scholarly journals SEROPREVALENCE OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII INFECTION AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINIC IN MAJOR HEALTH CENTERS IN JOS NORTH, NIGERIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
A. S. Akubuilo ◽  
O. Amali ◽  
A. Onekutu

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii. It is reported that one third of the world’s population is infected with the parasite. T. gondii represents the risk of miscarriages and congenital abnormalities in pregnancy. This study was carried out to ascertain the sero-prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in three major Health Centres in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria. Three hundred and eight four (384) pregnant women attending antenatal clinics were recruited for the study. Participants were screened for T. gondii specific antibodies using the Chromatographic Immuno-Assay (CIA) test method. Information on risk factors were obtained by the administration of a structured questionnaire. An overall seroprevalence of 11.7% was established. IgG antibodies represented 11.7% seroprevalence and 0.0% seroprevalence recorded for IgM antibodies. The highest seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection was established in women in their second trimester. Seropositivity was found to be significantly associated (p<0.05, 95%CI) with type of drinking water, consumption of raw or fresh vegetables, previous history of miscarriage and older child with congenital deformation. Akubuilo, A. S. | Department of Zoology, University of Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanata Bamba ◽  
Mamoudou Cissé ◽  
Ibrahim Sangaré ◽  
Adama Zida ◽  
Souleymane Ouattara ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1925-1931
Author(s):  
ES Omozuwa ◽  
NE Uwaibi ◽  
JO Erhabor

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has assumed a global health concern since the first case was recorded in Wuhan community China in December 2019. The objective of this paper is to report the level of practice of safety precautions against COVID 19 among pregnant women attending Antenatal Clinics in Central Hospital Benin, Benin City in Nigeria. A self- administered questionnaire on the level of practice of safety precautions against covid19 infection was administered to a total of 420 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in central Hospital Benin City for Data collection. The results showed that two hundred and four (48.6%) of the respondents reported that they have recently avoided crowded places. Three hundred and seventy two (88.6%) reported recently wearing mask whenever they left home. Three hundred and twenty four (77.1%) of the respondents had good practice of safety precautions against COVID19. The study showed a good practice of safety precautions against COVID19 and this was influenced by the women’s level of education, occupation and knowledge of COVID-19. However, there is still the need to improve the knowledge of the women attending antenatal clinic regarding COVID-19 through health education seminars. Also up scaling the practice of safety precautions could be done through such health education seminars. Keywords: Pregnant women, Practice, Safety precaution, covid-19


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Demissie Assegu Fenta

Abstract Background Toxoplasmosis is caused by infection with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. It is acquired by consumption of raw or undercooked meat containing tissue cyst, food or water contaminated with oocyst and congenital infection through the placenta leading to serious congenital abnormalities in the fetus like miscarriage, stillbirth, intrauterine death and neurologic defects. Therefore; this study was aimed to determine the prevalence of toxoplasmosis infection and its possible risk factors associated with pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Hawassa and Yiregalem Hospitals, Southern Ethiopia. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to May 2017. The study was done in antenatal care clinics of Hawassa and Yiregalem Hospitals in Southern, Ethiopia. Five hundred pregnant women were interviewed with a pretested structured questionnaire to collect risk factors and socio-demographic data. Blood samples were collected and serum was separated and tested for anti- Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using ELISA (Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical software. The risk factors were tested for significance using Bivariate and multivariate analysis. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The weighted prevalence of this study was 81.8% for the anti- Toxoplasma gondii antibody. Almost all participants (99.6%) had no information about the disease. A significant association was observed between seroprevalence and contact with domestic cats (OR = 1.206, 95% CI (1.627–2.206, P = 0.043), consumption of raw meat (OR = 0.848, 95% CI: 1.517–2.941, P = 0.019) and unpasteurized milk (OR = 0.871, 95% CI 1.531–2.221, P = 0.032). A significant association was not observed between seroprevalence and age, history of abortion, and blood transfusion. Conclusions The findings of this study demonstrated a relatively higher prevalence of seropositivity than studies reported from other countries. Existence of domestic cats at home, consumption of undercooked meat and unpasteurized milk were identified as risk factors for T. gondii infection. Therefore, a health education program to increase the mother’s knowledge about toxoplasmosis towards avoiding eating undercooked meat, contact with cats and consumption of unpasteurized milk during pregnancy is recommended. Furthermore, our results suggested that the implementation of newborn screening and follow-up testing can lead to reducing of toxoplasmosis associated complications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-243
Author(s):  
O. Erhabor ◽  
S.Y. Mohammad ◽  
L. Bello ◽  
F.U. Onuigwe ◽  
Y. Abdulrahman ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus infection is a global public health problem. The virus has infected more than one-third of the global population. It has been estimated that 360 million chronic carriers are living around the world with a high risk for developing cirrhosis, hepatic carcinoma and hepatic failure. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of some hepatitis B markers among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Sokoto Specialist Hospital, Nigeria. METHODS: The hepatitis testing was carried out using the Skytec-Rapid Diagnostic HBV-5 rapid kit (Skytec-Rapid Diagnostic, USA). The kit is based on lateral flow chromatographic immunoassay for the qualitative detection of HBsAg, HBsAb, HBeAg, HBeAb, and HBcAb in human serum or plasma. Panel format can conveniently test for five targets at once and utilizes all markers to help distinguish between acute and chronic infections. RESULTS: Out of 117 pregnant women tested, 15 were positive for HBsAg (12.8%), 6 positive for HBsAb (5.1%), 1 for HBeAg (0.9%), 14 tested positive for HBeAb (12.0%), and 14 tested for HBcAb (12.0%). The prevalence of HBsAg, HBsAb, HBeAg, HBcAb and HBcAb was compared based on ethnicity. HBsAb was significantly higher among the Hausa ethnic group (p= 0.001). The prevalence of HBsAb, HBeAg, HBcAb and HBcAb was not affected by ethnicity (p> 0.05). The prevalence of HBsAg, HBsAb, HBeAg, HBcAb and HBcAb was compared based on age. Infection by the hepatitis B virus markers was higher among young adult and middle age groups. The difference was however not statistically significant (p> 0.05). The prevalence of HBsAg, HBsAb, HBeAg, HBcAb and HBcAb was compared based on the educational status, previous history of blood transfusion, jaundice, employment status and previous history of still births among the pregnant subjects. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus markers (p> 0.05). CONCLUSION: The study observed a high prevalence of various hepatitis B viral markers among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Specialist Hospital Sokoto. There is need for routine screening of all pregnant women and infants born to hepatitis B positive mothers. Government and non-governmental organizations should intensify efforts to enlighten the general population on the public health importance of the disease and the importance of hepatitis screening. There is also need for the development of a treatment protocol for the management of pregnant women positive for hepatitis B to prevent mother to child transmission. There is an urgent need for the implementation of evidenced-based best practice of providing universal vaccination against hepatitis B for all hepatitis B negative women of child bearing age in particular and all Nigerians in general.


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