Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination Coverage and Seropositivity amongst Nigerians 18 Years Old and Above

BACKGROUND

This was a cross-sectional community-based survey to study the prevalence of serum antibodies against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-COV-1) and determine possible source of antibodies as to whether from vaccination or from natural infection as well as attempt to compare antibody levels in response to the different four types of vaccines administered in Nigeria.

METHODS

A cross-sectional community-based study of the prevalence of serum antibodies against all four vaccine types used in Nigeria amongst a representative sample of people aged 18 years and above in the six geopolitical zones of the country using a multistage sampling technique covering 12 states of the country with two states being randomly selected from each geopolitical zone. High-throughput Roche electrochemiluminescence immunoassay system (Elecsys Anti-SARS-COV-1 Cobas) was used for qualitative and quantitative detection of antibodies to SARS-COV-1 in human plasma.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference between the proportions with seropositivity for both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated (P = 0.95). The nucleocapsid antibody (anti-Nc) titres were similar in both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, whereas the Spike protein antibody (anti-S) titres were significantly higher amongst the vaccinated than amongst the unvaccinated. Antibody levels in subjects who received different vaccines were compared to provide information for policy.

CONCLUSION

While only 45.9% of the subjects were reported to have been vaccinated, 98.7% of the subjects had had contact with the SARS-COV-1 as evidenced by the presence of nucleocapsid (NC) antibodies in their plasma. The 1.3% who had not been exposed to the virus, had spike protein antibodies which most likely resulted from vaccination in the absence of NC antibodies. Successive vaccination and booster doses either through heterogeneous or homologous vaccines increased antibody titres, and this stimulation of immune memory may offer greater protection against coronavirus disease 2019.

Sociocultural practices, beliefs, and myths surrounding newborn cord care in Bayelsa State, Nigeria: A qualitative study

Persisting sociocultural beliefs have continued to significantly influence the adoption of recommended newborn care practices by women in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed at identifying the sociocultural practices, beliefs, and myths surrounding newborn cord care by women residing in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. This was a qualitative study that involved 24 women and 3 traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in three focus group discussions and three in-depth interviews respectively. Interview guides were used to lead the discussions and the interviews which were audiotaped, translated and then transcribed. Thematic analysis was done using NVivo QSR version 12.2 Pro. Several themes describing various sociocultural practices, beliefs, and myths surrounding cord care were uncovered. Most women preferred to be delivered by a TBA who usually cuts the infant's cord with a razor blade and ties the stump with hair or sewing thread. Substances used for cord care included methylated spirirt, "African never-die" leaf, and "Close-Up" toothpaste. All the participants agreed that methylated spirit was a potent antiseptic for cord care but none of them had heard about nor used chlorhexidine gel. It was a common belief that abdominal massage and the application of substances to the cord were solutions to common cord-related problems. Mothers, TBAs and relatives were influential regarding choices of cord care practices. Sociocultural practices, beliefs, and myths are still major barriers to the adoption of recommended cord care practices by women in Bayelsa State. Interventions should be targeted at improving delivery in health facilities and educating women in the community on good cord care practices.

Awareness, perception and the practice of COVID-19 prevention among residents of a state in the South-South region of Nigeria: implications for public health control efforts

BACKGROUND

As with any epidemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has evoked panic, fear and misconceptions. The risk communication pillar of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre is responding to the pandemic by facilitating correct and consistent information to enable the adoption of behaviours to prevent and control COVID-19. This study explored awareness, perception and practice of COVID-19 prevention among residents in Rivers State, Nigeria, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

METHODS

This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey among 1294 adult residents across all districts of the state. It employed an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Knowledge was graded as excellent for scores of ≥80%, good for scores of 50-79% and poor for scores of <50%. Respondents who washed all critical parts of their hands were categorised as adopting correct handwashing practice. Regression modelling was employed to determine predictors of knowledge and practice of COVID-19 prevention with p=0.05.

