ABSTRACT
Background: The public knowledge and adherence to the established coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) precautionary measures are crucial to Nigeria's war against the pandemic. Public health education on its preventive practices at the grassroots level was initially crucial to achieving a lower COVID-19 incidence in Kwara State, Nigeria. Methods: We assessed the knowledge of, and adherence to COVID-19 precautionary measures at the community level among 795 respondents from the three senatorial zones of Kwara State. Results: 54.5% (433/795) of the respondents were aged between 21 and 40 years, and 45.9% (365/795) of the respondents had a bachelor's degree or higher. Study participants had a good knowledge of COVID-19, its symptoms, and its mode of transmission. 91.8% of the respondents (730/795) had a positive perception of the COVID-19 preventive measures while 96.1% (763/795) of the respondents agreed that maintaining social distance was important in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic. However, only 38% (302/795) of them used face masks and only 25.7% (204/795) of the respondents used hand sanitizers. In addition, only 31.9% (253/795) of the respondents isolated themselves when they were ill. Multi-variable logistic regression analysis revealed that education, occupation, gender, and ethnicity were significantly associated with positive COVID-19 preventive practices among residents of Kwara State. Civil servants were more likely (AOR: 3.14; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.67 to 14.82; P = 0.034) to have positive preventive attitudes than other respondents. Study participants with tertiary education and those that were Yoruba (ethnicity) were 14.81 times more likely (95% CI: 4.29 to 51.05; P = 0.001) and 5.19 times more likely (95% CI: 1.82 to 14.84; P = 0.007) to have positive attitudes towards the laid-down COVID-19 preventive measures respectively. Conclusion: The poor community adherence to the COVID-19 preventive practices could pre-dispose Kwara to more COVID-19 cases. More community engagement activities are needed to fully curb the spread of the COVID-19. Public health education should focus on preventive measures, vaccine acceptance, and community monitoring of COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health crisis. However, there is a paucity of data on anti-protozoal resistance (APR), especially in animals. Hence, we assessed the knowledge of prudent antiprotozoal drug usage (APU) and resistance among animal health practitioners (AHPs) in Kwara State, Nigeria.A cross-sectional survey of 435 AHPs was performed in Kwara State from the 5th of March to the 31st of July 2020 using a structured and validated questionnaire. We used logistic regression analysis to identify socio-demographic factors that are associated with the satisfactory perception of prudent APU and good knowledge of APR among AHPs.Our findings showed that 80.2% (n = 349) of the AHPs in Kwara state had a good knowledge of APR with a mean knowledge score of 5.8 ± 1.2. In the same vein, 75.6% (n = 329) of the AHPs had a satisfactory perception of prudent APU with a mean score of 3.84 ± 1.21. Only 10.1% of the AHPs had observed treatment failures after the use of anti-protozoal drugs. Most of the AHPs (75.6%) believed that APR poses a significant threat to animal production and health globally. Logistic regression analysis showed that female AHPs were more likely (OR: 2.17; 95% CI: 0.91, 5.20; p < 0.005) to have better knowledge of APR than their male counterparts. AHPs with tertiary education were likely (OR: 2.77; 95% CI: 0.96, 4.99; p < 0.05) to be more knowledgeable about APR and have satisfactory perceptions of APU (OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.99; p = 0.07) respectively. Finally, veterinarians were 3.76 times (95% CI:1.26, 9.25; p < 0.001) more likely to have good knowledge of APR and better perceptions of APU (OR: 3.28; 95% CI: 1.89, 5.68; p < 0.001) than other AHPs respectively.To control antimicrobial resistance, continuous training of AHPs especially para-veterinary officers is essential to update their knowledge on prudent antimicrobial usage and prevent the emergence of resistant protozoan parasites.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Male , Nigeria , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Background and Aim: Heat stress is a major challenge for animals, impairing their welfare and performance. This study aimed to determine the effect of heat stress on the vital and hematobiochemical parameters of healthy dogs. Materials and Methods: The experimental subjects comprised 10 dogs, encompassing seven males and three non-pregnant females between 2 and 3 years of age. Ambient temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) were recorded 2 hourly during the day and the temperature humidity index was calculated. Vital parameters [i.e., rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate, and heart rate (HR)] were assessed and blood was collected from each dog daily for hematobiochemical analysis. Results: The RT (38.5±0.2°C) of dogs exposed to high AT and high RH (HA/HR) conditions was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of dogs exposed to HA and low RH (LR) conditions (37.2±0.11°C). Under HA/HR conditions, packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentrations, and white blood cell counts were significantly lower than those of the same dogs exposed to HA/LR conditions. Conversely, under HA/HR conditions, the lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and cortisol values were significantly higher (p<0.05) than the values obtained in dogs exposed to HA/LR conditions. Meanwhile, the alkaline phosphatase, urea, and glucose levels were significantly lower (p<0.05) in dogs exposed to HA/HR conditions. Conclusion: The exposure of healthy dogs to HA/HR conditions induced heat stress, which may have an adverse effect on their immune status, thereby affecting their health and welfare.
