Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV is a vital tool in HIV prevention and care, available information indicates low uptake among Nigerian adolescents despite effort at combating the scourge of HIV/AIDS. A cross sectional quantitative descriptive study was conducted to describe the knowledge, understand the attitudes and practices of VCT among adolescents of senior high school in Nigeria with the aim of informing VCT services and policies. A systematic random sampling of 100 adolescents was done and data collected by means of structured self-administered questionnaires. The study revealed inadequate knowledge on VCT among the study participants which is probably responsible for their poor VCT uptake. Free VCT services and availability of VCT services within the school are factors that could motivate VCT uptake among the students. There is need to enhance dissemination of VCT information among youth and create youth-friendly VCT services to increase VCT uptake among adolescents / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV is a vital tool in HIV prevention and care, available information indicates low uptake among Nigerian adolescents despite effort at combating the scourge of HIV/AIDS. A cross sectional quantitative descriptive study was conducted to describe the knowledge, understand the attitudes and practices of VCT among adolescents of senior high school in Nigeria with the aim of informing VCT services and policies. A systematic random sampling of 100 adolescents was done and data collected by means of structured self-administered questionnaires. The study revealed inadequate knowledge on VCT among the study participants which is probably responsible for their poor VCT uptake. Free VCT services and availability of VCT services within the school are factors that could motivate VCT uptake among the students. There is need to enhance dissemination of VCT information among youth and create youth-friendly VCT services to increase VCT uptake among adolescents / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Rotavirus infection causes acute gastroenteritis in children younger than five years of age, and commonly occurring human rotavirus strains include G1 - G4 and G9 associated with P[4], P[6] and P[8]. In this study, of 6050 stool samples collected from a Private Pathology Practice in Pretoria, March 2010 - August 2011, 664 tested positive using Coris test-strips. Of these samples, 752 were retested using EIA and, results showed: Coris sensitivity was 93,7% and specificity 99,8%; the winter epidemic peaked in July of both years; more males and children under 30 months of age were particularly vulnerable to infections. Rotavirus-positive samples from Trichardt, Rustenburg and Middelburg were analysed by PAGE and RT-PCR showing circulating strains as mainly G8P[4] (60%) with short electropherotypes, G12P[8] (66%) with long electropherotypes, and G1P[8] at low incidence in the 2010/2011 seasons. These results suggest additional research to monitor the impacts of recently introduced rotavirus vaccines on changing strain profiles in South African communities / Life & Consumer Sciences / M.Sc. (Life Sciences)

Rotavirus infection causes acute gastroenteritis in children younger than five years of age, and commonly occurring human rotavirus strains include G1 - G4 and G9 associated with P[4], P[6] and P[8]. In this study, of 6050 stool samples collected from a Private Pathology Practice in Pretoria, March 2010 - August 2011, 664 tested positive using Coris test-strips. Of these samples, 752 were retested using EIA and, results showed: Coris sensitivity was 93,7% and specificity 99,8%; the winter epidemic peaked in July of both years; more males and children under 30 months of age were particularly vulnerable to infections. Rotavirus-positive samples from Trichardt, Rustenburg and Middelburg were analysed by PAGE and RT-PCR showing circulating strains as mainly G8P[4] (60%) with short electropherotypes, G12P[8] (66%) with long electropherotypes, and G1P[8] at low incidence in the 2010/2011 seasons. These results suggest additional research to monitor the impacts of recently introduced rotavirus vaccines on changing strain profiles in South African communities / Life and Consumer Sciences / M.Sc. (Life Sciences)