Abstract
Infectious agents and chemical substances can trigger the production and the release of cytokines.
To determine the pattern of infectious agents in herbal homes patients with elevated TNF? (? 5.0
pg/ml) in Saki – West-Nigeria. The subjects include patients with elevated TNF? (? 5.0 pg/ml) in 15
herbal homes(n=23 ; aged 5-69 years; males – 13 ; females – 10) and patients with elevated TNF? in
3 major hospitals (n = 32; aged 6 -67years; males – 12 ; females - 20). Plasma TNF?, anti-HCV, HBsAg
and HIV1-p24 antigen were determined by ELISA, Plasmodium spp., by Giemsa thick film staining and
Acid Fast Bacilli by Ziehl-Nelson staining. The frequency of infectious agents obtained in the patients
include 4.3 %(1) anti-HCV; 17.4% (4) HBsAg; 4.3 %(1) HIV1-p24 antigen; 17.4% (4) Plasmodium spp.;
8.7 %(2) Acid Fast Bacilli and 4.3 %(1) HBsAg + Plasmodium spp., in patients of herbal homes and 6.3
%(2) anti-HCV; 9.4% (3) HBsAg; 3.1 %(1) HIV1-p24 antigen; 15.6% (6)Plasmodium spp., 0%(0) Acid Fast
Bacilli and 3.1 %(1) HBsAg + Plasmodium spp., in patients of the three major hospitals. The frequency
of those with 5.0 – 6,0 pg/ml TNF? (65.2% (15)) was more than those whose TNF? was between 6.1 –
6.8 pg/ml (34.8% (8) in herbal home patients while the frequency of those with 5.0 – 6,0 pg/ml TNF?
(40.6%(13)) was lower than those whose TNF? was between 6.1 – 6.8 pg/ml (59.4% (19)) in hospital
patients. The pattern of the infectious agents was more in herbal home patients with 5.0 – 6,0 pg/
ml TNF? than those with 6.1 – 6, 8 pg/ml TNF? while in hospital patients it was more in those with
6.1 – 6,8 pg/ml TNF? than those with 5.0 – 6,0 pg/ml TNF?. The overall frequency of the infectious
agents was more in herbal homes patients (58.5%(13)) than 37.5%(12) obtained in hospital patients.
The frequency of viral immunochemical biomarkers, Acid Fast Bacilli and Plasmodium spp., was more in
herbal home patients than the patients recruited from the hospital which varies with the TNF? range.