{"title":"Owner awareness and knowledge of canine leptospirosis as a zoonotic disease in Morogoro, Tanzania","authors":"K. Said, Abdul A. S. Katakweba, R. Machang'u","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.9","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Leptospirosis is a neglected disease of worldwide distribution, affecting both human and animals caused by infection with pathogenic species of the genus Leptospira. This study was carried out to determine the awareness of canine leptospirosis among dog keeping communities in Morogoro, Tanzania.Methods: Awareness among dog owners for canine leptospirosis was assessed using semi-structured questionnaire among randomly chosen dog owners in Morogoro, Tanzania. Information sought from the dog owners included: awareness of dog diseases in general and specifically canine leptospirosis; clinical signs, transmission, treatment, prevention, and awareness that canine leptospirosis is zoonotic.Results: A total of 124 dog owners participated in the study. Of these, 90% were not aware of the existence of canine leptospirosis. Fifteen percent of the participants were not aware that dogs could get disease. The majority of the respondents (98.4%; n=122) did not know the clinical signs of leptospirosis in dogs. The few (1.6%) who knew mentioned jaundice, bloody diarrhoea, blood in urine, loss of appetite and vomiting as the clinical signs of leptospirosis in dogs. None of the respondents knew how canine leptospirosis is treated, or that the disease is a health risk to humans. Only one respondent (0.8%) knew that the control of canine leptospirosis could be achieved through vaccination.Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate there is little awareness of canine leptospirosis and its potential public health risk among dog owners in Morogoro, Tanzania. The findings of this study indicate the need to raise awareness of the disease among the dog owners and the general population. ","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45635781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Teething induced fever in a 9-month old child: a case report","authors":"Haruna Dika, S. Iddi, Neema Kayange","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.11","url":null,"abstract":"The association between teething and fever has attracted considerable interest because studies have reported controversial results. These discordant results have posed a challenge in the management of fever occurring during teething. The objective of this paper is to supplement previous studies which showed association between teeth eruption and fever and highlight mismanagement of teething induced fever. A 9-month old baby girl presented with fever during teeth eruption. Despite of no malaria parasites seen on blood slide and lack of features and laboratory investigations suggestive of urinary tract infection or bacteremia, the child was treated with antimalarial drugs and prescribed antibiotics. This case study demonstrates that unrecognized teething induced fever leads to unnecessary use of anti-malarial drugs and antibiotics. We recommend paediatricians to consider teething as one of the causes of fever among children.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46787045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Serological evidence of chikungunya and malaria co-infection among febrile patients seeking health care in Karagwe district, Tanzania","authors":"E. Kinimi, B. N. Patrick, G. Misinzo","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.1","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Chikungunya is an emerging mosquito-borne viral illness of major public health concern and is becoming a common infection in many geographical areas of Tanzania. This study was carried out to determine the incidence of malaria and chikungunya infections among febrile patients seeking medical care in Karagwe district, Tanzania.Methods: Febrile patients were enrolled into the study at Nyakahanga district designated hospital and Kayanga heath centre in May and June 2015. Questionnaires were administered to collect clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of patients. All participants were tested for malaria using malarial rapid diagnostic test and those tested positive by mRDT were confirmed by microscopy. Both outpatients tested malaria positive and negative were further screened for immunoglobulin M (IgM) and G (IgG) antibodies for chikungunya using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: A total of 400 febrile patients were enrolled in the study. Out of 400 febrile outpatients tested for malaria, 116 (28.75%) tested positive with mRDT. Microscopy confirmed presence malaria parasites in 112 (96.55%) of the malaria RDT-positive. The overall seroprevalence of chikungunya infection was 24.25% (97/400). Out of those chikungunya seropositive subjects, 89 (91.75%) had no malaria. Co-infection rate of chikungunya and malaria was found to be 7.14% (8/112).Conclusions: Our findings confirmed the existence of chikungunya and malaria co-infection among febrile patients seeking health care in Karagwe district. Chikungunya should be considered in the differential diagnosis of malaria for appropriate case management and in order to monitor the public health burden and to inform possible preventative and control measures.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45596522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Praveen Sravanam, Alicia Massenga, Merchades Bugimbi, M. Mirambo, P. Chalya
