ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Human and livestock African trypanosomiasis, otherwise known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected tropical disease of public health importance in west and central Africa. In view of the adverse side effects of the antitrypanosomal drugs, the relatively few side effects observed in ivermectin use, and because both onchocerciasis and typanosomiasis occur in overlapping foci in Africa, it would be desirable if the ivermectin that has been used successfully on onchocerciasis management could also be used in the control and treatment of trypanosomiasis. Method: In this study, prophylactic and therapeutic effects of ivermectin (Mectizan) were investigated in albino mice infected with a Nigerian strain of Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Results: A 300 μg/ml/kg dose had the most effective impact because it showed the highest mean survival time of 12 days in both the treatment and prophylactic groups of mice. This dose also enhanced the defence capacity of the treated groups. It also had positive influence on the packed cell volume (PCV) and the state of anaemia in the trypanosome infected mice, hence, improving their survivability. Interpretation & conclusions: Our report indicates that using the 300 μg/ml/kg dose of ivermectin increases the mean survival period from 5 to 12 days. This suggests that ivermectin could be possibly used in the treatment of trypanosomiasis. Further studies will be required to show whether proper treatment may entail a single dose, as used in this study; an increased number of doses, or combinations with other drugs.
ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Little information exists on the compliance of pregnant women to malaria management in malaria endemic countries. This study was designed to access knowledge, attitude, perception and home management of malaria among consenting pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) clinic. Methods: In total, 350 pregnant women were randomly recruited during their ANC Clinic in Lagos. Structured questionnaires were administered in a two-stages research design; first during their early months of ANC visit and the second approximately 1–2 months before delivery. Information on occupation, parity, symptoms used to recognise malaria, treatment sources, control measures, knowledge factors, anti-vector measures, health-seeking practices, malaria parasitaemia and packed cell volume (PCV) were recorded. Results: The results revealed that 78.9% of the pregnant women identified infected mosquitoes as the cause of malaria while 86% of the pregnant women identified stagnant water as its breeding sites. Knowledge of the benefit of insecticide-treated mosquito bednets was less prominent as most of the selected subjects decried its high market price. Our data also showed that educational programme targeted on potential mothers is beneficial. Overall, 27.4% (96/350) of the pregnant women had peripheral malaria infection with 88.5% (85/96) of the parasite positive women infected with Plasmodium falciparum and 11.5% (11/96) with P. malariae. PCV ranged from 20–40% (median 33.9%) with 25.7% (90/350) of the pregnant women being anaemic with PCV <33%. We found an association between malaria infection and occupation, and this association was not influenced by parity. Interpretation & conclusion: Our findings revealed that improvement in knowledge and education of women of child-bearing age has an influential impact on malaria control.