The Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) in East Africa hosts over thirty million inhabitants most of whom are classified as absolutely poor. The food security in the region is manifested in high levels of malnutrition, child mortality and high HIV and AIDS incidents. There is need for food diversifications. Food crops like pumpkins though indigenous in the region have no established position within the major food crops despite their rich nutritional potential and capability to provide a balanced ...
Limited access to safe drinking water and information on water quality in sparsely populated arid and semi-arid regions has contributed to frequent outbreaks of diarheal disease. There is therefore urgent need to determine the bacteriological and physico-chemical quality of water in various sources in these regions. This study was undertaken in order to determine water quality in Wamba Division of Samburu District and to asses the efficacy of plan extracts in purifying water. Bacteriolog...
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by protists of the genus Plasmodium. Malaria is responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates among children under five years and pregnant women. Recent climatic changes leading to global warming has resulted in the emergence of malaria in highlands in Africa where malaria never existed before. In Kenya, highland malaria is very rampant in Nyanza, Gucha District and some parts of Rift Valley province w...
ABSTRACT Fish farming has been practised all over the world for centuries. Throughout history, humans have used fish as a supplementary source of proteins and as a source of income. Fish performs all their body functions in water and therefore the quality of water is very important to their livelihood. Farmers have suffered losses due to the death and stunted growth of fish as a result of bacterial infections and diseases among other causes. The presence of these bacteria in fish pond water...
Persons living with HIV may succumb to acquired immunodefiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), which renders them susceptible to opportunistic infections. Several antibiotics are recommended for prophylaxis and treatment of the infections. These usage of antibiotics has lead to the development of multi drug resistant strains of Escherichia coli isolated from the gut of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Such resistance is of great concern as the organisms may become infectious and also serve as ...
Fish production is an important food contributor to the global and local economy. However, diseases including parasitic infections have been recognized as one of the limiting factors in the production of fish. The increase in fish parasites can be as a result of flooding. The flooding of Lake Baringo that occurred in November 2011 could have caused water pollution that may have brought in parasites that could have caused fish diseases. No recent research had been carried out to investigate ...
About two billion people around the world have no access to modern energy. More than 84% of Kenya population use kerosene for cooking and lighting therefore it is necessary to search for suitable alternatives to liquid and cooking fuels. In this study, oil extracted from Telfairia pedata Hook (Oyster nut) was transesterified in methanol using sodium hydroxide catalyst. Methyl ester obtained was characterized by GC-MS and further tested for fuel properties relative to conventional diesel ...
Herbal medicine has been widely used and forms an integral part of primary health care in most countries. Of late, despite emphasis being put in research of synthetic drugs; interest in medicinal plants has been reborn. This is due to the rapidly growing population, the failure of modern medicine to provide effective treatment, increase in chronic diseases and the emergence of the multi-drug resistant pathogens. It is of importance to establish a scientific basis for the use and validati...
In the water distribution industry, meter reading is an important activity as source of revenue to the water utility company and at the same time it is meant to ensure accurate recording of consumption. Manual water meter reading is still being done in many countries in the world where employees of water companies take the readings from residential and business premises. Water bills are then prepared based on this data. This process is inefficient and costly in terms of man-hours, especi...
ABSTRACT Dietary diversity is an aspect of dietary quality that indicates general nutritional adequacy. Lack of diversified diets is a severe problem in the developing world, where diets are predominantly starchy staples with few animal products, seasonal fruits and vegetables. The nutritional status of a woman during pregnancy is important as a suboptimal diet impacts negatively on the health of the mother, the foetus and the newborn. There is limited knowledge in the area of dietary divers...
ABSTRACT The levels of inorganic anions, nitrate (NO3 - ), chloride (Cl- ), sulphate (SO4 2- ), phosphate (PO4 3- ), fluoride (F- ) and iodide (I - ), in amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Amaranthus cruentus) leaves at different stages of maturity (25 days, 50 days and 75 days), grains and soil from four regions (Kenyatta University (KU), Bureti, Kisii and Elgon) of Kenya were quantitatively determined. The levels were determined using spectrophotometric, potentiometric and titrimetri...
The indiscriminate use of A. sativum L. in treatment of various diseases can pose a great danger to various body functions. It results to toxicity within the body system e.g. in both dogs and cats, A. sativum L. has been associated with oxidative hemolysis and Heinz body formation leading to anemia and methemoglobinemia. Therefore, assessment of hematological and biochemical parameters of this plant extract can be used to determine its safety and toxic margins. Just like other terrestria...
Cancer is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide and accounts for up to 28,000 deaths annually in Kenya. Globally, approximately 13% of all deaths annually are attributed to cancer. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are the current treatment techniques for cancer; however, these methods are expensive, have high failure rates and have been associated with detrimental side effects. Plants derived products could be good candidates in alleviating challenges being exp...
The present management regime of snake bites requires the use of antivenom immunoglobulins. However, these antivenoms have the limitations of being expensive, requiring cold storage facilities and have problems of hypersensitivity reactions in some individuals. A. spinosus, C. articulatus, C. spinarum, C. molle and R. usambarensis have been used traditionally in the management of snake bites in Turkana and Uasin-Gishu Counties, Kenya. However, their efficacy and safety have not been scie...
ABSTRACT About 17.2 million people in Kenya have no access to clean water. The major factors contributing to lack of clean water include rapid population growth, droughts, forest degradation, poor management of water supply and water contamination. Lack of clean water may worsen as industrial development and population grows as projected if drastic measures are not taken immediately. Use of rice husks and water hyacinth that is known to contaminate and jam water bodies to create water treatm...