Abstract: The ABO blood group system is a genetic polymorphism that leads to phenotypic polymorphism. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between malaria, particularly P. falciparum and P.vivax malaria, and the distribution of the ABO and Rh (D) blood group systems in Miesso district of West Hararge Zone of Oromia Regional State. A case-control study design was carried out from November to January 2016. A total of 168 people participated in this study. Blood group da...
Abstract: During the course of malaria infection, a range of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines are produced by the host immune system. Successful recovery from malaria involves striking a balance between these counteracting cytokines. The cytokine imbalance contributes to pathological features but their exact levels have not been elucidated. The present study aimed at investigating the role played by circulating cytokines in pathophysiology of cerebral malaria. Using an experimental cereb...
ABSTRACT The eradication of malaria requires a combined effort involving all available control tools, and these efforts would be complemented by an effective vaccine. An effective malaria vaccine should be capable of inducing protective immune responses against variant forms of the parasite and in a genetically diverse population. Allelic polymorphisms in antigens that are targets of protective immune responses are a major drawback to vaccine development. This study investigated the influenc...
Abstract Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar is the most dreaded and devastating form of leishmaniasis, causing high mortality rate, mainly in children. A vaccine against different forms of leishmaniasis should be feasible considering the wealth of information on genetics and biology of the parasite, clinical and experimental immunology of leishmaniasis, and the availability of vaccines that can protect experimental animals against challenge with different Leishmania species. However, t...
ABSTRACT Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most common opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients globally and more cases in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya included. It is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in adults aged between 18 and 49 years. CD4+ T cell count is a crucial marker of immunologic integrity and therefore clinical signs of TB vary with the CD4+ T cell counts in HIV-TB patients. It has been used with viral load as markers of disease progression. Th...
ABSTRACT Typhoid fever is one of the infectious human diseases. Outbreaks of typhoid fever caused by Salmonella typhi remains a serious health problem worldwide. There are a number of tests available presently, from molecular to immunological and biochemical to microbiological. However, misdiagnosis is usually experienced since most health care facilities use only Widal test without confirmation of results with a second test method. This study aimed at evaluating the performance of Widal te...
ABSTRACT Malaria is a major public health problem worldwide with increasing cases and deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Sickle cell disease conditions relate geographically with malaria endemic areas. Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) moderates the clinical severity of sickle cell disease (SCD) and also provides protection against malaria. Consequently, it provides survival advantage but the data is limited. Designing a study linking HbF with protection against malaria infection has been a challenge due to...
ABSTRACT Khat (Catha edulis) is a dicotyledonous evergreen shrub of the family Celastraceae whose fresh leaves are habitually chewed for their euphoric properties. The habit of khat chewing is mainly found in Arabia, Somalia, Kenya and has spread to Asia, Europe and other parts of the world due to improvement in transport and communication. Khat consumption was traditionally confined to adult men of the population. However; today khat chewing has become popular among all segments of the popu...
Prostate cancer (PCa) is Kenya‘s most frequently diagnosed cancer of men with an incidence rate of 32 per 100,000 and mortality rate of 12 per 100,000. It is also the leading cancer in terms of incidence and mortality in men from Africa and the Caribbean and the numbers may double by 2030. Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is the main diagnostic biomarker used for screening patients currently. Biopsy histology is the only confirmatory test, but it is invasive and tedious to perform. The...
Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Small Colony (MmmSC) is a cattle respiratory disease. It is controlled using live vaccines, movement control and slaughter of affected cattle. The current CBPP vaccine, T144 is associated with several limitations that make delivery in the field difficult. One of main short comings is low efficacy and sub-optimum bacterial titers. This has necessitated modifications in formulation of the vaccin...
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...