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Microbes & Immunity Viral, bacterial, and protozoal diseases

Various misconceptions, in addition to drug resistance, present in the hospital on the sampling day. Patients not
insecticide resistance, misdiagnosis ignorance, multiple attending the Ore General Hospital and who declined to
sexual partners, and poverty, are responsible for the failure participate in the study were excluded from the study.
of control programs on infectious diseases. Worldwide, Patients aged ≥18 years provided both oral and written
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significant efforts are being made to understand these informed consent. For patients who were aged between 0
diseases and determine effective control measures. and 17 years, oral consent was obtained from their parents
However, in Ore, Nigeria, these infectious diseases have or legal guardians.
not been adequately studied, and their prevalence has been
increasing among the inhabitants of this locality due to 2.3. Sample collection and sample preparation
poverty and the unavailability of specialists and resources. Blood samples (4 mL) were obtained from each subject
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The increase in the burden of infectious diseases caused using a syringe and needle through venipuncture and
by the selected pathogens in different population settings collected in sterile ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid
warrants the current epidemiological investigation. In bottles. A 2 mL aliquot of each sample was centrifuged at
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view of the dearth of data on the epidemiology of infectious 5000 rpm for about 5 min to separate sera from the whole
diseases in the area, we investigated the distribution of blood. Both the sera and the remaining 2 mL of whole
infectious diseases among the people of Odigbo to generate blood were stored at 2 – 8°C for up to 2 days before assay.
information that can inform policy formulation on disease
prevention and infection control strategies in the area. 2.4. Assay for malaria parasite
2. Methods The SD bioline malaria antigen Plasmodium falciparum
test cassette (Bio SD Inc., USA) was used for the detection
2.1. Study area of the histidine-rich protein II (HRP-II) antigen of
The study was carried out in Ore, located in the Odigbo malaria P. falciparum in human whole blood. The test
local government area of Ondo State, Nigeria. Ore is is immunochromatographic and qualitatively detects
located at a latitude of 7°6’0.0181’ N (7.100005) and a the HRP II of P. falciparum in a human sample. It is an
longitude of 4°5030.30984’ E (4.841694). Ondo State in vitro diagnostic technique with a diagnostic specificity
shares borders with Kogi and Ekiti States to the north, of 99.5% and a sensitivity of 99.7%. The test procedure
Ogun and Oyo states in the west, Edo State in the east, and and interpretation were according to the manufacturer’s
the Atlantic Ocean in the south. The total area of Ondo instructions. All kit components and specimens were
State is 14,788,723 km , with an estimated population of allowed to warm up to room temperature before testing.
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3,441,024, making it the second-largest state in Nigeria. The test device was removed from the foil pouch and it was
Predominantly, the inhabitants are subsistence farmers, placed on a flat, dry surface. The fingertip was cleaned and
with trading and fishing as secondary occupations. Ondo prickled with a lancet. Approximately 5 μL of whole blood
State experiences a tropical climate characterized by two aliquot of each sample was drawn into the round sample
distinct seasons: the rainy season (April – October) and well, and four drops of assay diluent were added. The result
the dry season (November – March). The temperatures was read within 15 – 30 min. A positive result was indicated
typically range from 21°C to 29°C, and humidity levels by two visible lines on both the test and control regions.
are relatively high. Annual rainfall varies with estimates 2.5. Assay for antibodies to HIV
of 1150 mm and 2000 mm in the northern and southern
areas, respectively. The state boasts lush vegetation, The Chembio HIV ½ STAT-PAK test (Chembio Diagnostic
featuring a high forest zone (rain forest) in the south and System, USA) was used for the detection of antibodies to
sub-savannah forest in the northern regions. HIV-1/−2 in human whole blood. The test procedures
and interpretation were according to the manufacturer’s
2.2. Study period and population instructions. Briefly, the 5 μL of each serum prepared above
This is a cross-sectional study in which consenting males was dispensed into the sample pad. The running buffer
and females aged 0 – 70 years were randomly recruited bottle was inverted, and three drops were added to each
into the study between January and July 2019. A total of sample well. A positive result was indicated by two visible
4900 patients attending the Ore General Hospital were lines on both the test and control regions after 10 min.
enrolled during this period. The Ore General Hospital, 2.6. Assay for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)
comprising both inpatient and outpatient departments,
operates daily and serves as a referral hospital in Ondo HBsAg rapid test strips were used for the detection of
State. The inclusion criteria included patients attending HBsAg (Guangzhou Wondfo Biotechnical Co. Ltd., China).
the selected hospital who consented to the study and were The test is a rapid chromatographic immune assay that

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2024) 59 doi: 10.36922/mi.3283