{"title":"HIV seroprevalence and factors affecting clinical outcomes among patients with surgical acute abdomen in selected hospitals in Mwanza, north-western in Tanzania","authors":"Praveen Sravanam, Alicia Massenga, Merchades Bugimbi, M. Mirambo, P. Chalya","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.2","url":null,"abstract":"Background: HIV infection has been reported to be prevalent in patients with surgical acute abdomen. This study aimed to establish HIV seroprevalence among patients with surgical acute abdomen and to identify factors affecting clinical outcomes among these patients at a tertiary care hospital in Tanzania Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of patients with surgical acute abdomen admitted to three selected hospitals in Mwanza between February 2016 and July 2016.Results: Out of the 106 patients (M: F = 1.5:1) included in the study, 15 (14.2%) were HIV positive. Of these, nine were males and 6 were females. Surgical site infection was the most common postoperative compilation and was found to be significantly higher in HIV positive patients with CD 4+ count below 200 cells/μl (p<0.001). The median length of hospital stay (LOS) was 16 days. There was no significant difference in LOS between HIV positive and negative patients (p=0.791). Mortality rate was 13.2% and it was significantly higher in patients with advanced age (> 65 years), pre-existing medical illness, delayed presentation (>48 hours), HIV positivity, high American Society of Anesthetists class, surgical site infections (p< 0.001).Conclusion: This study has shown that HIV infection is prevalent among patients with surgical acute abdomen in our setting. Factors influencing the clinical outcome of these patients need to be addressed, in order to deliver optimal patient care and improve their treatment outcome.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48012178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Knowledge about goitre among female school-going children in Wellega Province, Ethiopia","authors":"Zekarias F. Abessa, Y. Mashalla","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.5","url":null,"abstract":"Background: About 30% of the world population is affected by Iodine Deficiency Disorder and Ethiopia is among the top ten countries in the world with severe iodine deficiency. The objective of this study was to explore the knowledge about goitre and preventive measures among female school children aimed at reducing the occurrence of goitre.Methods: Quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to explore the knowledge about goitre among school-going children in three schools in Wellega Province, Ethiopia. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse, organise and interpret the findings.Results: A total of 364 girls aged between 15–19 years participated in the study. Overall, 71.4% did not have the knowledge about goitre, one third (28.6%) knew that goitre is caused by iodine deficiency and less than half (48.4%) knew that iodinated salt prevents occurrence of goitre. Sixty one per cent did not know which local foods aggravate goitre, 35.7% indicated that goitre affects both males and females and a small proportion identified pregnant women, children and adolescents as vulnerable groups for goitre. Only 38% received information about goitre from the schools.Conclusion: The level of knowledge about goitre among school girls in Wellega Province is low. It is recommended that concerted efforts targeting adolescents to acquire knowledge about the causes and prevention of goitre should be made and further studies should be done to explore perceptions and cultural factors that may contribute to the knowledge gap.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42890046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The prevalence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and its relationship with diet and obesity among public school teachers in Abeokuta, south-west Nigeria","authors":"K. Akande, G. Fadupin, M. A. Akinola","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.7","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a common chronic disorder in the high-income countries; and thought to be rare in low- and middle-income-countries. Lifestyle and diets have been suggested among others, as risk factors contributing to the development and severity of GORD. