African health sciences
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
E-Selectin and markers of HIV disease severity, inflammation and coagulation in HIV-infected treatment-naïve individuals.
E-selectin has been shown to play a role in atherosclerosis and to be increased in HIV-infected individuals due to chronic immune activation. There is a paucity of studies on E-selectin in HIV-infected treatment-naïve individuals. ⋯ E-selectin was a poor marker in this setting. There was no correlation with any of the markers of disease severity, inflammation and coagulation. E-selectin is most likely raised in an acute inflammatory setting, rather than chronic stage of HIV-infection. We recommend that other markers be utilized to identify patients at increased risk of CVD; as these were significantly increased untreated in individuals.
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Knowledge, attitude, willingness of HIV counseling and testing and factors associated with it, among long distant drivers in Enugu, Nigeria: an opportunity in reduction of HIV prevalence.
Long distance truck drivers (LDTDs) have been one of the key forces in the spread of HIV/AIDS across the African continent. ⋯ A high number of LDTD had wrong knowledge of transmission route, better educational level did not affect incorrect knowledge of preventive measures, educational and marital statuses affected attitude to HCT, willingness to screen was high with marital status and educational level significantly associated with it. We recommend routine HCT at the work places of truck drivers to correct the anomalies discovered above.
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Single tube allele specific PCR: a low cost technique for molecular screening of sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria.
Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is a hereditary blood disorder caused by a single mutation in the haemoglobin gene. The disease burden of SCA is highest in Nigeria. The allele specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) method is applicable for the direct detection of known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). ⋯ This study validates ASPCR as an effective, low cost approach for the clinical screening of SCA in Nigeria. ASPCR is also applicable for other genetic diseases, paternity testing, and forensics where more expensive fluorescence-based approaches are not obtainable.
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Influenza virus A (H1 and H3) and B co-circulation among patient presenting with acute respiratory tract infection in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Influenza is an acute respiratory disease that continues to cause global epidemics and pandemics in human with significant mortality and morbidity. ⋯ The circulation of influenza virus A and B in this study is important to contributing knowledge and data to influenza epidemiology and surveillance in Nigeria.
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Predictor variables for post-discharge mortality modelling in infants: a protocol development project.
Over two-thirds of the five million annual deaths in children under five occur in infants, mostly in developing countries and many after hospital discharge. However, there is a lack of understanding of which children are at higher risk based on early clinical predictors. Early identification of vulnerable infants at high-risk for death post-discharge is important in order to craft interventional programs. ⋯ A systematic approach yielded 55 candidate predictor variables to use in devising predictive models for post-discharge mortality in infants in a low-resource setting.