RESUMEN
Introdution: Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease caused by the Lassa virus, a single stranded RNA virus of the Arenavirus family. It is a zoonotic illness spread by rats of the speciesMastomys natalensis . Between weeks 1 and 17, (2017), 242 suspected Lassa fever cases were reported in Nigeria, with 58 laboratory confirmed cases and 46 fatalities (CFR, 19.01%) from 50 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 20 States. Methods: We conducted an outbreak investigation and gathered a thorough clinical history of the index case as well as contacts, who were then followed up using the standard viral hemorrhagic fever contact monitoring form. Following that, blood samples were collected from this patient. A total of 54 contacts were tracked for 21 days and their temperatures were recorded using a clinical thermometer. Furthermore, an environmental evaluation of the Zabarmari community and the Madinatu Internally-displaced persons' (IDP) camp was carried out. Results: The index case was a 32-year-old woman who was internallydisplaced in Zabarmari community. Her symptoms began with fever and vaginal bleeding and progressed to bleeding from the nose, mouth, and urethra. There was a history of rat exposure as well as inadequate environmental sanitation and hygiene. Real Time PCR detected Lassa fever in the blood sample. The Borno State Ministry of Environment, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, undertook public health education on Lassa fever prevention and implemented excellent sanitary measures. Conclusion: Increased awareness creation on good infection prevention and control practices is crucial among internally-displaced person and health care providers to prevent occurrence and spread of the disease.
RESUMEN
This study investigated various qualitative and quantitative indices of antimicrobial use (AMU) in companion animals (CAs) at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH-A) and its annex (VTH- B) from 2019 to 2021. For 694 documented animals, antimicrobial administrations (AADs) were 5, 278 times, of which 98.8% (5217) and 1.2% (61) were in dogs and cats respectively. At the VTH- A, oxytetracycline (1185 times, 22.5%) was mostly administered in dogs and metronidazole (26 times, 0.5%) in cats. Similarly, at VTH- B, oxytetracycline was administered 895 times (17.0%) in dogs while amoxicillin was given 7 times (0.1%) in cats. The prescription diversity (PD) was estimated at 0.73 and 0.82 in VTH-A and VTH-B respectively. The quantity of antimicrobials (AMs) used was 10.1 kg (A, 6.2 kg and B, 3.9 kg). Oxytetracycline administrations and quantity of metronidazole (P < 0.0001) were higher than other Active Ingredients (AIs). Furthermore, 16.5% of AIs were classified as Critically Important Antibiotics (CIA) with the highest priority, while enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin fell under the World Health Organisation (WHO) Watch group. The In-Depth Interview (IDI) indicated that the high frequency of oxytetracycline administrations was linked with being the first choice for blood parasite treatment by the clinicians at the hospital. The quantity of metronidazole used was perceived to be higher due to the clinicians' preference for the treatment of acute gastroenteritis, its wider dose range, and the frequency of administration (bi-daily). The study provides baseline data on AMU indices in CAs, for the development of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and communication training, and policy modifications to enhance antimicrobial therapy optimization in tertiary veterinary hospital care in Nigeria.