Background of study: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder affecting red blood cells accompanied with fertility challenges. Apart from distortions in sex hormone levels, accessory sex organs abnormalities may occur. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the fertility status of male subjects with sickle cell disease using progesterone, testosterone and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels as markers. Materials and methods: A total of 90 male subjects (consisting of 30 HbSS subjects in steady state, 30 HbAS individuals and 30 normal subjects (HbAA) as the control subjects) aged 18 to 65 years were randomly recruited for this study. The genotypes of the subjects were determined using electrophoretic procedure while the serum testosterone, FSH and progesterone levels were assessed using ELISA technique. Full blood count was determined by the Sysmex automated procedure and the disease severity was evaluated using the severity scoring technique. Result: There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the mean serum level of testosterone in the different blood genotype groups. Furthermore, a non-significant positive correlation existed between the serum levels of testosterone (r = 0.287), progesterone (r = 0.198) and FSH (r = 0.078) when compared with disease severity in HbSS subjects in steady state (r = 0.287) (P > 0.05) respectively. Conclusion: The significantly decreased serum level of testosterone in HbSS subjects compared with the HbAS and HbAA individuals suggests that there is an increased risk of infertility in male individuals with sickle cell disease.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Early diagnosis is important in TB disease control. The use of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits drastically reduces the time required for reaching clinical diagnosis and this has been successful in diagnosis of HIV, syphilis and more recently malaria to mention a few. What is the case for RDTs for diagnosis of tuberculosis? Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the performances of results produced by different rapid diagnostic test strips available in the Nigerian market for TB. A total of one hundred and eighty-four (184) subjects aged between 12-68 years were recruited for the study. These were referred from the chest clinic with a high index of suspicion of TB. Sputum samples were collected for AFB detection using the Ziehl-Neelsen and Auramine-phenol staining techniques. Blood samples were collected for serology tests using five (5) different rapid diagnostic test kits from different manufacturers, HIV status determination and evaluation of the haematological parameters we carried out. As a result, there were significant differences in the results obtained between AFB tests and serological methods with P<0.01 in all cases. The sensitivity and specificity respectively of the five different kits were 28.6% and 32.0% (Nova), 19.5% and 29.2% (Fistech), 9.1% and 27.1% (Diaspot), 12.4% and 27.7% (Abcon) and 12.4% and 27.7% (Global).finally, findings from this study show that these rapid serological tests are poor in diagnosing tuberculosis and cannot be recommended for use in this environment.

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