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Background: Acute infections have been posited as potential precipitants or triggers of the occurrence of stroke among adults with traditional vascular risk factors. We evaluated associations between stroke occurrence and reported febrile illness within 4 weeks (potential antecedent infections) among West Africans. Methods: The Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network (SIREN) is a multicenter, case-control study involving 15 sites in Ghana and Nigeria. Cases include adults aged ≥18 years with radiologically confirmed strokes. Controls were stroke-free adults matched with cased by age, gender and ethnicity. Detailed evaluations for vascular, lifestyle and psychosocial factors were performed. Participants were asked for evidence of any febrile illness within the past 4 weeks. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 3588 stroke cases recruited in Ghana and Nigeria between August 2014 and July 2018, 363 cases (10.1%) reported having a febrile illness within the 4 weeks prior to stroke occurrence. Having an antecedent infection was associated with stroke occurrence with an unadjusted OR of 1.19 (1.00–1.51) but aOR of 0.83 (0.59–1.17) upon adjusting for traditional vascular risk factors. Stress, aOR of 4.69 (2.59–8.50) and consumption of green vegetables 2.27 (1.35–2.85) were associated with antecedent febrile illness. Conclusion: 1 in 10 stroke cases reported antecedent history of febrile illness prior to occurrence of stroke but no independent association was observed in this study. Infectious exposures may be important triggers of cardiovascular events requiring further exploratory studies to better understand the role of this emerging risk factor.

The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Moringa oleifera leaf were evaluated for safety, antimalarial and antipyretic activities because it is commonly used for various types of ailments especially malaria and fever. The various concentration of these extracts (0-800mg/kg) were tested against Plasmodium berghei berghei infected albino mice of either sex, in a Peters' four day antiplasmodial test while antipyretic activities were evaluated in malaria- induced mice. Their possible effects on haematological parameters of PCV, WBC, neutrophil, lymphocytes count and liver enzymes were also determined as well as on the liver and kidney architecture. All the tested doses of the aqueous extract were comparable in antiplasmodial activity (p{$>$}0.05) to each of the tested doses of the ethanolic extract which were significantly different (p{$<$}0.05) from the negative control. Only the highest doses of both extracts gave significantly higher (p{$<$}0.05) antiplasmodial activity than the standard drug. For the ethanolic extract, a significant antipyretic activity was not observed until at 800mg/kg in time T3 while the aqueous extract exerted no significant antipyretic activity at all doses and at all times. The ethanolic extract gave significantly higher PCV values than that of the aqueous. The administration of the aqueous extract gave significantly lower WBC than the ethanolic extract while comparable increase in lymphocyte count was noticeable at each of the doses of both extracts when compared to the negative control. Only 100mg/kg and 800mg/kg of the aqueous extract maintained a relatively high neutrophils count in this study. Also, the aqueous extract elicited higher concentration of ALT (greater than fourfold of normal) but the ethanolic extract produced the highest level of AST at the highest dose of 800mg/kg when compared to the ethanolic extract. Histological examination of the kidney showed progressive degeneration while that of the liver showed recovery when compared to negative control as a result of progressive increase in dosage of the extracts in malarial treatment.

Background: The integration of eye care services into the primary health-care (PHC) system and the accessibility and quality of eye health in the community is hugely dependent on available resources.
Objective: The aim was to assess the resources available for eye care delivery in public PHC facilities in Obokun Local Government Area (LGA), Osun State, Nigeria.
Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of public PHC facilities and workers in Obokun LGA, Nigeria. A PHC facility checklist was used to obtain data on available infrastructure, material resources, primary eye care (PEC) services, and human resources during a tour and inspection of each facility. Further data on human resources were obtained with a semi-structured questionnaire administered to PHC workers. Data included information on the age, sex, cadre, duration of service, PEC practices, and training of PHC workers.
Results: There were 4 (10.0%) primary health (PH) centres, 19 (47.5%) PH clinics and 17 (42.5%) health posts. The number and distribution of PHC facilities, material resources, and PEC services were below-recommended guidelines. There were 12 (11.2%) nurses, 4 (3.7%) community health officers, 19 (17.8%) community health extension workers (CHEWs), 7 (6.5%) health technicians, 8 (7.5%) junior CHEWs, and 57 (53.3%) health assistants. There was a sufficient number of PHC workers and community services to build capacity for PEC delivery.
Conclusions: Resources were available for PEC in Obokun LGA; however, some were insufficient or unevenly distributed. Further training of PHC workers in PEC and the provision of the minimum required infrastructure and material resources are recommended.