Impact of Eighteen-Year Varied Compliance to Onchocerciasis Treatment with Ivermectin in Sentinel Savannah Agrarian Communities in Kaduna State of Nigeria.

Baseline and impact assessment data were generated in 1994 (n = 532) and 2011 (n = 593) from 6 sentinel villages with generalized onchocerciasis. Only volunteers and a cohort (n = 445, 75%) were screened at both visits. Each village had received 11 (64.7%) annual treatments and 92.6%, range 88.7-100%, treatment compliance. Overall mean number of treatment was 2.9 ± 1.6 with a range 2.0 ± 1.2-3.3 ± 0.6. Significant decreases in skin microfilaria prevalence from 201 (38%) to 0 (0%), palpable nodule from 77 (15%) to 4 (0.7%), dermal changes from 51 (9.6%) to 2 (0.04%), optic nerve disease from 24 (4.5%) to 4 (2.0%), and onchocercal inducible ocular lesions from 31 (5.8%) to 12 (2.0%) were recorded, P < 0.05, (t-test of unpaired data). Cases of glaucoma, 8 (1.4%), and blindness, 6 (1.05%), remained unchanged. Visual acuity ≥6/24 in one or both eyes, 198 (33.45%); cataract, 169 (28.5%); pterygium 157 (26.5%); and acute senilis, 165 (27.9%), were significantly increased and positively correlated with increase in age (R (2) = 0.898 - 0.949). Dissected parous Simulium damnosum caught (n = 222) were without infective third stage larva. Active onchocerciasis transmission seems halted despite varied compliance to long-term ivermectin treatment. We recommend continued surveillance and targeted treatment of controlled and hypoendemic areas.

Occurrence of pathogens on vegetables harvested from soils irrigated with contaminated streams.

The study assesses the contamination level, the seasonal distribution and the toxigenicity of pathogens isolated from irrigated vegetables and the water used for irrigation. A total of 196 samples of water used for irrigation and 326 irrigated vegetables were obtained from Kawo drain, Sabon Gari drain and River Galma and examined using standard procedures for coliform and viable counts and the presence of E. coli, Salmonella and Vibrio during the dry and wet seasons. Irrigation water from Kawo drain had significantly higher coliform counts by location and season than water from the other two locations. Although all the vegetables had coliform counts higher than the recommended standard (range 3.40-6.38 log(10) cfuml(-1)), amaranthus had significantly higher (P<0.05) counts than other vegetables during the dry season. Salmonella was significantly more likely to be detected during the dry season than during the wet (OR 4.91, 1.07