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of GORD and its association with dietary items and obesity among public school teachers in Abeokuta, south-western Nigeria.Methods: School teachers from 24 randomly selected public schools in Abeokuta were involved in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on respondents’ bio data, food frequency and Carlson-Dent scores were calculated for each respondent. A score of 4 and above on the Carlsson-Dent questionnaire was considered diagnostic of GORD. Each respondent had his or her weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference measured. Body mass index and waist-hip ratio were calculated for each respondent.Results: A total of 550 teachers participated in the study. The prevalence of GORD was found to be 13.8% among the teachers. There was a significant association between chocolate consumption and frequency of GORD (p=0.01). There was no association between consumption of soft drinks (p=0.673), kola nut (P=0.451), beer (p=0.674), bitter kola (0.425), groundnut (0.442), cowpeas (p=0.442), walnut (p=0.905), gari (p=0.931), fufu (p= 0.249) and lafun (p=0.480) and the frequency of GORD. Similarly, no association was found between obesity (BMI, p=0.738), waist-hip ratio (p=0.56) and the frequency of GORD.Conclusion: GORD is common among public school teachers in Abeokuta with a prevalence of 13.8%. Except for consumption of chocolate, no association was found between frequency of GORD and consumption of majority of the dietary items considered in this study.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42620721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aetiological spectrum, injury characteristics and treatment outcome of multiple injuries at a tertiary care hospital in Tanzania","authors":"A. Issa, Nkinda Mbelenge, P. Chalya, J. Gilyoma","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.3","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Multiple injuries constitute a public health problem and contribute significantly to high morbidity, mortality and long-term disabilities worldwide. This study describes the etiological spectrum, injury characteristics and treatment outcome of multiple injuries at a tertiary care hospital in Tanzania.Methods: This was a descriptive prospective study involving multiple injury patients admitted to Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) from March 2013 to June 2013 inclusive.Results: Out of 712 trauma patients who were admitted to BMC during the study period, 150 (21.1%) had multiple injuries. Their male to female ratio was of 2.3:1. The majority of patients were in the second decade of life. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) were the most common (93.3%) cause of injury. The majority of patients, 142 (94.7%) sustained blunt injuries. Twelve (8.0%) patients had pre-hospital care. The limbs (89.2%) and the head (78.7%) were the most common body regions injured. The majority of patients (85.3%) sustained severe injuries (ISS ≥ 16). Out of 150 patients, 46 (30.7%) had 65 missed injuries. A total of 142 (94.7%) patients were treated surgically. Wound debridement (87.3%) was the most common surgical procedure performed. The complication and mortality rates were 54.7% and 38.7%, respectively. The overall median length of hospital stay (LOS) was 23 days. Co-morbid illness, HIV positivity, CD4 count (≤ 200 cells/μl), severe trauma (ISS ≥ 16), admission Systolic Blood Pressure < 90 mmHg, missed injuries and surgical site infection significantly influenced mortality (P < 0.001). Patients who developed complications and those who had long bone fractures stayed longer in the hospital (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Road traffic accidents remain a major cause of multiple injuries at BMC and contribute significantly to unacceptably high morbidity and mortality. Urgent preventive measures targeting at reducing the occurrence of road traffic accidents is necessary to reduce the incidence of multiple injuries in our centre.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48863376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of the wound healing activity of formulated ointments and water preparation from Sida rhombifolia leaf extract","authors":"P. Francis, P. Masimba, A. Mwakigonja","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.4","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Several plants including Sida rhombifolia Linn. (Malvaceae) which are said to be used by traditional health practitioners in Tanzania for wound treatment have not yet been evaluated. The objective of this study was to investigate the ointment formulation of S. rhombifolia leaves for its potential wound healing activities.Methods: Wound healing activity of S. rhombifolia leaves was investigated in mice using 50%, 33% and 25% formulated 80% ethanolic leaves extract ointment and water preparations. Excisional and incisional wound-induction models were used with 6 albino mice in each group. The wound diameter (for contraction assessment), duration of re-epithelisation in days, percentage tensile strength as well as the degree of collagenisation and fibrosis were investigated.Results: S. rhombifolia leaves extract had significant mean percentage wound closure for all ointment formulations used and for the water preparation from day 7. A significant percentage tensile strength on day 10 for all formulations used was observed. The 50% ointment had a mean of 64.1±1.7 (p=1.2-09), 33% ointment had a mean of 64.0±3.2 (p=2.4-08) and the 25% ointment had a mean of 53.1±4.0 (p=1.3-06). A remarkable fibrosis and collagenisation for the 50% ointment and the water preparation was observed.Conclusion: The formulated ointments and the water preparations of S. rhombifolia leaves have a potential benefit in enhancing wound healing. A bioassay guided fractionation is recommended to allow identification of its active compound(s) with wound healing activity for drug development.