The world leaders agreed to make the world a better place by year 2030 through the Sustainable Development Goals and targets. This however cannot be achieved in Nigeria except we are proactive about some cultural practices that negatively affect the girl child.  Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) are two deep-rooted Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs) that have prevai...

cott MJ. Fatal spirochetosis due to a relapsing fever−like Borrelia sp. in a northern spotted owl. of tick-borne relapsing fever caused by Borrelia hermsii. al. Variable tick protein in two genomic groups of the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia hermsii in western North Ameri-ca. To the Editor: Documentation of possible tuberculosis (TB) in goats in Nigeria was reported by Ojo (1) on the basi...

The AL-MAJIRI school system is a variant of private Arabic and Islamic schools which cater for the religious and moral development of Muslims. In the past, the system produced clerics, scholars, judges, religious reformers, eminent teachers and great men who are worthy of emulation, particularly in northern Nigeria. Gradually, the system lost its glory but continued to discharge its educational...

Nigeria was the first African country to report highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus outbreaks in February 2006 and has since been the most severely hit country in sub-Saharan Africa. A retrospective survey carried out towards the end of 2007, coupled with follow-up spatial analysis, support the notion that the H5N1 virus may have spread from rural areas of northern Nigeria near ...

Fascioliasis is a zoonotic trematodiasis of great public health importance affecting ruminant animals and man. The prevalence of bovine fascioliasis in Nigeria is high and affects the productivity of farmers. Fascioliasis is mainly detected in abattoirs during post mortem inspection as it affects the livers of these animals leading to partial or total condemnation of the liver. Since most cattl...

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to examine the knowledge, attitude and beliefs about causes, manifestations and treatment of mental illness among adults in a rural community in northern Nigeria. METHODS: A cross sectional study design was used. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 250 adults residing in Karfi village, northern Nigeria. RESULTS: The most common sym...

INTRODUCTION Poliomyelitis remains a global threat despite availability of oral polio vaccine (OPV), proven to reduce the burden of the paralyzing disease. In Nigeria, children continue to miss the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, owing to factors such as unmet health needs and low uptake in security-compromised and underserved communities. We describe the implementation and evaluation of se...

Reported maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes in Nigeria are amongst the worst in the world, with Nigeria second only to India in the number of maternal deaths. At the national level, maternal mortality ratios (MMRs) are estimated at 630 deaths per 100,000 live births (LBs) but vary from as low as 370 deaths per 100,000 LBs in the southern states to over 1,000 deaths per 100,000 LBs in the ...

BACKGROUND Congenital heart diseases cause significant childhood morbidity and mortality. Several restricted studies have been conducted on the epidemiology in Nigeria. No truly nationwide data on patterns of congenital heart disease exists. OBJECTIVES To determine the patterns of congenital heart disease in children in Nigeria and examine trends in the occurrence of individual defects across...

In 2012, the World Health Assembly declared completion of polio eradication a public health emergency. However, wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission remains endemic in three countries (Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan). In Nigeria, the National Stop Transmission of Polio (N-STOP) program, under the umbrella of the Nigerian Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP), has been dev...