After the successful roll out of MenAfriVac, Nigeria has experienced sequential meningitis outbreaks attributed to meningococcus serogroup C (NmC). Zamfara State in North-western Nigeria recently was at the epicentre of the largest NmC outbreak in the 21st Century with 7,140 suspected meningitis cases and 553 deaths reported between December 2016 and May 2017. The overall attack rate was 155 per 100,000 population and children 5–14 years accounted for 47% (3,369/7,140) of suspected cases. The case fatality rate (CFR) among children 5–9 years was 10%, double that reported among adults ≥ 30 years (5%). NmC and pneumococcus accounted for 94% (172/184) and 5% (9/184) of the laboratory-confirmed cases, respectively. The sequenced NmC belonged to the ST-10217 clonal complex (CC). All serotyped pneumococci were PCV10 serotypes. The emergence of NmC ST-10217 CC outbreaks threatens the public health gains made by MenAfriVac, which calls for an urgent strategic action against meningitis outbreaks.

Background Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) or iron deficiency (ID) is by far the most common form of disorder affecting the cognitive development, physical growth and school performance of children in developing countries including Nigeria. Objectives In the present study, we aimed to examine whether IDA or ID, or both are associated with oxidative stress or otherwise by assessing the perturbations in oxidative stress markers including malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Methods Here, a total of eighty-one IDA, ID, and healthy control subjects of twenty-seven replicates each, were recruited and investigated. Human serum MDA, CAT and SOD levels were quantitatively analyzed using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbant Assay. Results Mean serum MDA levels of IDA (5.10 ± 2.35 mmol/L) and ID (4.05 ± 1.35 mmol/L) groups were found to perturb significantly ( p < 0.05), being higher than those of control (3.30 ± 0.95 mmol/L) subjects. Similarly, mean serum MDA levels of IDA (5.10 ± 2.35 mmol/L) group was found to be significantly ( p < 0.05) higher when compared with ID (4.05 ± 1.35 mmol/L) subjects. Conversely, mean serum CAT and SOD activities of IDA (8.35 ± 2.21 ng/mL and 340.70 ± 153.65 ng/mL) group were found to differ significantly ( p < 0.05), and those of ID (9.40 ± 1.47 ng/mL and 435.00 ± 144.75 ng/mL) subjects were found to perturb slightly ( p > 0.05), being lower than those of control (10.40 ± 4.31 ng/mL and 482.12 ± 258.37 ng/mL) subjects. Conclusions Taken together, the results of the present study showed that lipid peroxidation was dramatically increased in both IDA and ID subjects in hydroperoxide-superoxide-dependent manner; in contrast, enzymatic antioxidant capacity was drastically decreased in both IDA and ID groups as evidenced by biochemical markers.

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