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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most commonly diagnosed systemic inflammatory disease that can affect multiple joints of the body. RA affects women 2-3 times more than men. Pregnancy has been reported to have an ameliorating effect on the course of existing RA and the flare-up of disease activity in the postpartum period. This study was carried out on two hundred and forty (240) female patients of child bearing age after obtaining an ethical approval from the Ethical Committee of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. 5ml of blood samples were drawn from the ante-cubital fossa of each woman with 5ml syringe and needle, between 8am to 11am each day. The samples were sent to the laboratory for analysis. The Latex Slide Test kit used for the serological analysis contains both the positive and negative control. The result obtained was compared with both the positive and negative control. Twelve (12) of the samples tested positive for the Rheumatoid Factor during the qualitative analysis, while the remaining two hundred and twenty-eight (228) tested negative. All positive results from the qualitative analysis tested positive when the test control was carried out, likewise the negative results which were all negative for the test control. The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in female patients of child bearing age for this study was calculated to be 5% which was 4% higher than the world prevalence, estimated to be 1%. The relevance of this study was to ascertain the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis in female patients of child bearing age, which would serve as a useful tool in other rheumatoid arthritis prevalence studies that could be directed towards a better understanding of the flare of the disease and for the development of a more effective preventive and curative therapy.

The causative agent of a mysterious pneumonia was identified as clustered of unexplained pneumonia, was identified as a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China and was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization. There are thousands of infectious individuals worldwide and millions of deaths. A total number of 248 subjects (124 males and 124 females) of returning students of some Faculties of University of Port Harcourt were used. Questionnaire were used to collect some demographic data from the subjects while Standard Q COVID-19 Antigen Test Kit methods were applied for the screening. The subjects that gave consent were made to sit down comfortably with their head tilted back and nasal samples collected with COVID-19 swab stick. The swab was inserted into an extraction buffer tube and squeezed at the sides to extract the liquid. 4 drops of the extracted specimen were applied to the well of the Standard Q COVID-19 Antigen Test Kit. The result was read in 20 minutes and was recorded. All the results of the study read negative. This showed zero prevalence of COVID-19 disease amongst the returning students of University of Port Harcourt. This could be as a result of age, environmental factor or strong COVID-19 preventive measures within the campus. Nevertheless, continuous observance of COVID-19 preventive protocols, further COVID-19 screening tests amongst the staff and in a hospital, setting is strongly recommended.