Background: Rice is currently the major stable food for most Nigerians and rice farming and local processing has become popular with the recent ban on importation. Health hazards associated with occupational exposure to rice husk dust have been documented even among developed countries with advanced technology in rice processing. Aim: We assessed possible effect of longtime exposure to husk dust on some haematological parameters. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study was conducted at Abakaliki Rice Mill, Ebonyi State –Nigeria on 80 workers (male36, female 44) between 18-61years and 56 age/sex-matched manual workers not exposed to husk dust. The haematological parametes; PCV, ESR, total and differential leucocyte counts were estimated using standard methods. Results: Majority of the workers were female. There were significant differences in PCV, ESR and differential leucocyte counts (P>0.05) between workers exposed to rice husk dust and control. The total WBC count did not show any significant difference when compared. However significant increases were observed in the relative WBC differentials in lymphocytes, monocyte and eosinophil counts and significant decrease in differential neutrophil count. Significant relationships were observed between ESR/neutrophil, ESR/lymphocyte and neutrophil/lymphocytes in both exposed workers and control. Conclusion: Exposure to rice husk dust is significantly associated with variations in haematological parameters and invariably health status. Therefore improved occupational health safety through the use of personal protective equipment and regular health check is advocated.

Background: Premature ovarian failure (PMOF) associated with increased risk of the general and mental health of the affected women, however, lower fertility or even infertility are the most disturbing symptoms to every woman with PMOF. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the prevalence of PMOF among infertile women as this may reflect the real magnitude of the problem in the whole population. Methodology: women aged 40 years or less with infertility and menstrual irregularity (oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea) and with an elevated FSH level on two occasions more than 4 weeks apart were recruited for this study. The participants were attending Albayda Fertility Centre a public centre in Libya, between August 2013 and January 2020. The results: the recorded prevalence of PMOF among infertile subjects in this study was 2.8%. 34% of the affected women were aged 35 years and below. Only 2 (3.45%) of them got spontaneous pregnant, but none ended in live-birth. The median age at presentation was 36 years. The median infertility duration was 4.5 years and the median duration of menstrual irregularity was 7 years. The menstrual irregularity predated infertility by a median of 2.5 years. Conclusion: the prevalence of PMOF in this study was 2.8% indicating a higher prevalence of PMOF among infertile women than previously reported prevalence in the general population. This study also confirms the low reproductive potential of these women.