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46904522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Self-efficacy and antiretroviral therapy adherence among HIV positive pregnant women in South-West Nigeria: a mixed methods study","authors":"Oluwabusayo H. Aregbesola, I. Adeoye","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i4.x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i4.x","url":null,"abstract":"Background: In Nigeria, an estimated 60,000 paediatric HIV infections occur annually mainly through mother-to-child transmission. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnancy is crucial in preventing new paediatric HIV infections. We investigated HIV-treatment adherence self-efficacy and ART adherence among HIV-positive pregnant women in South-West Nigeria.Methods: A mixed method approach was employed using a sequential explanatory strategy in which HIV-positive pregnant women were recruited from three facilities providing Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services. Self-efficacy and adherence were assessed using the HIV-Treatment Adherence Self-efficacy Scale and the Centre for Adherence Support Evaluation Index Tool, respectively. A focus group discussion and key informant interviews were used to explore barriers and motivating factors to ART adherence in pregnancy. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression at 5% significance level, while thematic content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Results: A total of 126 women participated in the study. The mean age and mean gestational age of respondents were 32.7 ± 4.58 years and 24.4 ± 7.41 weeks, respectively. The prevalence of good adherence and HIV-treatment adherence self-efficacy were 70.6% and 26.2%, respectively. Low self-efficacy (OR=0.2, 95%CI=0.05– 0.53, p<0.05) was statistically associated with poor adherence. Planned pregnancy (OR=3.1, 95%CI=1.23-7.72, P<0.05) increased the likelihood for ART adherence. Looking healthier and protecting unborn babies were motivators to adherence while stigmatization and negative spousal influences were barriers to adherence.Conclusion: Low HIV-treatment adherence self-efficacy was related to poor adherence in pregnancy. Interventions aimed at improving adherence in pregnancy should also focus on HIV-treatment adherence self-efficacy.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41938264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ally Faya, Mwesige Charles, L. F. Sembajwe, Haruna Dika
{"title":"Haematological profile of healthy adult blood donors in Mwanza, Tanzania","authors":"Ally Faya, Mwesige Charles, L. F. Sembajwe, Haruna Dika","doi":"10.4314/thrb.v20i3.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v20i3.4","url":null,"abstract":"Background: While it is customary to apply the same haematological reference ranges, variations exist between populations. This study was conducted to determine hematologic profiles among a local population of north-western Tanzania.Methods: This was a cross sectional study, which enrolled healthy adult blood donors in Mwanza, Tanzania. Collected blood samples were put in EDTA-coated tubes and haematological indices were determined using Auto Hematology-Analyzer. Results are summarized in medians plus 95% interquartile ranges and compared using either Mann–Whitney U or Kruskal–Wallis tests depending on appropriateness.Results: A total of 163 (143 males and 20 females) adult healthy blood donors (median age= 31 years) were enrolled. We found a median haemoglobin level of 15.1 g/dL [10.5-23.8], erythrocytes of 5.3x106/µL [4.1-8.3 x106], haematocrit of 44.0 % [32.4-71.4], total leucocytes of 4300 cells/μL [1700-8500], lymphocytes 1700/μL [800-3000], neutrophils 2100/μL [300-5300]; mid-sized cells (monocytes, eosinophils and basophils) of 400/μL [100-1400] and platelets of 194x103/μL [55.2-379.0 x103]. We observed significantly higher haemoglobin level (P = 0.017) as well as erythrocytes (P = 0.012) and haematocrit (p = 0.006) among males than females. Conclusion: The percentile range (2.5%-97.5%) which can be used to determine the higher and lower values of haematological profile normal ranges for most indices differ from Western adopted reference values. Therefore, we recommend a large study to establish local normal hematologic reference values.","PeriodicalId":39815,"journal":{"name":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42792674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}