Epidemiological Pattern of Lassa Fever Outbreak in Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria, 2014 to 2019

Background and Aim: There is insufficient information about the successfully managed Lassa fever (LF) patients in Nigeria. This study aimed to utilize the One Health approach to identify the risk factors for LF infection among LF patients who were managed and on follow-up at the Federal Medical Center, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 101 LF survivors who were managed and on follow-up at the Federal Medical Center. The data were collected using a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. The respondents were assessed for symptoms and factors that might have predisposed them to LF, and the data were analyzed with SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp., NY, USA). Those who had more than 3 identifiable risks were categorized as high risk. Descriptive statistics were done, and the association between sociodemographic characteristics and high risk was explored using Chi-square test. Results: The median age of the respondents was 33 years (8-85 years); 62 (61.4%) were male, and 93 (92.1%) have heard of LF before diagnosis. The perceived cause of LF infection among the respondents included the consumption of food contaminated by rats' feces among 57 (56.4%) persons, while 16 (15.8) attributed their infection to contact with LF-infected persons. Among the respondents with primary education and below, 5 (29.4%) were at higher risk for LF infection compared to 7 (8.3%) with secondary education and above (p=0.014). Conclusion: The mass media and other sources of information should be well-harnessed in the communication of risks and preventive practices for LF. Public information campaigns should be organized to discourage bush burning in affected communities.

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Disparities in knowledge, attitude, and practices of infection prevention and control of lassa fever among health care workers at The Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria

Pan African Medical Journal ◽

10.11604/pamj.2021.38.357.26208 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 38 ◽

Author(s):

Victor Okoliko Ukwenya ◽

Temiloluwa Adeola Fuwape ◽

Tokunbo Ibukun Fadahunsi ◽

Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Lassa Fever ◽

Medical Centre ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Care Workers ◽

Ondo State ◽

And Control

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Knowledge of, risk perception towards and reported preventive practices against Lassa fever among health workers in Ondo State, Nigeria

Journal of Ideas in Health ◽

10.47108/jidhealth.vol3.iss2.53 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 155-160

Author(s):

Akinola A Fatiregun ◽

Elvis E Isere ◽

Opeyemi Agunbiade ◽

Modupeola Dosumu ◽

Rosemary Onyibe

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Infection Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Health Workers ◽

Control Policy ◽

Lassa Fever ◽

Preventive Practices ◽

Infection Control Policy ◽

Hospital Infection Control ◽

Ondo State

Background: Secondary transmission of Lassa fever has been recorded annually among healthcare workers who provided care. An outbreak of the disease in Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria in 2018, recorded high morbidity and mortality. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, risk perception, and preventive practices towards Lassa fever among healthcare workers. Methods: A health facility-based descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted involving senior members of staff randomly selected from the list of staff members. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 554 consenting respondents in 304 health facilities. Results: More than half of the respondents (317, 57.2%) are health workers in primary healthcare cadres. Although 444 (80.1%) knew the case definition for reporting, only 379 (68.4%) correctly indicated the reporting channel. Concerning risk perception, 174 (31.4%) rated their risk of contracting the disease in the workplace as high, and 309 (55.8%) indicated that hospitals' infection control policy is inadequate. Furthermore, only 76 (13.7%) of the respondents reported having modified their working habits for fear of being infected with Lassa fever three months before the study with 368 (66.4%) and 474 (85.6%) reported that they always use aprons and gloves respectively during treatment of patients. Conclusion: There is a need to strengthen the hospital infection control policy and train healthcare workers on reporting suspected cases.

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Plankton and Macrobiota Composition and Diversity of Three Tropical Freshwaters Rivers in Ogun and Ondo States, Southwest Nigeria

Notulae Scientia Biologicae ◽

10.15835/nsb829792 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 246-255

Author(s):

Taofikat Abosede ADESALU ◽

Olakunbi Anike KUNRUNMI ◽

Muyideen Owonire LAWAL

Keyword(s):

Ph Value ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Common Species ◽

Water Bodies ◽

Dominant Group ◽

Ogun State ◽

Tropical Freshwaters ◽

Southwest Nigeria ◽

Ondo State ◽

Physical And Chemical

Three different rivers in Ogun and Ondo states were investigated for both micro and macro-biota of the water bodies. Several physical and chemical properties of these rivers were determined. The pH value of the studied water bodies was essentially neutral with salinity values between 0.02 - 4.0‰. Microalgae communities were represented by three divisions: Cyanophyta, Bacillariophyta and Chlorophyta at Oluwa and Ifara Rivers (Ondo state), while at Ibefun River (Ogun state), five divisions: Cyanophyta, Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Euglenophyta and Pyrrhophyta were identified. Diatoms dominated these water bodies, with Navicula radiosa Kutz. at Ifara River, Fragilaria sp. in Oluwa River, while out of 90 algal taxa identified in Ibefun river, 64 were diatoms species belonging to 26 genera, with Melosira sp. and Synedra sp. recording the highest numbers of cell count. Dinoflagellates recorded only Peridinium sp. while Phacus orbicularis Hubner and Trachelomonas sp. dominated the euglenoids. For the zooplankton composition at Ibefun, rotifers (75.95%) were represented by Brachionus sp., which recorded 62.03%, and Gastropus sp. with 13.92% of the total zooplankton, thus dominated the spectrum, while the copepod recorded 22.78% of the total organisms, with Copilia sp. and Euchirella sp. having 8.86% each. The macrobenthic invertebrates were represented by 3 taxa, belonging to 3 groups, with the dominant group Insecta accounted for 57% of the total individuals (7 individuals/m2), while Oligochaeta and Hirudinea accounted for 29% and 14% respectively of the total individuals at Oluwa and Ifara Rivers. At Ibefun River, the macrobenthic invertebrates were represented by 5 taxa, belonging to 3 groups, Bivalves, Oligochaeta and Insecta, with bivalves being the dominant group (51.7% of the total individuals, as 64 individuals/m2), while Oligochaeta and Insecta accounted for 26.6% and 21.9% respectively of the total individuals. The dominant taxon, Macoma cumana, accounted for 42.2%. A total of seventeen (17) finfish and shellfish species comprised of thirteen (13) finfish and four (4) shellfish species were recorded, being representative of freshwater and brackish water species; Clarias anguillaris (Clariidae), Tilapia zilli (Cichlidae), Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (Bagridae), Alestes spp. and Macrobrachium vollenhovenii (Palaemonidae) were the most common species observed.

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