Armed conflict, a neglected determinant of childhood vaccination: some children are left behind.

Vaccination is an indisputable intervention that has tremendously mitigated the global burden of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). The number of armed conflicts globally seems to be at an all-time high, with devastating effects on vaccination coverage. This paper will examine how armed conflicts affect childhood vaccination and lead to the reemergence and spread of VPDs.

HIV point-of-care diagnostics: meeting the special needs of sub-Saharan Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 70% of the 35 million people living with HIV worldwide, obviously carries the heaviest burden of the HIV epidemic. Moreover, the region's poor health system occasioned by limited resources and inadequate skilled clinical personnel usually makes decentralization of HIV care difficult. Therefore, quality diagnostics that are easy to use, inexpensive, and amenable for use at point of care (POC) are a dire necessity.

H3Africa: a tipping point for a revolution in bioinformatics, genomics and health research in Africa.

Background: A multi-million dollar research initiative involving the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Wellcome Trust and African scientists has been launched. The initiative, referred to as H3Africa, is an acronym that stands for Human Heredity and Health in Africa. Here, we outline what this initiative is set to achieve and the latest commitments of the key players as at October 2013.

Prevalence of hepatitis B e antigen in chronic HBV carriers in North-central Nigeria.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important clinical problem due to its worldwide distribution and potential of adverse sequelae, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We studied the prevalence of hepatitis B virus e antigen (HBeAg) among individuals determined to be HBV surface antigen-positive (HBsAg+) and analyzed the gender/age category associated with more active HBV infection. A total of 572 HBsAg+ individuals, as determined by a double antibody sandwich ELISA method, participated in the study.

Absence of routine molecular testing and prevalence of HIV-2 infection in regions hardest-hit by HIV infection.

Introduction: Investigating the incidence and dynamics of HIV-2 and false-negative HIV test results in a highly sexually active population where frequent opportunities exist for acquiring and transmitting infections provides additional understanding of the epidemiology of the virus in Africa.

Methodology: The HIV status of 900 active female sex workers (FSWs) was determined using two lateral flow rapid assays in series. The second rapid test device incorporates type-specific recombinant peptides that discriminate between HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection.

Molecular characterization of hepatitis A virus isolates from Nigeria.

Objective: Despite the endemicity of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in Nigeria, genetic information on the HAV genotypes/subgenotypes circulating in the country remains unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate HAV strains using molecular epidemiological and genetic analyses among apparently healthy adult Nigerian subjects.

Methods: Testing for HAV-RNA was performed on 114 serum samples by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and sequenced with primers encompassing the VP1/P2A junction.

Genetic analysis of hepatitis A virus variants circulating among children presenting with acute diarrhea in Cameroon.

Molecular investigation was undertaken of circulating hepatitis A virus (HAV) associated with cases of acute diarrhea among children under 5 years of age in Kumba-Cameroon. Reverse transcription PCR, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis of a 371 bp segment of the VP1/P2A junction of six isolates obtained from stool samples showed the exclusive emergence of genetically related HAV subgenotype IA. All the isolates clustered within a unique lineage exhibiting a 99.

Antimicrobial potentials of silver colloidal (nanorods) on clinical isolates in Bayelsa state, Nigeria.

Antimicrobial resistance in developing countries has long been an issue of major concern. Nanotechnology has become an eye opener for the intervention on multiple drug resistance organisms. In this study we investigated the antimicrobial potentials of Silver Nitrate (nanorods) solution used in managing infectious diseases, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the product against microbial isolates were determined using standard microbiological techniques.

Urban-rural estimation of hepatitis C virus infection sero-prevalence in north Central Nigeria.

Background/objective: The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been partially described for at risk groups in urban communities in Nigeria. On the other hand, literature on the possible spread of the virus in rural Nigeria remains extremely scanty. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HCV in a rural and urban community in Nigeria.

CD4+ T lymphocyte reference values of immunocompetent subjects in an African university.

CD4(+) T cells play critical roles in the immune system and, being primary targets of HIV infection, they are used to measure disease progression and response to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), alongside other parameters, in HIV/AIDS patients. The aim of this study was to determine the reference values of CD4(+) T cells in a student population that was HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) negative. After ethical clearance and informed consent, 500 subjects (mean age = 26 years) were recruited, of whom 56 (11.

Estimates of human immunodeficiency virus incidence among female sex workers in north central Nigeria: implications for HIV clinical trials.

We estimated the HIV incidence among commercial female sex workers (FSWs) in north central Nigeria using bimodal methodology. Using a cross-sectional study design, a total of 900 active FSWs between the ages of 18 and 35 years were recruited from 52 brothels within Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A rapid test algorithm was used to determine their HIV status.

