African health sciences
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
Perception and practice of contraception among male soldiers in Sobi barracks, Ilorin, Nigeria.
There is a popular belief among the general population that Nigerian soldiers tend to have large families but this has not been substantiated with evidence-based research. The Nigerian military health authority implements female-targetted contraception strategies, with less focus on their husbands; who are the dominant fertility determinants. ⋯ The study revealed a high approval and willingness to discuss contraception with their spouses/partners but low contraceptive use.
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
Commonly cited incentives in the community implementation of the emergency maternal and newborn care study in western Kenya.
Mortality of mothers and newborns is an important public health problem in low-income countries. In the rural setting, implementation of community based education and mobilization are strategies that have sought to reduce these mortalities. Frequently such approaches rely on volunteers within each community. ⋯ Monetary allowances, improved transportation and some sort of identification are the main incentives cited by the respondents in this context.
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
Case Reports Historical ArticleNodding syndrome: origins and natural history of a longstanding epileptic disorder in sub-Saharan Africa.
Repetitive involuntary head nodding was first reported in the 1960s in the Wapogoro tribe of Tanzania. ⋯ Historical accounts of head nodding (amesinzia kichwa, Swahili) among the Wapogoro tribe fit the August 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) case definition of probable Nodding Syndrome. Reported to have existed in this population for at least 80 years, Nodding Syndrome is a progressive seizure disorder that leads to generalized convulsions (kifafa), brain damage and death.
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
The outcome of non-carbapenem-based empirical antibacterial therapy and VRE colonisation in patients with hematological malignancies.
Febrile neutropenia (FN) is generally a complication of cancer chemotherapy. ⋯ Our results suggest that initiating of non-carbapenem based therapy does not provide high response rates in the treatment of febrile neutropenia attacks. Furthermore, non-carbapenem-based empirical therapy provides benefit in regard to cost-effectiveness and antimicrobial stewardship when local antibiotic resistance patterns of gram-negative bacteria are considered. Patients who are colonized with VRE are more likely to develop bacteremia with VRE strains as a result of invasive procedures and severe damage of mucosal barriers observed in this group of patients.
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The transmission of sleeping sickness occurs primarily in rural areas, and exposed populations are those living from rural activities such as agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry or hunting. However, urban and suburban foci are more and more reported in T. b. gambiense areas. In Libreville town, sleeping sickness cases are regularly diagnosed. In order to investigate about the establishment of a transmission cycle of that disease, we have carried out an entomological survey in two quarters in the vicinity of the town. ⋯ These results suggest the establishment of a trypanosomiasis transmission cycle in the area. No salivary gland was found infected. Given that infected persons are regularly detected, we can think about the existence of a suburban sleeping sickness focus in Libreville. More analysis is needed concerning the identification of human trypanosomes and the origin of Glossina blood meals that may confirm the existence of that focus.