Prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Antibodies to Hepatitis C in the General Population of Benue State, Central Nigeria.

There have been various estimates of the prevalence of hepatitis B and C infections in Nigeria. Recent studies have shown the prevalence to be lower than previously reported. The different populations studied might be responsible for this. It is important to have a real population data that would inform the policies to be adopted for eradication. We set out to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and pattern of hepatitis B and C in Benue State, Central Nigeria. Four thousand and five (4,005) subjects, aged 1 year and older, were selected through a multistage random sampling to represent all parts of the state. Trained health workers administered a validated questionnaire. Rapid test kits were standardized and used in determining the prevalence of the respective viruses. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) were found to be positive in 5% and 1%, respectively, of subjects screened. The prevalence varied from one local government area to another, with HBsAg being 8% in the highest to 2% in the lowest LGC, and anti-HCV being 3% in the highest and 0% in the lowest. Age, previous close contact with a patient, and multiple sex partners were the most important risk factors for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, whereas age and previous blood transfusion were the most important risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. HBV immunization may be having an impact in reducing the prevalence of the virus. Nigeria appears to be moving from high endemicity to the intermediate one.

New-Generation Active Videogaming Maintains Energy Expenditure in Children Across Repeated Bouts.

OBJECTIVE: Active videogames (AVGs) remain popular among 10-15-year-old children. The Xbox 360 Kinect™ from Microsoft (Redmond, WA) represents a new generation of AVGs where body movements are used to control gameplay. The purpose of this study was to measure energy expenditure required to play repeated bouts of six Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect games ("Motion Sports Adrenaline™," "Sonic Free Riders™," "Virtua Tennis 4™," "Kinect Sports™," "Kinect Adventures™," and "Just Dance 3™"). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty-seven children (between 10 and 15 years) participated in a repeated-measures experiment, completing five 1-hour sessions (one familiarization and four separate gaming sessions). Three different AVGs were played for 15 minutes during each gaming session in a counterbalanced order. An Actiheart (CamNtech Ltd., Cambridge, United Kingdom) was used to monitor heart rate and acceleration during gameplay. RESULTS: Average energy expended across the six AVGs during 15 minutes of gameplay was 3.0±0.17 metabolic equivalents/minute, significantly higher than resting energy expenditure (P<0.01). Similar levels of energy expenditure were observed between the first and fourth gaming session for all six games, although the energy expenditure between each game over the four sessions was similar. Boys expended more energy than girls within each AVG and across the four gaming sessions. CONCLUSIONS: The Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect games in this study were found to elicit moderate-intensity exercise over four gaming sessions, with no decay in energy expenditure over several gaming sessions. Although small differences in the energy expenditure between the six Microsoft Xbox Kinect games were found, they are all likely to contribute toward reduced sitting time in children.