Background The first case of the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in West Africa was first confirmed in Nigeria in February 2020. Since then, several public health interventions and preventive measures have been implemented to curtail transmission of the causative agent, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Therefore, this study was performed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of West Africans towards COVID-19. Methods An online survey was conducted between 29 September to 29 October 2020 among West Africans. Thirty-three survey questions were designed to collect sociodemographic data and participants’ knowledge, attitude and perception towards COVID-19. The study targeted all West African nationals who were 18 years and above, and willing to participate in the study. Participants were either in-country or abroad. Results Overall, 1106 respondents (≥18 years) from 16 West African countries, with about 12.1% of them residing outside the West African subregion, participated in the survey. The respondents had an average COVID-19 knowledge score of 67.82 ± 8.31, with knowledge of the disease significantly associated with the country of residence (p = 0.00) and marginally (p = 0.05) so with settlement types (i.e., urban, suburban and rural areas). Most respondents (93.4%) could identify the main COVID-19 symptoms, and 73.20% would consult a healthcare professional if infected with SARS-CoV-2. Also, 75.2% of the respondents are willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, whereas 10.40% and 14.40% are unwilling and undecided, respectively. Perceptions of what constitute COVID-19 preventive measures were highly variable. Approximately, 8% of the respondents felt that their government responded excellently in managing the pandemic while a third felt that the response was just good. Also, more than half (54%) opined that isolation and treatment of COVID-19 patients is a way of curbing SARS-CoV-2 spread. Conclusions Most West Africans have basic knowledge of COVID-19 and showed a positive attitude, with likely proactive practice towards the disease. However, results showed that these varied across countries and are influenced by the types of settlements. Therefore, the health and education authorities in various countries should develop focused measures capturing people in different settlements to improve their preventative measures when designing public health interventions for COVID-19 and any future epidemics or pandemics.

Schistosomiasis, a major public health challenge is caused by trematodes of the genus Schistosoma whose intermediate host is snails. Sub-Saharan African (SSA) carried 85% of the global burden of this infection principally amongst school age children. Similarly, Nigeria bears the highest weight of this highly preventable infection in SSA. Preventive chemotherapy (PC) with 40-60 mg\kg praziquantel (PZQ) annually is the focal control strategy in endemic areas. Despite more than two decades of PZQ usage in Nigeria, the disease is still prevalent in affected communities. Thus, the study sought to assess the current post-treatment efficacy of PZQ use for urinary schistosomiasis among primary school age children of Ipogun village. Urine reagent strip (Haemastix) ® was initially used to screen pupils for haematuria, while Kato-Katz and urine filtration were employed to confirm the presence of schistosome ova in the faeces and urine of the study population pre-and post-treatment. A total of 202 children were screened, out of which 117 (57.9%) were positive for microhaematuria and 91 (45.0%) had ova of Schistosoma haematobium in their urine. The 14 and 21 day post-treatment assessment revealed 73.6% and 23.1% of the initially infected children to still be with infection respectively. Additionally, there was a statistical significant (P=0.02) in the reduction of egg count twenty-one days post-treatment. Though the efficacy of the drug as observed in the egg reduction rate in the study area can be classified as satisfactory, continuous monitoring of schistosome response should not cease if the global target of eliminating morbidity due to schistosomiasis by year 2020 is to be achieved.

