No abstract

Money is the most widely handled article throughout the world, it goes through clean and dirty hands and can get contaminated with parasites and pathogens. Thus, the study on parasites associated with circulating Naira notes in selected markets in Lafia metropolis, Nasarawa State, Nigeria was carried out from June, 2019 to March, 2020. A total of three hundred and twenty (320) samples of Nigerian Naira notes consisting of forty (40) pieces of each denomination was used for this study. Market samples were collected from food vendors, fish sellers, butchers, hawkers and fruits/vegetable sellers and then screened. Out of the 320 samples examined, 32 (10.00%) were contaminated with parasite species that spread across Ascaris lumbricoides 6 (1.88%), Entamoeba histolytica 7 (2.19%), hookworm 10 (3.13%), Taenia spp. 1 (0.31%) and Trichuris trichiura 8 (2.50%). The mint Naira notes had no parasitic contamination. The level of parasitic contamination of Naira notes in relation to currency sources, and as well as the physical conditions of the notesshowed a very high significant difference (P <0.001). Also, parasitic contamination in relation to Naira notes denominations showed a very high significant difference (P < 0.001). Only the paper notes were contaminated with human pathogenic parasites while polymer notes were parasite free. In conclusion, this is the first study in Lafia, Nasarawa State that showed that the Nigerian currency notes in circulation within the metropolis are contaminated with five parasite species that are known to be pathogenic to humans. Also, the handlers of such Naira notes may possibly stand a chance of being infected with the parasites recorded if their hands are not properly washed and sanitized after transactions.

Vector surveillance is very key in solving mosquito-borne health problems in Nigeria. To this end, the composition and distribution of mosquito vectors in a peri-urban community surrounding an institution of learning in Lafia metropolis, Nasarawa State, Central Nigeria was carried out between December 2016 and June 2017. The Prokopack Aspirator was used to collect indoor resting mosquitoes between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. from 30 randomly selected houses. Mosquitoes collected were knocked down and transferred into a well labelled petri-dish and taken to the laboratory for processing. A total of 664 mosquitoes were collected which spread across Culex quinquefasciatus 572 (86.14%), Anopheles gambiae 88 (13.25%) and Aedes aegypti 4 (0.60%). The abundance of mosquitoes in relation to seasons, species, sex, abdominal conditions as well as transmission indices across seasons significantly varied (P < 0.05). But, the distribution of mosquito in relation to house types showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). The inhabitants of the area should ensure that all drainages flow through so as to reduce mosquito breeding grounds. Also, members of the community should always protect themselves by sleeping under insecticide treated bed nets.

Anopheles gambiae is a vector that is responsible for the transmission of malaria parasites which causes high morbidity and mortality in Nigeria and the world at large. Human-vector contact can be reduced by the use of conventional repellents being sold in the market, though some of these repellent are not environmentally friendly and An. gambiae have developed resistance to some of these repellents. To this end, the phytochemical constituents and insecticidal activity of crude extracts of Hyptis suaveolens (bush mint) was determined on adult An. gambiae mosquitoes collected from Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria to evaluate its effect in controlling them. Here, 70% ethanolic and diethyl ether fat crude extracts were made from H. suaveolens dried leaves and used to carry out the experiment. The phytochemical screening of the ethanol extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoid, saponins, tannins, steroids and reducing sugar. Glycoside was not detected in the ethanol extract. Only steroids was detected in diethyl ether extract the rest of the phytochemical tested were absent. An. gambiae larvae were collected from the field and were raised to F1 progeny adults that were used for the study. WHO protocol for carrying out human bait repellency cage test was used. Human hand treated with the extracts was exposed to a cage containing 30 female mosquitoes for each of the extracts respectively. The ethanolic crude extract treatment proved to be more effective in repelling mosquitoes with 0% (0/30) mosquito landing than diethyl ether extract which had 40% (12/30) mosquitoes landing and the control hand (untreated left hand) had the highest landing rate 63.3% (19/30) which showed very high significant difference (χ2 = 27.2619, df = 2, P <0.00001) in relation to the treatments. After 24 hours holding period, the mortality rate of exposed mosquitoes was observed to be highest in the ethanolic treatment 73.3% (22/30). In conclusion, H. suaveolens extracts have repellency potential in controlling adult An. gambiae.

Trypanosomiasis afflicts about 6 ~ 7 million people globally and to a large extent impedes livestock production in Africa. Naturally, trypanosomal parasites undergo genetic mutation and have developed resistance over a wide range of therapies. The utilization of animals and plants products has presented therapeutic potential for identifying novel anti-trypanosomal drugs. This study evaluated toad venom for anti-trypanosomal potency invivo in Swiss mice. Toads were collected from July to August 2019. The acute oral toxicity and biochemical characterization of the toad venom were determined. The experimental mice were administered various doses (130 mg/kg, 173 mg/kg and 217 mg/kg) of the toad venom crude extract and 0.75 mg/mL of Diamizan Plus standard drug for the treatment of trypanosomiasis, once daily for 3 days. The in-vivo anti-trypanosomal activity was evaluated by a curative test, after infecting the mice with Trypanosoma brucei brucei. The pre-patent period was 72 hours before treatment commenced. The overall results showed that trypanosomal load was highest in the control group while the group treated with Diamizan drug had the least trypanosomal load. As such, the mean trypanosomal load in relation to treatments showed a very high significant difference (P<0.05). Also, the mean trypanosomal load in Swiss mice in relation to the highest dosage of toad venom versus Diamizan drug showed a very high significant difference (P<0.05). The mean change in relation to the haematological parameters across treatments groups varied significantly (P<0.05) with the exception of Hb which showed no significant difference (P>0.05) across treatment groups. The over 50% reduction in the trypanosomal load in the 130 mg/kg group in comparison with the control group brings to bare the anti-trypanosomal potency of the toad venom. The anti-trypanosomal activity demonstrated by the toad venom has provided basis for development of new therapeutic agents from different toad species. The study recommends further studies (both in-vivo and invitro) followed by the characterization of the active compounds present in the toad venom responsible for the anti-tyrpanosomal activity observed alongside the management and conservation of these species.