ABSTRACT Various strategies that block malaria transmission from an infected human host to a female Anopheline mosquito that involve killing of the blood fed mosquito have been studied as a potential strategy to control malaria. These include the immunization of animal hosts with either whole homogenized blood fed mosquito midguts or their extracts. In 1939, William Trager first demonstrated anti-vector immunity by immunizing guinea pigs and rabbits with extracts of the tick Dermacentor varia...
ABSTRACT Immune defects caused by Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection could alter the course of secondary infection and dysregulated innate immune responses could contribute to a more rapid disease progression. The prevalence of HCV and HIV co-infection in Kenya varies with different risk groups. Currently, there is parity of data on the prevalence of HIV/HCV co-infection in Kenya. It is also not known how the CD4+ and CD8+ counts correlate with HIV vir...
ABSTRACT Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Parasite resistance to current antimalarials and resistance of Anopheline mosquitoes to insecticides have hampered control and elimination of malaria. Over the past twenty years, many vaccine candidates have been under development but none has advanced to clinical trials due to lack of appropriate adjuvant for human use. A vaccine inducing high levels of Immunoglobulin M (IgM), total IgG (or IgG1, IgG2, and ...
Abstract Human Immunodeficiency Virus is predominantly transmitted in most parts of the world via heterosexual contact in men and women. The most urgently needed intervention is an effective vaccine(s) and microbiocides to prevent the vaginal transmission of HIV, as majority of women now in Africa acquired new infections through heterosexual route. Heterosexual transmission of HIV accounts for over 85% of all transmissions. The specific objectives of the study were to establish if Simian...
ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus-1(HIV-1) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection are two rapidly growing epidemics and health concerns strongly driven by injection drug use (IDU) in Kenya and the entire world. Inflammatory cytokines are important mediators of the host response to HIV-1 and HCV infections including injection drugs. However, the molecular interaction between HIV-1 and HCV co-infection and correlation with injection drug use is largely undefined. Therefore, this cross-sec...
ABSTRACT Malaria is a major contributor of ill health and death particularly among infants and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. The infected erythrocytes sequester in the placenta and may be present throughout the whole pregnancy period. Although microscopy is the gold standard method currently acceptable in diagnosis of malaria in hospital, it is unreliable because during pregnancy, malaria parasites disappear from peripheral circulation and remain undetectable through microscopic exami...
ABSTRACT Malaria in pregnancy has been linked to utero-placental vascular insufficiency and fetal fatalities. The immunity to placental malaria may be mediated in part by monocytes and T cells that accumulate in the placenta intervillous space. The immunological basis for retention of anti-malarial effector cells in the intervillous space and the role of leucocyte integrins in the intervillous space is not well understood. Leucocytes use surface receptors to mediate binding on endothelial vil...
ABSTRACT Food borne infections are an important public health concern worldwide with most being caused by pathogens that are zoonotic in nature. Among the most common food borne infection is listeriosis, caused by Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that is widely distributed in nature and which has been isolated in a wide array of foods. It mainly affects immunocompromised individuals including pregnant women, neonates and the elderly. Currently, in Kenya, there is no published data on the ...
ABSTRACT Ailments such as malaria, measles, pneumonia, common cold and HIV/AIDS are the major cause of death in infants and children. worldwide, it was estimated that 1.8 million children below 15 years were HIV infected by 2017. Over 90% were infected through mother to child transmission (MTCT) during pregnancy, at birth and during breast-feeding. During that period, Kenya had about 12,940 children who had the infection and 1,480 of these were from Kirinyaga County. The Kenyan government ha...
ABSTRACT Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is the main pandemic in the world today. Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the catastrophe. Although it harbours less than 10% of the world‟s population, it comprises 60% of all people living with HIV/AIDS globally. Kenya has a National adult HIV/AIDS prevalence of 7.4%. In recent times, expansion of access to antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings has gained prominence. However, it is estim...
ABSTRACT Anaemia is a disease, according to the World Health Organization, in which the haemoglobin concentration is below 12 g/dl of blood. The prevalence of anaemia in school going children in Africa is 64.6% while in Asia it is 47.7%. Anaemia is also prevalent among women and infants and threatens the life of millions of people every year. Modern therapies in management of anaemia are either too expensive or unavailable to many communities. Use of plants in the management of anaemia is no...
ABSTRACT Pre-school children represent the population most vulnerable to malaria and malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. The available data is conflicting as to whether malnutrition is associated with an increased or decreased risk of malaria. This study sought to determine the impact of child malnutrition on anti-P. falciparum IgG response in a comparative cross-sectional approach. Anthropometric measurements of height and weight plus standard deviation in Z-scores were determined in 380 ch...
ABSTRACT Pneumococcal disease remains the biggest killer of children living in Kenya. This is true despite inclusion of the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the Kenya Expanded Program on Immunization. Serotype replacement, emergence of antibiotic resistance, inaccurate laboratory diagnosis due to optochin resistant bacterial types and a range of environmental and host related risk factors have been touted to be the cause of these statistics elsewhere. This study sought to establis...
ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) appeared on the scene over twenty years ago and has since caused many deaths; left millions orphaned and created uncertainty in any families. The virus has also created a socio-economic burden to many countries. The entry into and tropism of the host immune cells by the HIV-1 depends on chemokine receptors and coreceptor interactions among other factors. Genetic polymorphism in chemokine receptors and coreceptor genes influences susceptibi...
ABSTRACT Zoonotic nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) cross infect a wide range of domestic animals, wildlife and man causing various diseases. Despite the public health implications associated with mycobacterial infection and the existing close interaction of pastoralists and camels, information on diagnosis and epidemiology of zoonotic NTM amongst camels and closely associated community members is scanty. The present study was a one-health approach study involving diagnosis and epidemiology o...