Across the entire globe, 75% of people are aware of their HIV Status, at the same time 79% of the people living with HIV are now accessing anti-retroviral therapy while 81% of those people are at the same time accessing the treatment and have suppressed viral loads. Nakuru County viral suppression stands at 88.3 % (30,407) below the UNAIDS target and National target (2020). The purpose of the study was to determine the correlates of Viral Suppression in Naivasha Sub-County Hospital, Naku...
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...
Maternal mortality is one of the major worldwide health challenges. The high maternal mortality rate is a common subject in global health and development discussions. Globally, about 800 women die daily from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. Men’s involvement during pregnancy and childbirth plays a vital role in the safety of their female partners during pregnancy and childbirth by ensuring access to care and provision of emotional and financial support and guarantying the...
Abstract Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a member of herpesviruses. It is one of the most common causes of congenital and prenatal infections. It is a ubiquitous virus with the ability to establish latency following primary infection, and can be reactivated particularly during episodes of immunosuppression. CMV infection of pregnant women, especially in the first trimester may lead to congenital abnormalities and is often associated with serious complications, such as microcephaly, mental retardatio...
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...
Malaria is a major public health problem causing immeasurable human suffering in many countries particularly in the sub-Saharan Africa, which account for about 90% of malaria cases in the world. Many people live in countries with high risk of contracting malaria and 300-500 million cases of malaria are estimated to occur annually. Malaria is transmitted to people of all ages and an estimate of 80% of human-mosquito transmission comes from over-fives with young adolescents forming the pe...
ABSTRACT Maternal and prenatal mortalities and morbidities have remained a challenge in many developing countries like Kenya, despite the fact that the causes are preventable if not avoidable. Utilization of birth plan in preparation for childbirth is one of the strategies utilized by women in middle and low-income countries to reduce maternal and prenatal mortalities. However, the relationship between utilization of individual birth plan and maternal and prenatal mortalities in developing co...
Abstract The Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) 2008 showed that maternal mortality in Kenya is estimated at 488/100,000 live births, and that pregnancy related complications are the leading cause of death (27%) among women of childbearing age (CBS, 2008). Although 92% of women receive antenatal care at least once during pregnancy, a skilled attendant assists only 44% of mothers during childbirth. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the factors determining the choice of bi...
ABSTRACT Water is indispensable for life since it is a major basic need and is also important for economic activities. Information on the challenges of water supply and its socioeconomic impacts is important as it forms a vital baseline for the detection of the positive impacts, the main challenges related to it and how to cope and deal with them. This study investigated the challenges of water supply and its socio-economic impacts in Githurai ward. The study was carried out between Decembe...
ABSTRACT Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years after the introduction of complementary feeds, is considered as the standard norm for infant feeding. Although the benefits of breastfeeding have long been known, studies on the composition of human milk are still ongoing. Considering that breast milk is the sole source of the nutrition for the infant in the first six months of life, it is essential to have accurate and up to date dat...
ABSTRACT Lack of access to clean drinking water adversely the public health. Kawangware location is undergoing rapid expansion in population, economic growth and urbanization. One of the challenges of this growth is pressure on public water supply. The inconsistent and inadequate water supply for the inhabitants has led to majority of the population relying on ground water for domestic and commercial uses more so, on shallow wells which seem to be relatively cheaper to construct. This has inc...
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 Effects of Psychosocial Support on ART Adherence and Clinical Outcomes of HIV Patients at Kwale and Machakos, Kenya The effects of psychosocial support on ART adherence and clinical outcomes following an HIV diagnosis have been well documented in western countries where linkages between HIV-related treatment and psychosocial support programs are well established, little is known about those who become engaged with such services in countries of the world where comprehensive HIV-relate...
ABSTRACT Household hazardous waste possess physical, chemical or biological characteristics, which requires special handling and disposal procedures to avoid risk to health and/or environmental effects. The pastoral population of Mandera county has been treated in health facilities with complains of poisoning or reaction resulting from hazardous substances. Health effects of exposure to household hazardous waste could also take time to manifest in people who are exposed to it, such as develo...