Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Fasciola gigantica from Nigeria.

Fasciola gigantica is considered the major pathogen causing fasciolosis in Africa; however, molecular characterization of this fluke has not been adequately elucidated. It is important to scientifically elucidate the dispersal history of F. gigantica by analyzing its genetic diversity. Fasciola flukes from Nigeria were analyzed using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers. A total of 172 Fasciola flukes collected from cattle were identified as F. gigantica because they displayed the F. gigantica fragment pattern in multiplex PCR for the nuclear marker, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (pepck). In total, 70 haplotypes were detected from Nigerian F. gigantica on the basis of the concatenated sequence of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) and cytochrome c oxidase 1 (cox1). The index of neutrality (Fu's Fs) suggests rapid expansion of the Nigerian F. gigantica population. Although four haplogroups, Nigeria 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B, were detected from Nigerian F. gigantica, a climate-specific genetic structure was not observed among F. gigantica populations from three agro-climatic regions (Sahel, Savannah, and Forest). This is probably because of the frequent transportation of livestock from one part of the country to the other. Nigeria 1A and 1B had close relationships with the Egyptian population of F. gigantica, whereas Nigeria 2A and 2B were comparatively related to the Zambian population. No haplotype was shared among the three countries, and it therefore is difficult to estimate the dispersal route of F. gigantica within the African continent.

Building and Strengthening Infection Control Strategies to Prevent Tuberculosis - Nigeria, 2015.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of infectious disease mortality worldwide, accounting for more than 1.5 million deaths in 2014, and is the leading cause of death among persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (1). Nigeria has the fourth highest annual number of TB cases among countries, with an estimated incidence of 322 per 100,000 population (1), and the second highest prevalence of HIV infection, with 3.4 million infected persons (2). In 2014, 100,000 incident TB cases and 78,000 TB deaths occurred among persons living with HIV infection in Nigeria (1). Nosocomial transmission is a significant source of TB infection in resource-limited settings (3), and persons with HIV infection and health care workers are at increased risk for TB infection because of their routine exposure to patients with TB in health care facilities (3-5). A lack of TB infection control in health care settings has resulted in outbreaks of TB and drug-resistant TB among patients and health care workers, leading to excess morbidity and mortality. In March 2015, in collaboration with the Nigeria Ministry of Health (MoH), CDC implemented a pilot initiative, aimed at increasing health care worker knowledge about TB infection control, assessing infection control measures in health facilities, and developing plans to address identified gaps. The approach resulted in substantial improvements in TB infection control practices at seven selected facilities, and scale-up of these measures across other facilities might lead to a reduction in TB transmission in Nigeria and globally.