SARS CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Selected States of High and Low Disease Burden in Nigeria.

Importance: The global impact of COVID-19 has led to an increased need to continuously assess disease surveillance tools. The utility of SARS-CoV-2 serologic tools in determining immunity levels across different age groups and locations in helping to quickly assess the burden of COVID-19 with significant health policy implications is unknown. Objective: To determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with respect to the age group and sex of participants. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cross-sectional survey of 4904 individuals across 12 states with high and low COVID-19 disease burden in Nigeria was carried out between June 29 and August 21, 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used for the detection of specific SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M antibodies, such as the nucleocapsid protein-NCP and spike protein S1. Interviewer-administered questionnaires provided information on participants' history of disease and associated risk factors. Results: A total of 4904 individuals participated in the study (3033 were female [61.8%]; mean [SD] age, 26.7 [6.51] years). A high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 (78.9%) was obtained. Seropositivity was consistent across the states surveyed, ranging from 69.8% in Lagos to 87.7% in Borno. There was no association between sex and seropositivity (female, 2414 [79.6%]; male, 1456 [77.8%]; P = .61); however, an association was noted between age and seropositivity, with the peak prevalence observed in participants aged 15 to 19 years (616 [83.6%]; P = .001). Similarly, loss of appetite (751 [82.3%]; P = .04) and smell (309 [84.4%]; P = .01) were associated with seropositivity. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, a high SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was obtained among the study population during the low level of vaccination at the time of the survey. Thus, there is a need for both an efficacy and antibody neutralization test study to ascertain the efficacy of the antibody detected and the potential for herd immunity in Nigeria.

Emergence and Associated Risk Factors of Vector Borne West Nile Virus Infection in Ilorin, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne viral pathogen that is the causative agent of West Nile fever and encephalitis. Diagnostic tools for WNV infection in Nigeria are not well established hence the current prevalence rate of WNV infection in Nigeria is unknown. We aimed to establish the serological prevalence of WNV infection in febrile patients in Ilorin, Nigeria in 2016, and to assess the risk factors associated with the acquisition of the virus. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study involving the screening of subjects presenting with febrile illnesses. While specific IgM ELISA was used to determine the seroprevalence, a closed-ended questionnaire was used to ascertain the risk factors associated with this viral infection. RESULTS: Fifteen (7.5%) of the respondents were positive for WNV infection. Subjects living in areas in close proximity to trees and bushes (P= 0.011) and stagnant water (P= 0.001) were at a higher risk of having WNV infection. Other risk factors associated with WNV among the respondents include the none use of insecticide (P= 0.001), sitting out at night (P= 0.044), HIV positivity (P= 0.003) and having an organ transplant (P= 0.002). CONCLUSION: This study clearly shows a considerable WNV infection in Ilorin, with the presence of factors that can promulgate an outbreak, hence a need for further surveillance in the study area.

Dengue virus and malaria concurrent infection among febrile subjects within Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease of public health importance. It is caused by four serotypes of Dengue virus (i.e, DENV-1, -2, -3, and -4). As a result of practices that are conducive for mosquito breading, its vector is widespread in Nigeria and this could result to possible DENV outbreaks in Nigeria and beyond. This study aimed to assess the recency of DENV infection as well as occurrence of DENV and Malaria co-infections within Ilorin, Nigeria. Blood samples were obtained from 176 febrile subjects and analyzed using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for the presence of DENV antibodies. Malaria infection was detected using a rapid diagnostic test kit for malaria parasites. Malaria and DENV (IgM positive) co-infected samples were further subjected to RT-qPCR analysis. A seroprevalence of 46.0% was recorded for anti-DENV IgM antibodies and 2.84% for concurrent Dengue and malaria infections. Out of 95 IgM negative samples, 48 were found to be positive for DENV IgG antibodies. Eleven (6.25%) samples were confirmed DENV positive following RT-qPCR. The CT values of the amplicons were between 19.0 and 20.0. DENV serotype 2 dominated the study, while serotype 3 and 4 were equally distributed. Based on the high seroprevalence of DENV obtained in this study, there is a high possibility of experiencing Dengue virus outbreak in Ilorin, Nigeria, not neglecting the fast geographical spread of the vector. Therefore, surveillance and intensive vector control program should be instituted.

Population genomics diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in malaria patients attending Okelele Health Centre, Okelele, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous malaria parasite species to humans remains an important public health concern in Okelele, a rural community in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. There is however little information about the genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in Nigeria. OBJECTIVE: To determine the population genomic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in malaria patients attending Okelele Community Healthcare Centre, Okelele, Ilorin, Kwara State. METHODS: In this study, 50 Plasmodium falciparum strains Merozoite Surface Protein 1, Merozoite Surface Protein 2 and Glutamate Rich Protein were analysed from Okelele Health Centre, Okelele, Ilorin, Nigeria. Genetic diversity of P. falciparum isolates were analysed from nested polymerase chain reactions (PCR) of the MSP-1 (K1, MAD 20 and RO33), MSP-2 (FC27 and 3D7) and Glutamate Rich Protein allelic families respectively. RESULTS: Polyclonal infections were more in majority of the patients for MSP-1 allelic families while monoclonal infections were more for MSP-2 allelic families. Multiplicity of infection for MSP-1, MSP-2 and GLURP were 1.7, 1.8 and 2.05 respectively. CONCLUSION: There is high genetic diversity in MSP - 2 and GLURP allelic families of Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Okelele Health Centre, Ilorin, Nigeria.

