Hepatitis C virus infection and its associated factors among prisoners in a Nigerian prison.

BACKGROUND: The prison population is considered at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases due to confined conditions, behavioral factors, injection drug use, unprotected sexual activity, non-professional tattooing and scarification, and needle sharing. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood borne pathogen mostly transmitted via percutaneous exposure that results in inflammation of the liver. It is one of the public health problem worldwide and is the principal cause of parenterally transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis. The study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence of HCV among prison inmates in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria and the associated factors. METHODS: The study took a descriptive cross sectional approach using multi-stage sampling technique. One hundred and forty-two (142) prison inmates within the age range of 18-50 years and above were recruited for this study. RESULT: Forty two (42); [29.6%] of the participating prison inmates were seropositive for HCV. Gender stratification showed that 31.0% of the males were seropositive for HCV while 15.4% of the females were seropositive for HCV. Fisher exact test showed that gender, age, marital status, occupation and level of education had no association in distribution of seroprevalence of HCV (p > 0.05) but the duration in prison was significantly associated with distribution of seropositivity of HCV in the studied population (p < 0.05). Bivariate logistic regression showed that tattoo/scarification, injection drug use, history of blood transfusion, sexual experience, shaving equipment sharing and multiple sexual partners were not risk factor for distribution of HCV prevalence in the studied population (p > 0.05). However, 23.5% who had tattoo/scarification, 29.6% who used injection drug, 33.3% who had history of blood transfusion, 29.8% who had sexual experience, 21.2% who shared shaving equipment, and 28.3% who had multiple sex partners were seropositive for HCV. CONCLUSION: Approximately 29.6% prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection observed among inmates studied is high and calls for concern. Attitude and behaviors by inmates such as tattooing/scarification, injection drugs use, sharing of shaving equipment, multiple sexual partners should be discouraged.

The antimalarial profiling of Mangifera indica's herbal formulation attenuated biochemical alterations and improved hepatocytes' histoarchitecture in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice.

Plasmodium parasite causes malaria and affects the biochemical, physiological, and histoarchitecture of the hepatocytes and blood. The resultant effect leads to alterations in the metabolic activities of the liver, erythrocytes, as well as the buffer system. Therefore, we investigated the antiplasmodial activity, histomorphological studies of the hepatocytes and alterations in biochemical parameters in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice administered with the herbal formulation of aqueous extracts of Mangifera indica stem bark and leaves. The plant coarse leaves (250.71 g) and stem bark (509.34 g) were weighed to obtain their ratios, macerated in boiled distilled water (5 L) for 72 h, filtered, and concentrated to obtain the various extracts whereas LD50 calculation gave 5500.19 mg/kg. The extracts were administered to eleven groups of mice at a dosage of 300 mg/kg whereas artesunate and ACT served as the positive control drugs; the antiplasmodial profiling, biochemical, and histological evaluations followed standard protocols. The schizonticidal activity of the extracts were remarkable; moreover, the histological section of the liver (negative control) had increased deposition of hemozoin, sinusoidal congestions, activation of kupffer cells, and portal tract inflammations; however, the other treatment groups in the study drastically reduced inflammation. The biochemical parameters' results revealed metabolic acidosis mitigation; hypocholesterolemia induction; enhanced hyperproteinemia, as well as hypoglycemia mitigation. The antiplasmodial therapeutic response, and biochemical derangements reversal corroborated with improved hepatocytes histoarchitecture of mice highlights the plant's pharmacological efficacy. (Word counts: 227).

Hemoglobin S and Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency Coinheritance in AS and SS Individuals in Malaria-Endemic Region: A Study in Calabar, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Malaria placed a huge burden on human life and has been reported to be a key health problem affecting developing countries. This study was designed to assay for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) status and malaria parasite density of individuals with sickle cell gene in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The methemoglobin method was used to determine the G6PD status. Thick blood films were used to ascertain the malaria parasite density while hemoglobin genotype was determined using cellulose acetate paper electrophoresis with tris ethylenediaminetetracetic acid borate buffer (pH 8.6). Thirty hemoglobin SS (HbSS) and 30 hemoglobin AS (HbAS) individuals were recruited for the study while 30 hemoglobin AA (HbAA) individuals were recruited as control. RESULTS: The study showed a high frequency of G6PD deficiency (17.78%) in the study area while G6PD deficiency was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in HbAA individuals (33.33%) when compared to HbSS (10.00%) and HbAS (10.00%) individuals. The prevalence of malaria parasitemia and parasite density was comparable in the three hemoglobin variants. The distribution of malaria parasitemia and parasite density in both gender among the various hemoglobin variants showed no association (P > 0.05). G6PD deficiency distribution in both gender were found to be comparable (P > 0.05). The distribution of malaria parasitemia in the various hemoglobin variants in the G6PD-deficient individuals showed no significant difference (P > 0.5). However, the parasite density of the HbAS (3100 ± 1828.48 µL) and HbSS (2400 ± 1687.06 µL) were significantly lower than that of HbAA (4040 ± 1529.44 µL). CONCLUSION: The result of this study supports the hypothesis that inheriting the G6PD deficiency gene and sickle cell gene (both in homozygous and heterozygous form) reduces the severity of malaria parasite infection and hence protects against severe acute malaria while having less effect on infection.

Zinc, copper, CD4 T-cell count and some hematological parameters of HIV-infected subjects in Southern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Low concentration of trace elements has been associated with poor prognosis and mortality in HIV infection. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted among 100 HIV-infected subjects (70 were on ART treatment, while 30 were ART naïve). Fifty (50) apparently healthy controls were enrolled. Concentration of serum levels of zinc and copper was done using atomic absorption spectrometric method, while complete blood count was determined using automated blood analyzer. CD4+ T-cell count was done using cyflow cytometer. AIM AND SETTING: The aim of this study was to investigate the level of some trace elements and some hematological parameters of HIV-seropositive subjects attending University of Calabar Teaching Hospital Clinic as well as prevalence of trace elements deficiency and anemic status and compare same with HIV-seronegative control. RESULTS: Mean serum zinc, CD4+ T-cell count, Hb, PCV, RBC, MXD, were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in the HIV-infected subjects, while copper/zinc ratio, MCV, MCH and platelet count were significantly (p < 0.05) raised in the HIV-infected subjects. The serum Cu level was comparable (p > 0.05) with the control. ART treatment had no effect on all the parameters assessed except CD4+ T-cell count. Twenty five percent (25%), 3% and 56% of the HIV-infected subjects were zinc deficient, copper deficient and anemic, respectively. Gender was found as a predictor of zinc deficiency. Copper and zinc showed weak positive correlation with CD4+ T-cell count. CONCLUSION: ART treatment did not complement zinc status in HIV infection while improving CD4+ T-cell count, hence the need to consider supplementation.