Introduction:It is well documented that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the cause of cervical cancer which is a major cause of morbidity and mortality especially in low- and middle-income countries. Vaccines against HPV are available. In developed countries where the vaccines have been deployed, lack of information among the target population (adolescents) is a major contributor to suboptimal uptake. In Nigeria, the vaccine is yet to be provided in the national programme on immunization, which is free, but it is available for a fee. In this study we determined the effect of peer education on the knowledge of female adolescents about HPV, cervical cancer, its treatment and prevention.Methods:This was an intervention study. The knowledge and awareness of female students of four secondary schools were assessed using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire prior to the training of some of the students (peers). The trained students delivered messages on cervical cancer and HPV using fliers containing key information (peer training) to their school mates in formal delivery in a class setting. The knowledge and awareness of students, post-peer training, was then assessed.Results:There were 1337 students who responded to the baseline questionnaire while 1201 responded to the post-peer training questionnaire. Awareness of cervical cancer, knowledge of risk factors and cause of cervical cancer was low prior to the peer training. There was statistically significant improvement in awareness about cervical cancer and in the knowledge domains following peer training. Mean knowledge score prior to training was 12.94 ± 9.23 and this increased significantly to 53.74 ± 10.69 following peer training p < 0.0001.Conclusion:Peer training is effective in improving knowledge and awareness of secondary school students about HPV and cervical cancer.

Background Prevention of BC of which the cornerstone is creating awareness and early detection is important in adolescents and young women because of their worse outcomes. Early detection strategies such as mammography are currently beyond the reach of most women in sub-Saharan Africa.. Lack of awareness and late presentation contribute to the poor outcomes. Awareness creation among adolescents may result in modification of some risk factors for BC with adoption of healthy life styles including accessing early detection activities. This study determined the effect of peer education as a strategy to create awareness on BC and breast self examination (BSE) among in-school female adolescents in Benin City. Methods This was a pre-post interventional study carried out in October –December 2016 on female students of four secondary schools in Benin City. Pre-peer training, using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire, knowledge about BC and BSE was assessed in about 30% of each school population. This was followed by training of 124 students selected from the schools (one student per class) as peer trainers. The peer trainers provided training on BC and BSE (the intervention) for their classmates. Within two weeks of peer training knowledge about BC and BSE was reassessed in 30% of each school population. Selection of students for assessment pre and post intervention was by systematic sampling. Correct knowledge was scored and presented as percentages. Chi square test, student t test and ANOVA were used to assess associations and test differences with level of significance set at p < 0.05. Results There were 1337 and 1201 students who responded to the pre and post-training questionnaires respectively. The mean BC knowledge score (20.61 ± 13.4) prior to training was low and it statistically significantly improved to 55.93 ± 10.86 following training p < 0.0001 Following peer training, statistically significant improvement (p 0.037- < 0.001) occurred in most knowledge domains apart from symptomatology. Pre-peer training 906(67.8%) students knew about BSE but only 67(4.8%). Significantly more students 1134(94.7%) knew about BSE following peer training. Conclusions Peer education strategy can be used to improve BC and BSE knowledge in adolescents. This strategy is low cost and could be very useful in low resource settings.

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Introduction Malaria is a blood vector-borne disease with high morbidity and mortality in children in sub-Saharan Africa [1]. The 2017 malaria report of the World Health Organization (WHO) stated there were 216 million malaria cases worldwide in 2016, which was 5 million cases more than the 211 million observed in 2015 [1]. Malaria infection rate rises rapidly from 0% to 2% during the first three months of life, reaches 50% by the age of one1 year and then remains persistently high through the period of childhood in malaria stable endemic regions [1, 2]. Malaria disease is commonly associated with alterations in haematologic cells of the peripheral blood of infected individuals in both the acute uncomplicated and severe phases [3, 4]. The haematologic picture, however, varies from person to person and largely depends on nutritional status (parameters are severely depleted in malnourished than well-nourished children) [4], intensity of malaria transmission [4, 5], age [3, 6, 7], and co-morbidities, such as helminthiasis [3]. Anaemia is a complication contributing significantly to mortality from malaria disease [3-8]. This usually results from excessive removal of non-parasitized erythrocytes, immune destruction of parasitized red cells, and impaired erythropoiesis by the bone marrow dysfunction [9]. Leukocytosis/monocytosis [4, 10] or leucopaenia [4, 5] and thrombocytopenia [4, 5, 9] have been documented in most severe acute disease [4, 6]. The hypersplenism observed during acute malaria episodes is associated with splenomegaly and might also contribute to reduction in all the three blood cells causing anaemia, thrombocytopaenia, and leucopaenia [8]. The hypersplenism and malaria inflammatory response and endothelial activation have also been implicated as a cause of leukocytosis (monocytosis) [8, 9]. The spleen is the vital organ for both malaria parasite clearance from the peripheral circulation and the observed immunological response to parasite clearance during the acute malaria episodes [8,

Introduction: Adverse events following immunization (AEFI) may follow the use of any