Abundance and Distribution of Malaria Vectors in Various Aquatic Habitats and Land Use Types in Kakamega County, Highlands of Western Kenya

BACKGROUND: Management of malaria transmission relies heavily on vector control. Implementation and sustenance of effective control measures require regular monitoring of malaria vector occurrences, species abundance and distribution. The study assessed mosquito larval species composition, distribution and productivity in Kakamega County, western Kenya.METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of Anopheline larvae was conducted in various aquatic habitats and land use types in Kakamega County, highlands of western Kenya between the month of March and June 2019.RESULTS: One thousand, five hundred and seventy six aquatic habitats were sampled in various land use types. The mean densities of An. gambiae s.l (46.2), An. funestus (5.3), An. coustani (1.7), An. implexus (0.13) and An. squamosus (2.0) were observed in fish ponds, burrow pits, drainage ditches, and tire tracks, respectively. High mean densities of An. gambiae s.l was reported in farmland (20.4) while high mean abundance of An.funestus s.l (8.2) and An. coustani s.l (4.0) were observed in artificial forests.CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the productivity of anopheles larvae varied across various habitat types and land use types. Therefore, treatment of potential breeding sites should be considered as an additional strategy for malaria vector control in Kakamega County, western Kenya.&nbsp

Phenotypic and Genotypic Antibiotic Resistant diarrheagenic Escherichia coli pathotypes isolated from Children with Diarrhea in Nairobi City, Kenya

BACKGROUND፡ The marked genome plasticity of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli promotes emergence of pathotypes displaying unique phenotypic and genotypic resistance. This study examined phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistant diarrheagenic Escherichia coli pathotypes among children in Nairobi City, Kenya.METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, diarrheagenic Escherichia coli pathotypes were isolated from stool samples and their phenotypic and genotypic resistance against eight antimicrobial agents assayed.RESULTS: Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli was detected in 136(36.4%) children. Most of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli that were resistant to ampicillin, ceftriaxone, streptomycin, gentamycin, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin and tetracycline, harbored citm, bla CMY, aadA1, aac(3)-IV, qnr, catA, ere(A) and tet(A) corresponding resistant genes.CONCLUSION: Antimicrobial-resistant genes are highly prevalent among phenotypic resistant ETEC pathotypes indicating a possibility of horizontal gene transfer in spreading antibiotic resistant genes among E. coli pathotypes

HIV infection drives IgM and IgG3 subclass bias in Plasmodium falciparum-specific and total immunoglobulin concentration in Western Kenya

BACKGROUND: HIV infection is associated with more frequent and severe episodes of malaria and may be the result of altered malaria-specific B cell responses. However, it is poorly understood how HIV and the associated lymphopenia and immune activation affect malaria-specific antibody responses. METHODS: HIV infected and uninfected adults were recruited from Bondo subcounty hospital in Western Kenya at the time of HIV testing (antiretroviral and co-trimoxazole prophylaxis naïve). Total and Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA1) and glutamate rich protein-R0 (GLURP-R0) specific IgM, IgG and IgG subclass concentrations was measured in 129 and 52 of recruited HIV-infected and uninfected individuals, respectively. In addition, HIV-1 viral load (VL), CD4+ T cell count, and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration was quantified in study participants. Antibody levels were compared based on HIV status and the associations of antibody concentration with HIV-1 VL, CD4+ count, and CRP levels was measured using Spearman correlation testing. RESULTS: Among study participants, concentrations of IgM, IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies to AMA1 and GLURP-R0 were higher in HIV infected individuals compared to uninfected individuals (all p < 0.001). The IgG3 to IgG1 ratio to both AMA1 and GLURP-R0 was also significantly higher in HIV-infected individuals (p = 0.02). In HIV-infected participants, HIV-1 VL and CRP were weakly correlated with AMA1 and GLURP-R0 specific IgM and IgG1 concentrations and total (not antigen specific) IgM, IgG, IgG1, and IgG3 concentrations (all p < 0.05), suggesting that these changes are related in part to viral load and inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, HIV infection leads to a total and malaria antigen-specific immunoglobulin production bias towards higher levels of IgM, IgG1, and IgG3, and HIV-1 viraemia and systemic inflammation are weakly correlated with these changes. Further assessments of antibody affinity and function and correlation with risk of clinical malaria, will help to better define the effects of HIV infection on clinical and biological immunity to malaria

Correction to: Seroprevalence and determinants of transfusion transmissible infections among voluntary blood donors in Homabay, Kisumu and Siaya counties in western Kenya

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported that for two of the authors, Felix Humwa and Vallarie Opollo, an incorrect affiliation has been given. In this Correction the incorrect and correct affiliations are listed

Seroprevalence and determinants of transfusion transmissible infections among voluntary blood donors in Homabay, Kisumu and Siaya counties in western Kenya

