BackgroundProvision of constant and safe blood has been a public health challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa with high prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs). This study was aimed at determining the trend and seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, syphilis and HIV across the years within study among prospective blood donors at blood bank in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar, Nigeria.MethodsA retrospective analysis of blood donor data from January 2005 to December 2016 was conducted in Blood Bank/Donor Clinic of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria. Sera samples were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 1 and 2 and Treponema pallidum using commercially available immunochromatic based kits.ResultsOut of the 24,979 screened prospective donors in the 2005–2016 study period, 3739 (14.96%) were infected with at least one infective agent. The overall prevalence of HBV, HCV, syphilis and HIV were 4.1, 3.6, 3.1 and 4.2%, respectively. During the period of study, the percentage of all transfusion-transmissible infections declined significantly with remarkable decline in HIV. The study showed male dominated donor pool (98.7%) with higher prevalence (4.2%) of transfusion-transmissible infections than in female donors (0.0%). Commercial donors constituted majority (62.0%) of the donors and as well had the highest prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections. Majority (62.9%) of the donors were repeat donors.ConclusionHBV, HCV, syphilis and HIV have remained a big threat to safe blood transfusion in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa at large. Strict adherence to selection criteria and algorithm of donor screening are recommended.

BackgroundAn insight into the utilization pattern helps in future planning of blood drive. This study was conducted to describe the demographic characteristics of the transfusion recipients and pattern of blood and blood product utilization in Nigeria.MethodsBlood bank registers of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) Calabar were analysed for a 12 month period. Number of blood units requested, number of units issued, Cross-match to transfusion ratio (C/T), age, gender, blood group, blood components received, patients ward and clinical diagnosis were computed. Diagnoses were grouped into broad categories according to the disease headings of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).ResultsMajority of the 2336 transfusion recipients studied were females (69.09%) and are in the reproductive age group; 15–49 years (75.23%). The median age of the recipients was 35 years (range, 0–89). Most of the recipients (n = 1636; 70.04%) received whole blood transfusion. Majority (94.46%) of the cross–matched units were issued giving C/T ratio of 1.06. The common blood group type was O Rhesus positive (62.63%). Obstetrics and Gynecology had the highest blood requisition (41.40%). The majority of the patients were diagnosed with conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth (38.70%), conditions originating in prenatal period (14.38%). The age range of 25–54 years had the highest blood transfusion requests (n = 501; 51.07%), of these, females were majority (n = 390;77.84%).ConclusionsOur study recorded mostly young patients who received mostly whole blood. Most of the patients in the reproductive age group received transfusion for pregnancy and child-birth related cases.

Pesticides are used in agriculture and in domestic pest control. Dichlorvos, an organophosphate, is a predominant pesticide used in domestic insect control in developing countries. Acute and prolonged exposure may lead to death, genotoxic, neurological, reproductive, carcinogenic, immunological, hepatic, renal, respiratory, metabolic, dermal and other systemic effects. Its toxicity is due to the ability of the compound to inhibit acetyl cholinesterase at cholinergic junction of the nervous system. This study is a review of the toxicological effects of dichlorvos in a public health perspective.

Background Blood transfusion is a life-saving intervention. However, the safety of the donor and the recipient is paramount. This study was aimed at determining the blood donation deferral pattern of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital. Methods A retrospective analysis of the prospective donors’ data of University of Calabar Donor clinic within the period of March 2015 to February 2016 was conducted. Data were extracted from the donor register and analyzed. Prospective donors were screened and interviewed for causes of temporary and permanent deferrals. Result Out of the 1886 screened prospective donors, 164 (8.69%) were deferred. Though the minority of the donor population, female donors had the highest deferral rate (33.33%). There were 31.10 and 68.90% cases of temporary and permanent deferrals, respectively. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was the highest (31.71%) cause of overall deferral as well as permanent deferral. Anemia was the major (21.95%) cause of temporary deferral as well as the second cause of overall deferrals. Commercial and replacement donors constituted 68.28 and 31.71% of the deferral cases, respectively. Conclusion HBV was found to be the overall leading cause of deferral in the studied area. This outcome poses a public health concern and should elicit measures to curb the infection rate.

BackgroundLassa fever has been a public health concern in the West African sub-region where it is endemic and a latent threat to the world at large. We investigated the trend in Lassa fever research using bibliometric approach.MethodsWe used the SCOPUS database employing “Lassa fever” as search descriptor. The most common bibliometric indicators were applied for the selected publications.ResultsThe number of scientific research articles retrieved for Lassa fever research from 1970 to 2017 was 1101. The growth of publications was more linear (r = 0.67) than exponential (r = 0.53). The duplication time of the scientific articles was 9.19 years. Small number of authors were responsible for bulk of the article production (transience index of 78.89%). The collaboration index was 4.59 per paper. The Bradford core consisted of 19 journals in which Journal of Virology was at the top (4.6%). Majority of the output were from USA government agencies. United States was the most productive country. Joseph B. McCormick was the most productive author, while New England Journal of Medicine published the two most cited articles.ConclusionThe growth of scientific Literature on Lassa fever was of linear pattern with high transient authors indicating low productivity and non-specialized authors from other related areas publishing sporadically. This study provides a helpful reference for medical virologists, epidemiologist, policy decision makers, academics and Lassa fever researchers.