Widespread of insecticide resistance amongst the species of the Anopheles gambiae complex continues to threaten vector control in Senegal. In this study, we investigated the presence and evolution of the Ace-1 and Gste2 resistance genes in natural populations of Anopheles gambiae s.l., the main malaria vector in Senegal. Using historical samples collected from ten sentinel health districts, this study focused on three different years (2013, 2017, and 2018) marking the periods of shift between the main public health insecticides families (pyrethroids, carbamates, organophosphates) used in IRS to track back the evolutionary history of the resistance mutations on the Ace-1 and Gste2 loci. The results revealed the presence of four members of the Anopheles gambiae complex, with the predominance of An. arabiensis followed by An. gambiae, An. coluzzii, and An. gambiae–coluzzii hybrids. The Ace-1 mutation was only detected in An. gambiae and An. gambiae–coluzzii hybrids at low frequencies varying between 0.006 and 0.02, while the Gste2 mutation was found in all the species with a frequency ranging between 0.02 and 0.25. The Ace-1 and Gste2 genes were highly diversified with twenty-two and thirty-one different haplotypes, respectively. The neutrality tests on each gene indicated a negative Tajima’s D, suggesting the abundance of rare alleles. The presence and spread of the Ace-1 and Gste2 resistance mutations represent a serious threat to of the effectiveness and the sustainability of IRS-based interventions using carbamates or organophosphates to manage the widespread pyrethroids resistance in Senegal. These data are of the highest importance to support the NMCP for evidence-based vector control interventions selection and targeting.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the Severe Acute Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global health threat with extensive misinformation and conspiracy theories. Therefore, this study investigated the knowledge, attitude and perception of sub-Saharan Africans (SSA) on COVID-19 during the exponential phase of the pandemic. In this cross-sectional survey, self-administered web-based questionnaires were distributed through several online platforms. A total of 1046 respondents from 35 SSA countries completed the survey. The median age was 33 years (18–76 years) and about half (50.5%) of them were males. More than 40% across all socio-demographic categories except participants from the Central African region (21.2%), those with vocational/secondary education (28.6%), as well as student/unemployed (35.5%), had high COVID-19 knowledge scores. Socio-demographic factors and access to information were associated with COVID-19 knowledge. Bivariate analysis revealed that independent variables, including the region of origin, age, gender, education and occupation, were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with COVID-19 knowledge. Multivariate analysis showed that residing in East (odds ratio [OR]: 7.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.7–14, p < 0.001), Southern (OR: 3.7, 95% CI: 2.1–6.5, p < 0.001) and West (OR: 3.9, 95% CI: 2.9–5.2, p < 0.001) Africa was associated with high COVID-19 knowledge level. Apart from East Africa (54.7%), willingness for vaccine acceptance across the other SSA regions was < 40%. About 52%, across all socio-demographic categories, were undecided. Knowledge level, region of origin, age, gender, marital status and religion were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. About 67.4% were worried about contracting SARS-CoV-2, while 65.9% indicated they would consult a health professional if exposed. More than one-third of the respondents reported that their governments had taken prompt measures to tackle the pandemic. Despite high COVID-19 knowledge in our study population, most participants were still undecided regarding vaccination, which is critical in eliminating the pandemic. Therefore, extensive, accurate, dynamic and timely education in this aspect is of ultimate priority.

Background: Tropical bed bug, Cimex hemipterus, is a nocturnal obligate blood-sucking ecto-parasite of humans that is highly prevalent in Nigeria. Bed bug control heavily relies on the application of several insecticides-based formulations. Insecticide resistance in bed bug populations has been widely reported. Here, we assessed the mortality and fecundity of bed bugs following exposure to different classes of insecticides. Methods: Bed bugs were collected from students’ halls of resident and exposed to DDT (4%), permethrin (0.75), bendiocarb (0.1) and malathion (4%) insecticide-impregnated papers. Mortality and number of eggs laid by each exposed groups were recorded at 24hrs, 48hrs and 72hrs. Results: The relative numbers of eggs produced by bedbugs in the DDT, bendiocarb and malathion assays were lower than what was observed in the control 24 hours after exposure. The highest reduction in egg production was observed in the malathion exposed-group compared to the other insecticides and the control group. The impact of the different assays on bugs mortality revealed DDT to produce a time-dependent outcome with the highest death rate (36.7%) recorded 24 hours’ post-exposure. In contrast, malathion and bendiocarb impacted the most mortality (53.3% and 46.6%) after 72 hours. Conclusion: This study revealed an occurrence of suspected insecticide resistance to all classes of insecticide used in bed bug populations in Lagos State, Nigeria.