RESULTS

The respondents were aged 18-80 y with an average age of 39.6 (SD=11.9) y. A total of 710 (54.9%) were male, 476 (36.8%) were unemployed with 685 (52.9%) having secondary education. The most common sources of information about COVID-19 were radio jingles (1102; 86.7%) and television adverts (940; 74.0%). Overall, 608 (47.0%) of the respondents had a poor knowledge of COVID-19. About 443 (34.9%) respondents believed they were unlikely to contract the virus. Only 505 (39.0%) of respondents washed all the critical parts of their hands correctly. Occupation (adjusted OR [AOR]=1.39, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.82, p=0.01), level of education (AOR=4.71, 95% CI 1.90 to 11.68, p<0.001) and location (AOR=1.75, 95% CI 1.29 to 2.38; p<0.001) significantly predicted respondents' knowledge about COVID-19. The significant predictors of practice of COVID-19 were age (AOR=0.60, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.84, p=0.003), occupation (AOR=1.93, 95% CI 1.41 to 2.63, p<0.001), location (AOR=2.35, 95% CI 1.65 to 3.34, p<0.001) and knowledge about COVID-19 (AOR=7.75, 95% CI 5.94 to 10.11, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Broadcast media has a pivotal role to play in risk communication for behavioural change for the control of current and future epidemics in this population.

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of 646 hospitalised SARS-Cov-2 positive patients in Rivers State Nigeria: a prospective observational study

INTRODUCTION

the knowledge of epidemiologic and clinical variables in patients with SARS- CoV-2 infection provides evidence and lessons that are useful for the pandemic response, with consideration of National and sub-National variations. The objective of this study was to characterize and describe the clinical and epidemiologic features of all the hospitalised patients with COVID-19 in Rivers State Nigeria, from March to August 2020.

METHODS

a prospective descriptive multi-center study of patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 RT PCR, who were hospitalised for treatment and self-isolation in four treatment centers in Rivers state, Nigeria.

RESULTS

the mean age of all the patients was 39.21 ± 12.31 years, with a range of 2 to 77 years. The majority of patients were in the 31 to 40-year (33.0%), 41 to 50-year (23.1%) and 18-to 30-year (22.0%) age groups. The patient population included 474 (73.4%) males and 172 (26.6%) females, with 93 (14.4%) healthcare workers. A history of contact and travel was established in 38.5% and at least one comorbid disease condition was present in 32.8% of patients. Patients with severe disease were 61 (9.45%), while the overall case fatality rate was 2%. The leading comorbid disease conditions were Hypertension in 23.8% and diabetes in 7.7% of patients. Fever (26.0%), dry Cough (17.6%), dyspnoea (12.7%), anosmia (12.7%) and headache (9.9%) were the most common symptoms. The presence of comorbidity and increasing age predicted death from COVID-19.

CONCLUSION

the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of this cohort of hospitalised patients show significant similarities with existing trends from previously reported studies, with contextual peculiarities.

Is living in a gas-flaring host community associated with being hypertensive? Evidence from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

Background

Researchers have linked gas flaring to climate change, the hastening of the epidemiological transition and an upsurge in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. We sought to determine if a relationship exists between residing in a gas-flaring host community and hypertension.

Methods

We conducted an analytical cross-sectional household survey among residents of 600 households in three gas-flaring and three non-gas-flaring host communities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. We took geo-coordinates, administered a modified WHO-STEPS questionnaire and built on Android mobile phones using Open-Data-Kit (ODK) software. We also took biological measurements and carried out descriptive and inferential statistical analysis using SPSS and STATA.

Results

We interviewed a total of 912 adults: 437 (47.9%) from non-gas-flaring and 475 (52.1%) from gas-flaring host communities. There were differences in level of education (x2=42.99; p=0.00), occupation category (x2=25.42; p=0.00) and BMI category (x2=15.37; 0.003) among the two groups. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 23.7%: 20.7% among persons living in non-gas-flaring host communities compared with 25.3% among persons living in gas-flaring host communities (x2=2.89; p=0.89). Residence in a gas-flaring host community, (AdjOR=1.75; 95% CI=1.11 to 2.74) and mean age (AdjOR=1.05; 95% CI=1.03 to 1.07) were identified as the predictors of hypertension. There was a significant association between hypertension and age, 1.05 (1.04–1.06) while the probability of being hypertensive was higher among residents of gas-flaring host communities between 20 to 40 years and 60 to 80 years.

Conclusion

There is a need for the relevant agencies to scale up environmental and biological monitoring of air pollutants. The implication of a possible relationship between gas-flaring and hypertension brings to the fore the need for interventions to regulate gas-flaring activities.