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Stress alters system physiology as well as humoral immunity and hematology, and its problems have become a global issue. The present study was designed to investigate effects of the use of traditional herbs such as Ocimum gratissimum (OG) on hematological parameters in stressed rats. We subjected adult female Wistar rats to prolonged restrained stress for 14 days and administered 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg of OG leaf extract and Vitamin C respectively for 14 days. Animals (200-250 g) were sacrificed by cervical dislocation at day 0, day 7 and Day 14 so as to assess the dose and time dependent effect of the extract. Findings revealed that OG leaf extract caused a dose-dependent significant protective effect (P<0.05) on the packed cell volume (PCV), total white blood cell (WBC) count, haemoglobin (Hb), platelet count and total red blood cell (RBC) count compared to Vitamin C treated group. Our study confirms that OG leaf extract is better at improving haematological parameters of restrain stressed rats compared to Vitamin C and it was more effective in animals that were administered 100 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of the extract. The result indicates that OG leaf extract could alleviate prolonged exposure to stress by lowering PCV, total WBC, total RBC, hemoglobin count and elevating blood platelets.

Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory infection which has afflicted virtually almost all nations of the earth. It is highly transmissible and represents one of the most serious pandemics in recent times, with the capacity to overwhelm any healthcare system and cause morbidity and fatality. Main content The diagnosis of this disease is daunting and challenging as it is dependent on emerging clinical symptomatology that continues to increase and change very rapidly. The definitive test is the very expensive and scarce polymerase chain reaction (PCR) viral identification technique. The management has remained largely supportive and empirical, as there are no officially approved therapeutic agents, vaccines or antiviral medications for the management of the disease. Severe cases often require intensive care facilities and personnel. Yet there is paucity of facilities including the personnel required for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is against this backdrop that a review of key published reports on the pandemic in SSA and globally is made, as understanding the natural history of a disease and the documented responses to diagnosis and management is usually a key public health strategy for designing and improving as appropriate, relevant interventions. Lead findings were that responses by most nations of SSA were adhoc, paucity of public health awareness strategies and absence of legislations that would help enforce preventive measures, as well as limited facilities (including personal protective equipment) and institutional capacities to deliver needed interventions. Conclusion COVID-19 is real and has overwhelmed global health care system especially low-income countries of the sub-Sahara such as Nigeria. Suggestions for improvement of healthcare policies and programs to contain the current pandemic and to respond more optimally in case of future pandemics are made herein.

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