DETERMINANTS OF FAMILY SIZE AMONG MEN IN SLUMS OF IBADAN, NIGERIA.

BACKGROUND: Fertility, particularly as it pertains to the role of men as decision makers is important with respect to demographic transition theory. Studies have explored fertility preferences of men but very little has been done with regard to fertility preferences amongst men from the slums. The aim of this study was to investigate drivers of family sizes among the urban slum households in Ibadan of South-West Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was conducted among 362 men in selected urban slum communities in Ibadan, Oyo State using multi-stage sampling. Data was collected using pre-tested, semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi square test and binary logistic regression with level of significance set at 5%. RESULTS: Age of respondents was 41.1 ± 7.56 years. Over a third have completed tertiary education (35.9%) and were civil servants (47.0%). Ethnicity, educational status, sex distribution of children and number of children were significantly associated with desire for more children (p<0.05). Marginally over half (54.4%) of respondents with 2 or less children wanted to continue child bearing compared to other respondents (p<0.001). Men with female only children were almost 3 times more likely to desire more children than men with male only children (p<0.001; OR= 2.798; 95% CI = 1.53 - 5.13). Igbos also were 52.8% less likely to desire more children compared to Yorubas (p=0.047; OR = 0.472; 95% CI = 0.225 - 0.991). CONCLUSION: Programmes targeted at slum dwellers to improve their education on childbearing and family planning are required to assist the country progress through the stages of demographic transition.

Bioaccumulation and persistence of faecal bacterial and viral indicators in Mytilus edulis and Crassostrea gigas.

This study investigated the response of two shellfish species - mussels (Mytilus edulis) and oysters (Crassostrea gigas) to microbial contamination in order to gain a better understanding of the bioaccumulation and persistence of microorganisms under controlled conditions. M. edulis and C. gigas were placed in sterile laboratory-prepared artificial seawater and initial tests were carried out to ensure both faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and bacteriophages were below detection limits. FIB and phages were isolated, purified and dosed into experimental tanks containing the shellfish species. The GB124 phages were bioaccumulated to the highest concentration in M. edulis (1.88Log10) and C. gigas (1.27Log10) after 24h. Somatic coliphages were bioaccumulated to the highest concentration in both M. edulis (4.84log10) and C. gigas (1.73log10) after 48h. F-RNA phages were bioaccumulated to the highest concentration in M. edulis (3.51log10) after 6h but were below detection limit in C. gigas throughout the exposure period. Escherichia coli, faecal coliforms and intestinal enterococci were bioaccumulated to the highest concentrations in M. edulis (5.05log10, 5.06log10 and 3.98log10, respectively) after 48h. In C. gigas, E. coli reached a maximum concentration (5.47log10) after 6h, faecal coliforms (5.19log10) after 12h and intestinal enterococci (3.23log10) after 24h.M. edulis bioaccumulated phages to a greater extent than the faecal bacteria, and in both shellfish species, faecal bacteria persisted for longer periods over 48h than the phages. This study highlights significant variation in the levels and rate of accumulation and persistence with respect to both shellfish species and the indicators used to assess risk. The results suggest that phage-based indicators could help elucidate risks to human health associated with pathogenic organisms.

The application of phage-based faecal pollution markers to predict the concentration of adenoviruses in mussels (Mytilus edulis) and their overlying waters.

AIM: This study set out to determine whether phage-based indicators may provide a 'low-tech' alternative to existing approaches that might help maintain the microbial safety of shellfish and their overlying waters. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mussels and their overlying waters were collected biweekly from an estuary in southeast England over a 2-year period (May 2013-April 2015) (n = 48). Levels of bacterial indicators were determined using membrane filtration and most probable number methods and those of bacteriophages were determined by direct plaque assay. The detection of adenovirus was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results revealed that somatic coliphages demonstrated the most significant correlations with AdV F and G in mussels (ρ = 0·55) and overlying waters (ρ = 0·66), followed by GB124 phages (ρ = 0·43) while Escherichia coli showed no correlation with AdV F and G in mussels. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the use of somatic coliphages and GB124 phages may provide a better indication of the risk of adenovirus contamination of mussels and their overlying waters than existing bacterial indicators. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Phage-based detection may be particularly advantageous in low-resource settings where viral infectious disease presents a significant burden to human health.