Broad antibody mediated cross-neutralization and preclinical immunogenicity of new codon-optimized HIV-1 clade CRF02_AG and G primary isolates.

Creation of an effective vaccine for HIV has been an elusive goal of the scientific community for almost 30 years. Neutralizing antibodies are assumed to be pivotal to the success of a prophylactic vaccine but previous attempts to make an immunogen capable of generating neutralizing antibodies to primary "street strain" isolates have resulted in responses of very limited breadth and potency. The objective of the study was to determine the breadth and strength of neutralizing antibodies against autologous and heterologous primary isolates in a cohort of HIV-1 infected Nigerians and to characterize envelopes from subjects with particularly broad or strong immune responses for possible use as vaccine candidates in regions predominated by HIV-1 CRF02_AG and G subtypes.

Evaluation of a recombinant DNA hepatitis B vaccine in a vaccinated Nigerian population.

Introduction: Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in 1986 and has gradually replaced the plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine. No published data are available on the immunogenicity of hepatitis B vaccines in Nigerians. The current study aimed to evaluate protective sero-conversion rates after vaccination with Shanvac-B rDNA hepatitis B vaccine in Nigerian subjects between January and September 2009.

Estimating the time period between infection and diagnosis based on CD4+ counts at first diagnosis among HIV-1 antiretroviral naïve patients in Nigeria.

Introduction: CD4+ T-cell levels are an important criterion for categorizing HIV-related clinical conditions. Late diagnosis of infection contributes to poor medical outcomes and the continuation of viral transmission. This population-based cohort study in north central Nigeria reports the initial CD4+ lymphocyte counts at the time of first HIV diagnosis and determines the approximate time interval when HIV infection was acquired.

Hepatitis B virus infections in apparently healthy urban Nigerians: data from pre-vaccination tests.

Background: In spite of the availability of an effective vaccine since 1982 against hepatitis B, infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), which is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV, still persists in most parts of the world with Nigeria being described as an endemic zone. We therefore set out to establish the prevalence of this infection and evaluate its relationship with age and gender in urban Nigerians.

Methodology: During pre-vaccination tests, blood samples were collected by finger-prick and venepuncture from 1,891 subjects aged < or = 60 years, between 2008 and 2009 after having obtained informed consent and ethical clearance.

Preliminary Report on HIV-1 Vaccine Preparedness in Nigeria: Advantages of Recruiting University Students.

The national HIV seroprevalence in Nigeria has risen steeply from about 3% in 1993 to 5-8% in 2001 and now stands at 4.4%. HIV epidemic continues to be a serious threat to the most populous country in Africa with a population of 140 million, with limited use of antiviral drugs that is taken for life since it only suppresses the virus without completely eliminating the virus or leading to cure.

Serological markers and risk factors for hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses among students in a Nigerian university.

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the seroprevalence rates of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections and to analyze associated risk factors among 400 students in a Nigerian.

Methods: Participants were interviewed in a face-to-face sessions through a short structured questionnaire. Qualitative rapid immuno-chromatography test were used to screen for HBsAg and anti-HCV antibodies and these were confirmed by using third generation quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISAs).

Human immunonodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus: sero-prevalence, co-infection and risk factors among prison inmates in Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

Background: Published data on HIV, HBV, and HCV in correctional facilities in Nigeria is scarce. We set out to establish the seroprevalence, co-infection, and risk factors for these infections for the first time among prison inmates in Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

Methodology: In a cross-sectional study conducted between April and May, 2007, blood samples were collected from 300 male prisoners of a mean age of 29.

European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP): the path towards a true partnership.

Background: European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) was founded in 2003 by the European Parliament and Council. It is a partnership of 14 European Union (EU) member states, Norway, Switzerland, and Developing Countries, formed to fund acceleration of new clinical trial interventions to fight the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), malaria and tuberculosis (TB) in the sub-Saharan African region. EDCTP seeks to be synergistic with other funding bodies supporting research on these diseases.

Serologic survey of specific rubella virus IgM in the sera of pregnant women in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria.

Although a major section of pregnant women in Nigeria are immune to rubella infection, cases of congenital rubella syndrome are still been seen in hospitals. Rubella is not a reportable disease in Nigeria and data of its epidemiology are extremely rare. In this study, we estimate the burden of acute rubella virus infection among pregnant women during their first trimester in Makurdi-Benue State-Nigeria.

Genotypic and phenotypic analyses of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in antiretroviral drug-naive Nigerian patients.

We analyzed the subtypes and genotypic and phenotypic drug susceptibility profiles of 18 HIV-1 isolates from treatment-naive patients in Nigeria. A modified gp41-based heteroduplex mobility assay was used to determine the clade designation based on the envelope gene. The protease and most of the reverse transcriptase regions were cloned into a retroviral expression vector and sequenced.