portables. Le questionnaire comprenait des questions sur les caractéristiques démographiques des aidants, l'administration des médicaments de la CSP et l'adhésion au protocole de la CSP. RÉSULTATS: Au total, 1 314 aidants ont été interrogés, la plupart étaient des femmes 1 076 (81,9 %), mariées 1 200 (91,3 %) et alphabétisées 795 (60,5 %). La couverture moyenne de la CSP pour les 4 cycles était de 1 183 (88,5 %). La plupart des aidants 1 166 (88,7 %) avaient entendu parler de la CSP. Dans l'ensemble, la première administration de SPAQ a été observée directement dans la plupart des cas 1 169 (91,5 %), la deuxième dose a été administrée par 1 226 (96,0 %) aidants et les médicaments ont été entièrement ingérés sans cracher partiellement ou totalement par 1 140 (89,3 %) enfants. Une mauvaise conformité a été observée lors des visites à domicile par les mères responsables 988 (77,4 %). Le signalement des réactions indésirables aux médicaments était faible 132 (10,3 % [IC à 95 % : 8,8-12,3 %]), la plus courante étant les vomissements sévères 50 (37,9 %). Des variations significatives (P<0,05) dans la mise en œuvre de la CSP ont été observées dans les 6 LGAs pour pratiquement tous les indicateurs de performance. L'administration de SPAQ aux enfants plus âgés était faible 128 (10,0 %). CONCLUSION: Dans l'ensemble, la conformité aux directives de mise en œuvre de la CSP dans l'État de Kwara était bonne bien que des différences significatives dans les performances aient été observées dans les six LGAs. Les visites à domicile par les mères responsables étaient généralement mauvaises. La couverture autodéclarée de la CSP par les aidants était louable. MOTS-CLÉS: Chimioprévention saisonnière du paludisme, SPAQ, Conformité, Enfants, Centre-nord du Nigeria, Saison des pluies.

Investigation of Some Gaseous and Trace Metal Emissions With Their Emission Factors From Various Brands of Mosquito Coils Used in Nigeria.

Mosquito coils of various brands are frequently burnt in indoor environments to drive away mosquitoes-the vector for malaria parasite in regions where the disease is endemic. Emissions from the coils could be a source of indoor air pollution. In this study, various brands of mosquito coils obtained from retail shops in Lagos, Nigeria were burnt in an environmental test box with a view to characterizing carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the gaseous emissions as well as elemental concentrations of the ash. Emission characterization achieved with the RAS1700 bio-gas analyzer while AAS was adopted for elemental analysis of the mosquito coil ashes. The emission factor of CO, NO and NO2 from the coil samples ranged between 0.00138 to 0.26277 µg/m3, 0.0002 to 0.00454 µg/m3, and 0.000074 to 0.00714 µg/m3, respectively. These values were found to be lower than permissible indoor levels recommended by NIOSH. The range of concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Cu, As, Hg, Fe in the coil ashes from all the brands were 0.02 to 0.04 mg/g, 0.011 to 0.02 mg/g, 0.001 to 0.003 mg/g, 0.004 to 0.008 mg/g, 0.004 to 0.006 mg/g, 0.0001 to 0.0004 mg/g, 0.001 to 0.003 mg/g, and 0.124 to 0.14 mg/g, respectively. Although, the concentrations of the pollutants obtained in this study are within the recommended limits, prolong exposure could trigger chronic disease conditions. Adequate ventilation of indoor environments or utilization of mosquito nets in place of coils could be considered.

Agro-residues for clean electricity: in-lab trial of power generation from blended cocoa-kolanut wastes.

As a way of wastes-to-voltage conversion, experimental benchtest trial of electricity generation from a blend of cocoa and kolanut harvest by-products is presented in this study. Bioethanol obtained from the blend, through a process of alcoholic fermentation, was mixed with gasoline at specific proportion and employed to fire a spark ignition engine that served as a prime-mover in driving a four-pole three-phase salient-pole synchronous machine. Performance of the driving machine, as the fuel-mix proportion and its speed of rotation varied, was studied. Likewise, the electric power output characteristic of the driven machine, when operated at its rated synchronous speed, was examined. It was found that the driving machine performed better on mixed fuel than pure gasoline. There were gradual increases in the torque and the power developed by the machine as the proportion of ethanol in the fuel-mix and the rotational speed increased. While the highest values of torque and power developed on using pure gasoline were 12.4 Nm and 2574 W respectively at 1900 rpm, 13.1 Nm torque and 2953 W power were obtained from the machine when ignited with 10%-bioethanol fuel-mix at the same speed. Also, with 90 Vdc excitation voltage and rotation at 1500 rpm synchronous speed, the driven machine continuously generated electricity at 207.6 Vrms (line-to-line), 1.169 A, 0.698 power factor, 48.17 Hz, 0.294 kW output. This study demonstrated the possibility of continuous generation of electric power from cocoa and kolanut wastes. Result obtained from the laboratory-based trial indicates that at such agricultural regions that are advantaged in the production of the two crops, harvest residues of the crops can be explored as a steady source of biofuel for off-grid microgrid electrification.

Agro-residues for clean electricity: A thermo-property characterization of cocoa and kolanut waste blends.

Huge quantities of harvest wastes that are generated from agricultural practices at every farming season in Nigeria are not put into significant use. As an attempt towards adopting these abundant by-products as bioenergy resources for electricity generation, yearly quantities of both cocoa and kolanut harvest residues were estimated in this study. Hygroscopic natures and moisture contents of the two, and their blends, were also analyzed and compared. It was estimated that approximately 681,000 tons and 90,000 tons of cocoa and kolanut husks respectively, are produced in the country annually. While the proximate analyses showed that the sample made of 100% cocoa waste had the least volatile matter and moisture contents in addition to having highest fixed ash and fixed carbon contents, the reverse was the case with the sample made of 100% kolanut waste composition. From the ultimate analyses, however, the latter appears to possess the best characteristic (highest hydrogen and least oxygen contents), but its highest nitrogen content is a pointer to its exhibition of poor thermal property. The gross calorific contents of the samples were, therefore employed for definitive determination of their thermoelectric potentials and these gave higher heating values of 15.19 MJ/kg and 13.87 MJ/kg respectively, with the blends having their values within this range in proportionality to the mass percentage of kolanut husk in the blends. In addition to the two wastes exhibiting good energy characteristics, the study concludes that their blending offers benefit of reduction in ash content. At the optimal blend of equal composition of the two materials (50%CPH/50%KPH), it was estimated that 29,000 MW of electricity is accruable from the wastes.