Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases

Aims: To identify the availability of Medications, Healthcare Workers and Laboratory Capabilities to manage HIV infection among children from 10 Districts of Indonesia to inform efforts to improve healthcare.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Five provinces with the greatest number of People Living With HIV/ADS (PLWHA) in Indonesia: Jakarta, East Java, Bali, Papua and North Sumatera, between May and July 2015.

Methodology: Study subjects were parents/caregivers of children living with HIV/AIDS CLWHA) The number of subjects was calculated by estimating a population proportion with absolute precision, excluding those that cannot communicate well and of CLWHA who lived independently. 267 respondents were taken proportionately from each district. This descriptive study was conducted by using pre-test questionnaires and checklists to observe the availability of ARV and OI medication, medical devices and laboratory reagents.

Results: Data of 239 parents/caregivers out of 267 can be analyzed concerning their perception of the availability of ARVs and laboratory equipment. They are primarily their own parents (65.7%), more than half up to junior high school graduate (52.7%). The availability of medications at some hospitals are limited or unavailable. Nurses are still lacking and many who have not been trained. The comprehensiveness of the laboratory equipment and capabilities is still insufficient. The viral loads can only be examined in one hospital and CD4 cannot be counted in several hospitals. The availability of reagents is also very limited. There is no relation between respondents’ perception of the availability of ARVs and of the completeness of laboratory equipment with their education level (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The availability of medications for HIV/AIDS must be assured and the number of trained nurses still need to be increased.

This study established the diagnosis and risk factors of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among health-care workers in an endemic population using Tuberculin skin test (TST) and Quantiferon TB-gold. A total of 609 Healthcare workers from tuberculosis treatment facilities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were studied. The Interferon-gamma release assay was performed using 3ml of whole blood by ELISA according to the manufacturer’s instruction (Cellestis Ltd., Carnegie, Australia) after which 0.1 ml of 5 tuberculin units of Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) was administered intra-dermally to each subject. TST results were read after 72 hours by measuring the size of indurations in millimetres. Data were analysed using SPSS version 17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois). At the threshold of 10 mm, the prevalence of LTBI by TST was 45.8% and 24.8% at the IGRA diagnostic value of ≥ 0.351 IU. Laboratory staff and ward orderlies as well as being in service for >10 years, were more significantly associated with LTBI. A moderate agreement of 76.7%, k = 0.51 was obtained between TST at 10 mm, and QFT. Neither previous exposure to TST nor BCG vaccination affected the prevalence of LTBI in the study population. The difference of 54% prevalence of LTBI between TST and QFT may be due to non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) since TST is non-specific. This may have grave implications of drug toxicity and development of resistance to anti-TB drug among individuals harbouring NTM, but receiving anti-TB medication. The 76.7% agreement between the two tests is an indication that the 10 mm cut-off induration for TST is still relevant in the diagnosis of LTBI.

Background: Emergence of methicillin drug resistance is evident and has become a global challenge. Seeking for alternative antibiotics that are new, natural, plant based, cost effective and less toxic is the recent task for global health.

Aim: This study is aimed at assessing the pharmacotherapeutic activity of Allium sativum (Garlic) bulb against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Materials and Methods: Fresh A. sativum bulbs were purchased from a local market in Ibadan, Nigeria and were identified by a botanist. They were cut into small pieces and mashed in a laboratory with a mortar and pestle and the fluid squeezed out of the resultant slurry. The antibacterial activity of the juice was determined by diffusion method. Nutrient agar medium was prepared using standard method. Pure cultures of Coliform bacillus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus viridians, Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli were obtained from the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. The juices were serially diluted to obtain 1.0%, 0.5%, 0.25% and 0.125% solutions in sterile test tubes. Sterilized 9 mm filter paper disc soaked in the diluted juice were placed on the plate and incubated for 24 hours at room temperature. The plates were examined for clear zones of inhibition. Presence of zones of inhibition indicated activity.

Results: The results showed that A. sativum bulb has antibacterial potential against all the bacteria used in this study and also exhibited inhibitory activity against them.

Conclusion: The result of this present study showed that A. sativum juice has high range of antibacterial potential against both gram positive (S. epidemidis and S. viridans) and gram negative bacteria (C. bacillus, E. coli and S. typhi). However, the extract has a greater inhibitory activity against gram positive bacteria than gram negative bacteria.

Objective: To determine the predictive factors for the occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) in adults infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during the first 6 months of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Kisangani.

Methods: A case-control study was carried out during the period from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. Clinical data were collected retrospectively from patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in the city of Kisangani. Of a total of 1,161 HIV-infected patients included in this study, 58 of them developed TB. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was made on the presence of Acid-Alcohol-Resistant Bacile (BAAR) on at least one biological sample or on the basis of a bundle of clinical and paraclinical arguments. This test is done during the first six months of initiating anti retroviral therapy (ART). Predictive factors for the onset of TB in these patients on antiretroviral therapy were identified using logistic regression analysis.

Results: After multivariate analysis, the independent factors associated with the onset of TB were: being married (OR = 4.456; 95% CI: 1.061-18.713), residence in the town of Tshopo (OR = 7.04; 95% CI: 1.168-42.47) as well as stages 3 and 4 of AIDS disease (OR = 29 95% CI: 4.563-184.872 and OR = 50.8 95% CI: 3.971-680.995).

Conclusion: The results found by this study highlight the need for active TB testing in HIV-infected individuals. Particular emphasis should be placed on the category of patients on antiretroviral therapy who have one of the independent factors for the onset of TB.

Chloramphenicol a broad spectrum antibiotic was tested on broiler birds to evaluate the effect of its prolonged administration on heamatological parameters, identification of histopathological changes on organs (Liver, Spleen and Kidneys) and to determine if prolonged effect has effects on weight gain and mortality rate.

One hundred and twenty day old chicks from Kamadex Ibadan were used for the experiment. The birds were assign to two (2) treatments and control group each replicated in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD), birds in treatment one (T1) were administered normal dose of Chloramphenicol (250 mg/Kg), while treatment two (T2) were served with triple dose in medicated water served ad-lib for seven weeks, while the control (T3) were served with un-medicated water ad-lib. Samples (blood, liver, kidney and spleen) were collected and analyzed after 8 weeks of the experiment.

Birds showed significant variations in heamatological values across treatments. Lymphocysts count: treatment two (T2) was higher than the treatment one (T1) whereas that of (T3) was found to be less, compared to those of T1 and T2. Heterophils: T3 was higher than the T1 while that of T2 was less as compared to T3 and T1. Basophil: T1 was higher than T3 while that of T2 was less. A lower value was observed in weight gain with birds on T2 as compared to T1 and T3. The liver of birds on T1 and T2 were significantly larger than those on T3. High mortality was recorded in birds on T2 compared to those in T3 and T2.

The histopathological pictures of the liver, kidney and the Spleen depict a varying degree of necrosis and hemorrhagic foci on all the organs, the changes were much severe on T2 as compared to those of T1 and T3.