Objective: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the five administrative regions of Northern Ghana to determine the diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) sub/lineages and their susceptibility to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF). Methods: Sputum specimens were collected and cultured from 566 pulmonary tuberculosis patients reporting to 17 health facilities from 2015 to 2019. Mycobacterial isolates obtained from solid cultures were confirmed as members of the MTBC by PCR ...
Abstract The first description of a disease resembling dengue fever (DF) was in the 15 century slave trade era by Spanish sailors visiting the Tanzania coast. The disease, then associated with evil spirits is now known to be caused by four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV1-4) that are transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Kenya has experienced multiple outbreaks, mostly associated with DENV-2. In this study, plasma samples obtained from 37 febrile patients during a DF outbreak at Kenya’s south c...
Abstract Background and objectives: Kigelia africana is a medicinal plant growing naturally in many parts of Africa. In Kenya, a water concoction of the plant is used to treat breast and prostate cancers. Laboratory data on its anti-cancer activity and active principles is limited, hence no scientific rationale for its medicinal use. This study reports on in-vitro toxic activities of dichloromethane and methanol extracts of the plant against human breast cancer cells and phytochemical screen...
Abstract There is limited data on comparative disposition to cervical cancer among HPV infected women in Kenya. We aimed to determine the distribution of HPV infection, cervical abnormalities and infections commonly reported on cervical pap smears among both HIV positive and HIV negative women attending a reproductive health clinic at the largest national hospital in Kenya. A total of 187 women aged 18 to 50 years attending the reproductive clinic at Kenyatta National Referral Hospital in Na...
Abstract Covid-19 was first reported in Wuhan China but has now spread globally with overwhelming impacts on human health and health systems. The disease is caused by the SARs-Cov-2 which is related to the SARs-Cov-1 that causes SARs. There is evidence suggesting that the virus originated from the Rhinolophilid bats and has subsequently undergone recombination to allow for a natural selection for a human host and it is thought that the recombination might have occurred either prior or upon i...
Abstract Brucellosis, caused by several species of the genus Brucella, is a zoonotic disease that afects humans and animal species worldwide. Information on the Brucella species circulating in diferent hosts in Kenya is largely unknown, thus limiting the adoption of targeted control strategies. This study was conducted in multi‑host livestock populations in Kenya to detect the circulating Brucella species and assess evidence of host–pathogen associations. Serum samples were collected fro...
Abstract: Aphids vector many plant viruses in a non-persistent manner i.e., virus particles bind loosely to the insect mouthparts (stylet). This means that acquisition of virus particles from infected plants, and inoculation of uninfected plants by viruliferous aphids, are rapid processes that require only brief probes of the plant’s epidermal cells. Virus infection alters plant biochemistry, which causes changes in emission of volatile organic compounds and altered accumulation of nutrien...
Abstract: Nosemosis is a parasitic disease caused by microsporidian pathogens of the genus Nosema infecting both the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, and the Asian honey bee Apis cerana. The disease may adversely affect bee colonies and eventually result in high losses in apiculture and agriculture. We determined the Nosema species infecting honey bees and their prevalence in two islands of the Comoros Archipelago (Grande Comore (GCO) and Mohéli (MOH)) in the Southwest Indian Ocean. In Co...
Abstract: Background: Strategies that involve manipulations of the odour-orientation of gravid malaria vectors could lead to novel attract-and-kill interventions. Recent work has highlighted the potential involvement of graminoid plants in luring vectors to oviposition sites. This study aimed to analyse the association between water-indicating graminoid plants (Cyperaceae, sedges), other abiotic and biotic factors and the presence and abundance of early instar Anopheles larvae in aquatic hab...
Abstract: Background: Therapeutic efcacy studies in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria are confounded by new infections, which constitute competing risk events since they can potentially preclude/pre-empt the detection of subsequent recrudescence of persistent, sub-microscopic primary infections. Methods: Antimalarial studies typically report the risk of recrudescence derived using the Kaplan–Meier (K–M) method, which considers new infections acquired during the follow-up period...
Abstract: ABSTRACT. We conducted larval surveys in habitats located in urban Malindi, Kenya, in 2005 and 2006 with the goal of determining the productivity of unused swimming pools in relation to other habitats. Of the 250 habitats sampled, 66 were unused swimming pools, 93 were wells, 60 were drainage troughs, and 31 were miscellaneous areas, such as septic tanks, swamps, concrete tanks, fish ponds, car-track depressions, and drainage ponds. Anopheles gambiae s.l. was the only anophelines s...
Abstract: Mark-Drelease-Drecapture (MRR) experiments were conducted with emerging Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Anopheles funestus Giles at Jaribuni and Mtepeni in KiliÞ, along the Kenyan Coast. Of 739 and 1,246 Anopheles released at Jaribuni and Mtepeni, 24.6 and 4.33% were recaptured, respectively. The daily survival probability was 0.96 for An. funestus and 0.95 for An. gambiae in Jaribuni and 0.83 and 0.95, respectively, in Mtepeni. The maximum ßight distance recorded was 661 m. The high ...
Abstract: According to the World Health Organization’s reports, leishmaniases in humans are caused by 20 species of protozoa, belonging to the genus Leishmania1.The parasites are transmitted by the bite of a female tiny, 2–3 mm long insect vector, the phlebotomine sandfly1. Leishmaniasis endemic areas in Kenya are—West Pokot, Kitui, Machakos, Meru,Koibatek and Kajiado districts2–6. Kala-azar (Visceral leishmaniasis) in these endemic sites is transmitted by Phlebotomus martini (Dipter...
Abstract: Background & objectives: The number and productivity of larval habitats ultimately determine the density of adult mosquitoes. The biological and physicochemical conditions at the larval habitat affect larval development hence affecting the adult body size. The influence of biological and physicochemical characteristics on the body size of Anopheles gambiae was assessed in Jaribuni village, Kilifi district along the Kenyan Coast. Methods: Ten cages measuring 1 × 1 × 1 m (1 m3) wi...
Abstract: Background Malaria prevention in Africa is mainly through the use of long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs). The objective of the study was to assess the effect of supplementing LLINs with either larviciding with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) or community education and mobilization (CEM), or with both interventions in the context of integrated vector management (IVM). Methods The study involved a factorial, cluster-randomized, controlled trial conducted in Malindi...