Epidemiology of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria

In late December 2019, there was an outbreak of a new Coronavirus infection in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, which caused acute respiratory syndrome of unknown aetiology. The World Health Organization (WHO) named the virus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2) or COVID-19 and declared the infection a pandemic on the 11th of March 2020. The first case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was reported on the 27th of February 2020 and since then the numbers of confirmed cases has been on the increase, at least in Nigeria. With no vaccine or cure in sight, only public health measures that include personal protective measures, physical distancing, environmental and travel-related measures have been recommended to mitigate and contain the spread of the disease. There is need to make testing for COVID-19 widely available so that the true burden of the infection will be described. This step should assist policy makers in making evidence-based decisions in the prevention and control of the disease

Community participation in malaria control in olorunda local government area, osun state, southwestern Nigeria

Malaria is a major health burden in developing countries and needs multiple strategies for its control. Community participation as one of the strategies for malaria control promotes self-awareness and confidence; causes the people to examine the problems and to think positively about the solutions. The study was aimed at assessing the level of community participation in malaria control in Olorunda local government area of Osogbo; Osun state; Nigeria. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive design. Multi-staged sampling technique was used to choose 550 respondents. An interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. Most of the respondents (65.0) fell between the age ranges 20-39 years; with a mean age of 32.85 + 12 years. Almost all (98.4) respondents had knowledge of malaria with most of them (88.0) correctly aware that mosquito bite could lead to malaria fever. Respondents stated that stagnant pool (92.6) and refuse dump (89.0) could predispose to malaria. About two-thirds (60.6) of the respondents participated in the control of the breeding sites of mosquitoes on specific days for environmental sanitation. The association between community participation in health talk and community participation in malaria control was statistically significant (p

Preferred Choice of Health Facilities for Healthcare among Adult Residents in Ilorin Metropolis; Kwara State; Nigeria

Purpose: The choice of health facilities for healthcare by an individual is largely determined by several factors. This study aims to determine predictors of preferred choice of health facility for care. Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study; pre-tested semi-structure questionnaire was administered to 366 adults selected through a multi-stage sampling technique in Ilorin metropolis. Data collected were analysed using Epi Info software version 3.4.1 and level of significance set at p 0.05. Results: The preferred health facility for medical care was private hospitals (35.2) followed by pharmaceutical store (27.9) and 17.0for general/teaching hospitals and only 12.3for primary health care (PHC). Quick service and availability of drugs were the major reasons for their preference which were said to be better in private hospitals. Sex; marital status; educational status; occupation and city area where the respondents dwell are all associated with the preferred choice of health facility for care. Conclusion: This study has shown that the private sector is preferred to the public ones with regards to receiving healthcare and that within the public sector; the higher levels of health facilities are preferred to the primary health care centres. Improving the image and performance of the public health facilities especially the PHC is very important for appropriate utilization of health services