Sampling efficiency and screening of Aedes albopictus for yellow fever virus in Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Introduction: Aedes albopictus, like Aedes aegypti, is a virulent vector of arboviruses especially the well-documented spread of yellow fever around the world. Although yellow fever is prevalent in Nigeria, there is a paucity of information in the Niger Delta region on the distribution of Aedes mosquito vectors and molecular detection of the virus in infected mosquitoes. This study sampled Aedes mosquitoes around houses associated with farms from four communities (Otolokpo, Ute-Okpu, Umunede, and Ute Alohen) in Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. Methods: various sampling methods were used in Aedes mosquito collection to test their efficacy in the survey. Mosquitoes in holding cages were killed by freezing and morphologically identified. A pool of 15 mosquitoes per Eppendorf tube was preserved in RNAi later for yellow fever virus screening. Two samples were molecularly screened for each location. Results: seven hundred and twenty-five (725) mosquitoes were obtained from the various traps. The mean abundance of the mosquitoes was highest in m-HLC (42.9) compared to the mosquitoes sampled using other techniques (p<0.0001). The mean abundance of mosquitoes was lowest in Center for Disease Control (CDC) light traps without attractant (0.29). No yellow fever virus strain was detected in all the mosquitoes sampled at the four locations. Conclusion: this study suggests that Aedes albopictus are the mosquitoes commonly biting around houses associated with farms. More so, yellow fever virus was not detected in the mosquitoes probably due to the mass vaccination exercise that was carried out the previous year in the study area. More studies are required using the m-HLC to determine the infection rate in this endemic area.

Commercial motorcycle operators pose high risk for community transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in South-South Nigeria.

COVID-19 has become a threat to the existence of man as no method of effective treatment has been found. Although the WHO has given guidelines that include social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it cannot be practiced in a commercial motorcycle operation, which is a major source of income and means of transportation in Nigeria. We examined the COVID-19 knowledge, awareness, and preventive practices among commercial motorcycle operators (CMOs) and the potentials for community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the South-South region of Nigeria. Data used was collected from a cross-sectional survey of 777 CMOs operating in the South-South region of Nigeria. The instrument captured information on their biodata, knowledge, awareness, and preventive practices of COVID-19. The data obtained were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics using SAS JMP Statistical Discovery™ software version 14.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA). The majority of the CMOs were of age category 26-35 years (36.4%), married (82.1%), under a monogamous union (83.8%), had 3-4 children (43.4%) and resided in rural areas (60.8%). The mean years of experience of the CMOs was 4.9 ± 2.45 years with most depending on daily income of N1,000-2,000 (87.6%). All the CMOs were aware of the existence of COVID-19, but 93.3% of them did not believe it existed in their state. Only 37.8% of them put on facemasks while on duty, although they were aware that they could be infected or infect others in the community. Prevention practices among CMOs were significantly predicted by age category, type of family, number of dependents, and place of residence. We conclude that CMOs have high potentials for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the communities because the business does not permit social distancing. It is recommended that guidelines requiring mandatory screening of operators and riders be implemented.

Commercial Sex Work During Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Era in the Niger Delta Region: Relationships Between Knowledge, Preventive Practice, and Transmission Potential.

BACKGROUND: Sex workers, like others, are facing economic hardships and anxiety about their health and safety due to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Universally, most sex work has largely reduced, moved online, or undertaken covertly because of lockdown measures and need for social distancing to break the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, the ability of sex workers to protect themselves against COVID-19 depends on their individual and interpersonal behaviors and work environment. In this study, we sought to determine the relationships between COVID-19 knowledge, awareness and prevention practice (KAP) among female commercial sex workers (FCSW) in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria to inform the development of prevention interventions for this vulnerable population. METHODS: Data used in this study were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 604 FCSW operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. We used descriptive and inferential statistics to assess their socio-demographic characteristics and COVID-19 KAP adopted against the novel coronavirus. Latent class analysis was used to systematically classify participants' attributes and behaviors into the most likely distinct clusters or risk groups. RESULTS: The majority of the FCSW were singles (86.8%) of childbearing ages, 21-35 years (86.2%), with almost three quarters (73.2%) of them having sex with 3-4 clients per day during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, almost three quarters of the participants had both good knowledge and awareness about COVID-19 but less than half of them (41.1%) implemented good practice to prevent the spread of the disease. However, a highly significant and positive relationship was recorded between COVID-19 knowledge (r=0.90, p<0.0001) and awareness (r=0.65, p<0.0001), and preventive practice of FCSW, respectively. About 89.1% of the participants were not very familiar with the symptoms of COVID-19 (p<0.0001). Only 10.9% of the FCSW indicated that they wear facemask at all times, while 45.2% of them do not wear facemask during sexual intercourse with their clients (p<0.0001). Based on the FCSW attributes and behaviors, we identified three distinct clusters or risk groups (p<0.0001), namely, low-risk takers (Cluster 1), high-risk takers (Cluster 2) and very high-risk takers (Cluster 3) with latent class prevalence rates (γc) of 41.13% (95% CI: 37.26-45.10), 33.17% (95% CI: 29.53-37.02) and 25.71% (95% CI: 22.38-29.34), respectively. CONCLUSION: Sex work has high transmission potentials for SARS-CoV-2 because of its operational nature, which does not permit social distancing, and thus, renders certain preventive measures practically ineffective. This is a major challenge in the fight against COVID-19 in this high-risk group and calls for the development of operational guidelines and targeted intervention strategies to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the Niger Delta region.