Abstract Objective Since the implementation of a series of blood donation safety improvements in Kenya, information about seroprevalence and determinants of transfusion transmissible infections among voluntary blood donors especially in high HIV burden regions of Homabay, Kisumu and Siaya counties remain scanty. A cross-sectional study examining HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C virus sero-markers and associated determinants was conducted among voluntary blood donors. Their demographic characteristics and previous risk exposure were recorded in a pre-donation questionnaire, while blood samples collected were screened for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human immunodeficiency viruses by ELISA and RPR (syphilis), then confirmed using CMIA. Results Overall TTIs seroprevalence was 114 (9.4%), distributed among HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis at 14 (1.15%), 42 (3.46%), 39 (3.21%) and 19 (1.56%), respectively, with co-infections of 3 (0.25%). There were no significant differences in proportions distributions among demographic variables. However, high risk sex was significantly associated with higher odds of HBV infections [> 1 partner vs. 0–1 partner; odd ratio (OR) 2.60; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.098–6.86; p = 0.046]. In conclusion, a substantial percentage of blood donors still harbor transfusion transmissible infections despite recent safety improvements with greater majority cases caused by HBV infections arising from previous exposure to high risk sex

MOESM3 of Seroprevalence and determinants of transfusion transmissible infections among voluntary blood donors in Homabay, Kisumu and Siaya counties in western Kenya

Additional file 3. Excel dataset for regression analysis

MOESM2 of Seroprevalence and determinants of transfusion transmissible infections among voluntary blood donors in Homabay, Kisumu and Siaya counties in western Kenya

Additional file 2. Pre-donation questionnaire

Barriers and Opportunities to Advancing Women in Leadership Roles in Vector Control: Perspectives from a Stakeholder Survey

Increasing the active participation of professional women in vector control (VC) activities may help promote greater gender equity in the workplace and reduce the burden of vector-borne diseases. This stakeholder survey examined the current roles and perspective of professionals employed in the VC sector in Kenya, Indonesia, India, and other countries. The largest barriers that women face in pursuing leadership roles in the VC sector include lack of awareness of career opportunities, limitations based on cultural norms, and the belief that VC is men's work. These barriers could be addressed through improving education and recruitment campaigns, as well as supporting higher education and mentoring programs. Females were almost six times more likely to be encouraged to pursue leadership positions in their organization compared with male respondents (odds ratio = 5.9, P > 0.03, 95% confidence interval: 1.19, 29.42). These findings suggest that once women are recruited into the VC workforce, they face minimal discrimination and have increased leadership opportunities.Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation12 month embargo; published online: 19 March 2018This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Comparative evaluation of fluorescent in situ hybridization and Giemsa microscopy with quantitative real-time PCR technique in detecting malaria parasites in a holoendemic region of Kenya

Abstract Background Early and accurate diagnosis of malaria is important in treatment as well as in the clinical evaluation of drugs and vaccines. Evaluation of Giemsa-stained smears remains the gold standard for malaria diagnosis, although diagnostic errors and potential bias estimates of protective efficacy have been reported in practice. Plasmodium genus fluorescent in situ hybridization (P-Genus FISH) is a microscopy-based method that uses fluorescent labelled oligonucleotide probes targeted to pathogen specific ribosomal RNA fragments to detect malaria parasites in whole blood. This study sought to evaluate the diagnostic performance of P-Genus FISH alongside Giemsa microscopy compared to quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in a clinical setting. Method Five hundred study participants were recruited prospectively and screened for Plasmodium parasites by P-Genus FISH assay, and Giemsa microscopy. The microscopic methods were performed by two trained personnel and were blinded, and if the results were discordant a third reading was performed as a tie breaker. The diagnostic performance of both methods was evaluated against qRT-PCR as a more sensitive method. Results The number of Plasmodium positive cases was 26.8% by P-Genus FISH, 33.2% by Giemsa microscopy, and 51.2% by qRT-PCR. The three methods had 46.8% concordant results with 61 positive cases and 173 negative cases. Compared to qRT-PCR the sensitivity and specificity of P-Genus FISH assay was 29.3 and 75.8%, respectively, while microscopy had 58.2 and 93.0% respectively. Microscopy had a higher positive and negative predictive values (89.8 and 68.0% respectively) compared to P-Genus FISH (56.0 and 50.5%). In overall, microscopy had a good measure of agreement (76%, k = 0.51) compared to P-Genus FISH (52%, k = 0.05). Conclusion The diagnostic performance of P-Genus FISH was shown to be inferior to Giemsa microscopy in the clinical samples. This hinders the possible application of the method in the field despite the many advantages of the method especially diagnosis of low parasite density infections. The P-Genus assay has great potential but application of the method in clinical setting would rely on extensive training of microscopist and continuous proficiency testing