Social isolation impairs feed intake, growth and behavioural patterns of catfish under culture conditions.

Globally, the culture of fishes is important for food production. There is a growing interest in understanding and improving the welfare of cultured fish from both ethical and production perspectives. Social isolation is a common practice in catfish farming. This study assessed how social interactions affect the feeding behaviour, growth performance, and behavioural pattern of Clarias gariepinus under different social conditions. Juveniles of African catfish with a mean weight of 23.6 ± 1.09 g were stocked in 20L-aquaria (1.7 m × 1.2 m × 1.0 m) and fed twice daily in isolated (one fish/tank; N = 6 replicates) and non-isolated (six fish/tank; N = 6 replicates) conditions for a 36-day experimental period. Feed intake and growth response were monitored, while behavioural patterns were observed twice per week using focal sampling techniques for a total of 40 minutes per day. Wilcoxon two-sample tests and GLMs were used to analyse the data. Social context significantly (P < 0.001) affected the feed intake, feeding duration, and other observed behavioural patterns. However, the time of feeding (P > 0.001) did not affect the feed intake or the duration of feeding. Fish cultured in non-isolated conditions consumed more pellets (63 ± 2.36). The duration of feeding was longer in isolated conditions (431 s) while the latency to feed increased significantly (P < 0.001) from the first and fifth day of the experiment for the non-isolated and isolated, respectively. Behaviourally, isolated groups were inactive (Ws = 446.34, z = 5.397; P < 0.01) and displayed fewer aggressive acts (Ws = 0.95, z = 1.19; P < 0.01), while non-isolated groups were more active (Ws = 564.39, z = -5.397; P < 0.01) and displayed more escape attempts (Ws = 11.56, z =  -5.47; P < 0.01). Non-isolated groups had higher (Ws = 23.41, z = 1.06; P < 0.01) number of scars and bruises. Furthermore, non-isolated fish had a higher specific growth rate (2.36 ± 0.12), feed conversion ratio (1.27 ± 0.01) and a better condition factor (1.01 ± 0.08). Conclusively, these findings are relevant to African catfish welfare as social isolation changes the behavioural attributes, feeding pattern and growth rate of C. gariepinus. However, social context should be monitored since it resulted in more scars and bruises, which might affect the acceptability and welfare of this aquatic fish species.

National health management information system: issues of funding and support.

Information Technology has made a substantial inroad into Nigerian society, particularly since the late 1980s. It is, however, already being applied in the health sector. The Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), lle-lfe, Nigeria has adopted a systematic approach to the development of a Health Information System (HIS) for a typical specialist hospital. A review of the existing HIS in OAUIHC is presented, highlighting its attributes, problems, and limitations. In addition, the options of funding HIS on a national scale are identified and discussed. Finally, strategies to ensure ongoing support of a national HIS are presented.

A philosophy for health informatics education in developing countries: Nigeria as a case study.

The use of computers in the health sector has increased significantly during the last few years in Nigeria. This paper addresses the integration of health and informatics education, or health education and informatics education, or informatics education in health care delivery. It gives an introduction to the status of a health informatics programme in the daily practice of computer use. The essence of a health informatics curriculum, the planning and administration of the programme in medical schools, and what informatics education offers the health sector, even in a developing country, are presented. The problems of administering an informatics programme in a conventional medical training curriculum are highlighted. The article describes the philosophy which should underline the framework for the formulation of appropriate national policies and curricula for health informatics education in developing countries, using Nigeria as a case study.