Introduction: Consistent condom use still remains a key strategy in HIV prevention. Studies have demonstrated declining condom use among HIV positive patients on ART. There is paucity of such information among HIV positive individuals on ART in Nigeria. We sought to find the rates and associated factors for condom use among a cohort of PLHIV on ART in Nigeria. Methods:A cross sectional review of PLHIV on ART was carried out in an ART treatment facility. Trained clinic staff administered a checklist to adult patients who had been on ART for a minimum of 9 months. Information was collected on age, sex, marital status, number of sexual partners, condom use and occurrence of sexually transmitted infection.Results: Of the 282 respondents; average age was 35 years. Forty four percent (44%) never used while 25% used condoms consistently in the previous 3 months. Single (OR: 7.23, CI: 2.999-17.446, p= 0.000) and widowed (OR: 3.76, CI-1.179-12.04, p= 0.026) respondents were more likely to use condom always or sometimes. Male respondents were almost twice as likely to use condoms always and sometimes (OR: 1.74, CI-0.988-3.078, p = 0.055). There was no significant association between condom use and history of STI (OR: 0.74, CI-0.444-1.239, p= 0.254), or number of sexual partners (OR: 0.93, CI-0.427-2.01, p = 0.848). Conclusion:Rates of condom use was low particularly among females and married patients on ART. Program and clinic managers should aggressively target females and married couples with varied and appropriate prevention messaging to improve coverage.

Background:The objective of this study is to evaluate the economic impact of vaccine-based interventions in response to an influenza pandemic, for the city of Chicago, and compare the costbenefit metrics between a dynamic agent-based network model and a static Markov model. Efficient allocation of clinical resources, including vaccination, minimizes the costs of deaths, hospitalizations, and outpatient visits during an influenza pandemic.Methods & Materials: The social contact network is a colocation based synthetic network, generated for the city of Chicago. The transmission dynamics of the influenza-like-illness in the population is simulated using the susceptible-exposed-infectiousrecovered epidemiological model. We compare the costs and benefits of different vaccine-based interventions in control and prevention of an influenza pandemic.Results: We simulated a base case scenario of no vaccine intervention for the city of Chicago with a basic reproductive number of 1.5 for a resultant attack rate of 58.1% and health care cost per capita of $1,124. Applying the vaccine intervention with efficacy of 40% and compliance rate of 40% was a cost saving intervention for both the dynamic agent-based network model and the static Markov model. The net return per capita at 21$ per vaccine is $363 and $261 for the dynamic and static models respectively. Conclusion:We infer that higher number of cases of Influenza are averted in the dynamic agent-based network model in comparison to the static Markov model, as well as the vaccine-based interventions are comparatively more cost effective for all age and risk groups in the dynamic model.

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Objective: To assess safety practices among eye care workers in Nigeria during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study. A structured electronic questionnaire was distributed among eye care workers (ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic nurses) across the six geographical zones of Nigeria. Information on socio-demographics, COVID-19 infection, current working conditions and safety practices were obtained. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc. Chicago Illinois, USA) for windows, version 22. Results: A total of 236 eye care workers participated in the study; their mean (±SD) age was 37.13 (±8.141) years, 125 (53%) were females, and 145 (61.4%) worked in a tertiary care hospital. All participants described COVID-19 as a viral disease and 98.3% agreed that the disease can affect the eyes. Outpatient clinic consultation was recorded as the highest (77.7%) service provided during the pandemic. Regarding preventive practices, 95% of eye care workers wore facemasks, 82.4% wore gloves during ophthalmic examination and Hazmat suit was the least used protective device (2.5%). About three-quarters (77.5%) reported feeling unsafe in their working environment and 63.9% were dissatisfied with the personal protective device provided by hospitals to eye care workers. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented challenge for eye care workers; with the practice of ophthalmology posing a high risk of transmission of the virus. Efforts should be made to provide the required personal protective devices needed for optimum protection of eye care workers in healthcare settings.