Seroprevalence and Co-Infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Among Pregnant Women in Lokoja, North-Central Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is normally associated with orofacial (orolabial) infections and encephalitis, whereas HSV-2 usually causes genital infections and can be transmitted from infected mothers to neonates. The evidence suggesting that HSV is facilitating the spread of the global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic and the risk posed by these synergies to neonates in developing countries informed this study. OBJECTIVES: To determine the seroprevalence and co-infection of HIV and HSV, as well as their associated risk factors, in Lokoja, Nigeria. METHODS: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional, prospective study, which was carried out among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at the federal medical centre in Lokoja, Nigeria. sociodemographic characteristics and HIV-HSV status were determined by the use of a structured questionnaire and immunoassay kits, respectively. All data were analyzed using Stata statistical software (version 12), and the level of significance was determined to be P < 0.05 using the chi-square test. RESULTS: Of the 250 pregnant women screened for HIV and HSV, 154 (61.6%) were in the 2nd trimester of gestation, and all of the co-infected respondents were in their 2nd trimester. Only six (2.4%) of the respondents tested positive for HIV, with all six (100%) showing positivity for HSV so the co-infection rate was six (2.4%). Co-infection was found to occur between the ages of 15 and 35 years, while higher age groups did not show any co-infection. Parity, level of education, and history of painful genital ulcers had no significant association with co-infection. CONCLUSIONS: Advocacy and publicity to raise awareness of the potential public health impact of HSV and HIV co-infection in Nigeria, where anti-HSV testing is not generally performed in all populations, is therefore recommended.

Phylogeny of haemosporidian blood parasites revealed by a multi-gene approach.

The apicomplexan order Haemosporida is a clade of unicellular blood parasites that infect a variety of reptilian, avian and mammalian hosts. Among them are the agents of human malaria, parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which pose a major threat to human health. Illuminating the evolutionary history of Haemosporida may help us in understanding their enormous biological diversity, as well as tracing the multiple host switches and associated acquisitions of novel life-history traits. However, the deep-level phylogenetic relationships among major haemosporidian clades have remained enigmatic because the datasets employed in phylogenetic analyses were severely limited in either gene coverage or taxon sampling. Using a PCR-based approach that employs a novel set of primers, we sequenced fragments of 21 nuclear genes from seven haemosporidian parasites of the genera Leucocytozoon, Haemoproteus, Parahaemoproteus, Polychromophilus and Plasmodium. After addition of genomic data from 25 apicomplexan species, the unreduced alignment comprised 20,580 bp from 32 species. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on nucleotide, codon and amino acid data employing Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony. All analyses resulted in highly congruent topologies. We found consistent support for a basal position of Leucocytozoon within Haemosporida. In contrast to all previous studies, we recovered a sister group relationship between the genera Polychromophilus and Plasmodium. Within Plasmodium, the sauropsid and mammal-infecting lineages were recovered as sister clades. Support for these relationships was high in nearly all trees, revealing a novel phylogeny of Haemosporida, which is robust to the choice of the outgroup and the method of tree inference.

In vivo antimalarial activity and toxicological effects of methanolic extract of Cocos nucifera (Dwarf red variety) husk fibre.

OBJECTIVE: Phytochemical constituents as well as antimalarial and toxicity potentials of the methanolic extract of the husk fibre of Dwarf Red variety of Cocos nucifera were evaluated in this study. METHODS: The dried powdered husk fibre was exhaustively extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol successively and the methanolic extract was screened for flavonoids, phenolics, tannins, alkaloids, steroids, triterpenes, phlobatannins, anthraquinones and glycosides. A 4-day suppressive antimalarial test was carried out using Plasmodium berghei NK65-infected mice, to which the extract was administered at doses of 31.25, 62.5, 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight (BW). Toxicity of the extract was evaluated in rats using selected hematological parameters and organ function indices after orally administering doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg BW for 14 d. RESULTS: Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, phenolics, saponins, glycosides, steroids and anthraquinones in the extract. Moreover, the extract reduced parasitemia by 39.2% and 45.8% at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg BW respectively on day 8 post-inoculation. Various hematological parameters evaluated were not significantly altered (P>0.05) at all doses of the extract, except red blood cell count which was significantly elevated (P<0.05) at 100 mg/kg BW. The extract significantly increased (P<0.05) urea, creatinine, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and bilirubin concentrations in the serum as well as atherogenic index, while it reduced albumin concentration significantly (P<0.05) at higher doses compared to the controls. Alanine aminotransferase activity was reduced in the liver and heart significantly (P<0.05) but was increased in the serum significantly (P<0.05) at higher doses of the extract compared to the controls. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that methanolic extract of the Dwarf red variety has partial antimalarial activity at higher doses, but is capable of impairing normal kidney and liver function as well as predisposing subjects to cardiovascular diseases.

In vivo antimalarial activity and toxicological effects of methanolic extract of Cocos nucifera (Dwarf red variety) husk fibre / 中西医结合学报

Phytochemical constituents as well as antimalarial and toxicity potentials of the methanolic extract of the husk fibre of Dwarf Red variety of Cocos nucifera were evaluated in this study.