PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATIONS OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS INFECTION AMONG STUDENTS OF TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS, EAST NILE LOCALITY, KHARTOUM, SUDAN

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health problem causing considerable morbidity and mortality from both acute infection and chronic sequels including chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection and the associated factors among children and adolescent in the traditional schools, East Nile locality. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional school-based study. Sero-prevalence survey was conducted among school children and adolescent aged 2–19 years. Total sample of 880 students were tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum using immune-chromatographic assay. Data were analyzed using IBM statistical package for social sciences version 20 with statistical significance of (p<0.05). Results: A total of 4.2% tested positive for HBsAg, (3.2%) among children and (4.3%) among adolescent, this is lower than the reported prevalence in the country. There was no significant association between the pre-determined risk factors and hepatitis B virus infection in the study group. Conclusion: The prevalence of HBV infections in this study was lower than the overall prevalence in Sudan. Further studies are needed to evaluate the risk factors for hepatitis B virus infection among children and adolescents in Sudan. Hepatitis B virus vaccine should be implemented in the vaccination program for children, in addition to awareness campaigns about the virus and transmission methods.

PARKINSONIA ACULEATA AS A POTENTIAL PHYTOTHERAPIC FACTOR IN THE INFLAMMATORY AND DYSLIPIDEMIC CONTROL OF WISTAR RATS

Objective: The study evaluated the hypolipidemic and anti-inflammatory potential of the hydroalcoholic extract of P. Aculeata (HEPa/EtOAC) in Wistar rats fed with Westernized diet. Methods: The experiment was approved by the Ethics Committee (Federal University of Pernambuco-23076.027165 / 2010-21). The hydroalcoholic extract (HEPa/EtOAc) was obtained from the aerial parts of P. Aculeata and portioned by acetate/ethanol in different concentrations. 36 male Wistar rats were initially divided into two groups: Control (C, n = 6), fed a commercial diet (26g / 100g of protein; 63g / 100g of carbohydrates; 11g / 100g of lipids) and Westernized (W; n = 30) – fed an experimental diet (15g / 100g of protein; 51g / 100g of carbohydrates; 34 g/100g of lipids) receving water ad libitum. After 4 months of diet, W group was arbitrarily redistributed into six subgroups according to water supplementation, or different extracts concentrations: (n = 6 animals/group): W- distilled water (1mL/kg; po); WG – genfibrozil (140 mg/kg; p.o.); W35- 35 mg/kg; W70 – 70 mg /kg; p.o. and W140- 140 mg/kg; p.o for 30 days. The lipid profile and pro-inflammatory cytokines were analyzed. Results: The westernized diet caused dyslipidemia and the treatment with HEPa-EtOAc (140mg / kg), promoted a significant reduction in the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines, in total cholesterol, in the LDLc and serum triglycerides. Conclusion: The reduction of dyslipidemia and pro-inflammatory cytokines from the of P. Aculeata extract corroborate the ethnopharmacological potential of the plant, already used by the population for hypoglycemic purposes.

Profile of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS): an Epidemiological Study

Objective: To describe the profile of the population with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Brazil from 2009 to 2019. Methods: This is a descriptive, quantitative study, performed with secondary data from the Sistema de Informação Hospitalar do Sistema Único de Saúde (SIH/SUS). The analyzed data referred to cases diagnosed with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome between 2009 and 2019. The variables evaluated were selected from categories, “year of diagnosis”, “sex”, “age range”, “race/skin color” and “exposure category”. Data were made available in absolute frequency, and relative frequencies were calculated in Microsoft Excel ® 2016 software. Results: It is observed that 91.14% (n=383,531) of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome cases in Brazil occur in the population from 20 to 59 years. Among these, 66.44% (n= 254,840) were male and 33.55% (n=128,691) female. Since 44.97% (n=108,327) were white people; 10.93% (n=26,337) black; 0.48% (n=1.168) yellow; 43.30% (n=104.306) brown; 0.32% (n=772) indigenous. And, 24.03% (n=49,596) from homosexual exposure category; 6.40% (n=13,216) bisexual; 65.27% (n=134,703) heterosexual; 3.70% (n=7,623) UDI; 0.02% (n=48) transfusion; 0.01% (n=14) Biological material accident; 0.54 (n=1,126) vertical transmission; 0.03 (n=53) hemophiliac. Conclusion: Epidemiological profile of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in Brazil, presents a greater prevalence in male, aged from 20 to 59 years, white, posteriorly the brown race, being of heterosexual exposure category. This knowledge enables contributions to the scientific field and planning of possible public policies for the prevention and treatment of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

IMPACTS OF IMMUNOSUPPRESSION ON THE GRAVITY OF COVID-19 IN INDIVIDUALS CO-INFECTED WITH THE HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV)

Objective: To identify the levels of severity of COVID-19 in individuals co-infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Methods: Expanded summary of the literature review type. The searches were carried out in the main databases of the BVS and CAPES. The above authors declare that they do not have conflict of interest in this study. Results: Most individuals were being treated with antiretrovirals (83-100%) and, therefore, most had a TCD4 lymphocyte count above 200 cells/µL and a viral load ranging between 67-100%. Comorbidities ranged from 33-70% and deaths from 0-14%. The severity picture was mostly mild, at a minimum proportion of 63%, not significantly differing from the population with COVID-19 in general, which on average remains in a mild symptomatic picture, around 80%. Therefore, the percentage of deaths and more severe levels of the disease were lower than expected due to the immune deficiency of HIV positive people. Conclusion: It is rash to make generalizations about the topic or to safely close the hypothesis that the immunosuppression of individuals with HIV, co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 has an increased risk to acquire the most severe form of COVID-19. This is because the studies found in the literature did not have a sample of participants significant enough.

Antimicrobial Properties of Prosopis cineraria stem bark

Infectious diseases are the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Nowadays, medicinal plants play a major role in treatment of infectious diseases and they are easily available and more affordable as compared to synthetic compounds. The emerging trends of multidrug resistance among several groups of microorganisms against different classes of antibiotics led different researchers to develop efficient drugs from plant sources to counter multidrug resistant strains. This study investigated two different concentration of methanol extracts of stem bark of Prosopis cineraria to determine their efficacy against multidrug resistant microbes. Powdered barks of the tree were treated with methanol using hot extraction method. Crude methanol extracts of the bark of P. cineraria was investigated for their antibacterial activity against a wide range of bacteria (both gram-positive and gram-negative) by disc diffusion method. Ciprofloxacin was used as standard. Multidrug resistant (MDR) strains of Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633), E. coli (ATCC 8739), Salmonella enterica (ATCC 14028), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) were used in the study. The methanolic bark extracts of P. cineraria showed a remarkable inhibition of the microorganisms. The potency shown by these extracts recommends their use against multidrug resistant microorganisms. The present study suggests that the methanol extract of the stem bark of P. cineraria exhibited a potential antibacterial activity against the tested microorganisms and could be a potential source of new antimicrobial agents.