Water Safety Practices and Occurrence of Diarrhea Among Children Under Five in Different Households of Njemp Community, Baringo County, Kenya

Water safety and quality is a key component in public health. Despite substantial progress made during the last decades, 11% of the global population are still not accessing adequate clean water and only 64% are able to access improved sanitation. Household water treatment methods, such as boiling or chlorination, have long been recommended in developing countries. Diarrhea diseases cause major public health problem in children under-five years of age, in addition, Water safety practices has been shown to affect health status. More research has focused on information about water safety practices at household level with minimal information on the relationship between water safety practices and occurrence of diarrhea among children below 5 years. This study was carried out to outline the occurrence of childhood diarrhea in relation to water safety practices. The study adopted a cross-sectional study design. This was among Njemp community in Baringo County, Kenya. Assessed was the household socio-demographic characteristics, sources of water, methods of domestic water treatment and the prevalence of diarrhea. Four hundred and twenty-two (422) households were targeted. However, data is reported for 401 households. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire also the laboratory water analysis from different sources and treatment methods was done to determine the level of E. coli.  Analysis was carried out using SPSS software. Chi-square was used for categorical variables while Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used for non-categorical variables to show the association between water safety practices and occurrence of diarrhea. Results show that majority of mothers (50.6%) were of age 26 – 35 years and married (78.3%). There was no significant difference in the mother’s various ages. The study also notes that most of the respondents (46.9%) had education up to primary level. Findings from household income indicates that majority of households earned less than Ksh. 10,000. River was the main source of water (50.6%). A few (31.2% and 18.2%) used borehole and rainwater respectively. The study found that river was the most contaminated source of water (50 MPN/100 mL) which was unsafe for human consumption according to WHO classification. On water treatment, majority (37.2%) used Moringa oleifera seeds for water treatment which acts as a natural absorbent and antimicrobial agent. 20.9% did not treat their water. The prevalence of diarrheal was 57.6%. There was a significant relationship between the water safety practices and occurrence of diarrhea. This study concludes that water safety practices of the Njemp community was low and as thus led to increased occurrence of diarrhea. This study recommends to the County Government of Baringo to come up with a centralized water treatment plant or dig boreholes and supply water to the people in Baringo County. Keywords: Water Safety, Diarrhea, children under 5 years DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/92-06 Publication date: December 31st 201

Food security and nutritional status of children under-five in households affected by HIV and AIDS in Kiandutu informal settlement, Kiambu County, Kenya

Background: HIV and AIDS affect most the productive people, leading to reduced capacity to either produce food or generate income. Children under-fives are the most vulnerable group in the affected households. There exists minimal information on food security status and its effect on nutritional status of children under-fives in households affected by HIV and AIDS. The aim of this study was to assess food security and nutritional status of children underfive in households affected by HIV and AIDS in Kiandutu informal settlement, Kiambu County. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical design was used. A formula by Fisher was used to calculate the desired sample size of 286. Systematic random sampling was used to select the children from a list of identified households affected by HIV. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Focus group discussion (FGD) guides were used to collect qualitative data. Nutri-survey software was used for analysis of nutrient intake while ENA for SMART software for nutritional status. Data were analyzed using SPSS computer software for frequency and means. Qualitative data was coded and summarized to capture the emerging themes Results and discussion: Results show that HIV affected the occupation of people with majority being casual laborers (37.3 %), thus affecting the engagement in high income generating activities. Pearson correlation coefficient showed a significant relationship between dietary diversity score and energy intake (r = 0.54 p = 0.044) and intake of vitamin A, iron, and zinc (p < 0.05). A significant relationship was also noted on energy intake and nutritional status (r = 0.78 p = 0.038). Results from FGD noted that HIV status affected the occupation due to stigma and frequent episodes of illness. The main source of food was purchasing (52.7 %). With majority (54.1 %) of the households earning a monthly income less than US$ 65, and most of the income (25.7 %) being used for medication, there was food insecurity as indicated by a mean household dietary diversity score of 3.4 \ub1 0.2. This together with less number of meals per day (3.26 \ub1 0.07 SD) led to consumption of inadequate nutrients by 11.4, 73.9, 67.7, and 49.2 % for energy, vitamin A, iron, and zinc, respectively. This resulted to poor nutritional status noted by a prevalence of 9.9 % in wasting. Stunting and underweight was 17.5 and 5.5 %, respectively. Qualitative data shows that the stigma due to HIV affected the occupation and ability to earn income. Conclusions: The research recommends a food-based intervention program among the already malnourished children

Retention of ?- Carotene, Iron and Zinc in Solar Dried Amaranth Leaves in Kajiado County, Kenya

Amaranth is one of the underutilized vegetable with high nutritive value. Availability of amaranth leaves is seasonal and therefore preservation for use in other seasons is necessary. Solar drying is one of the recommended methods for vegetable preservation. Minimal information exists on nutrient content of amaranth leaves grown in dry areas. There is also scarce information on the effect of solar drying on the

A digital microfluidic system for serological immunoassays in remote settings

Serosurveys are useful for assessing population susceptibility to vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. Although at-risk populations in remote areas could benefit from this type of information, they face several logistical barriers to implementation, such as lack of access to centralized laboratories, cold storage, and transport of samples. We describe a potential solution: a compact and portable, field-deployable, point-of-care system relying on digital microfluidics that can rapidly test a small volume of capillary blood for disease-specific antibodies. This system uses inexpensive, inkjet-printed digital microfluidic cartridges together with an integrated instrument to perform enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). We performed a field validation of the system’s analytical performance at Kakuma refugee camp, a remote setting in northwestern Kenya, where we tested children aged 9 to 59 months and caregivers for measles and rubella immunoglobulin G (IgG). The IgG assays were determined to have sensitivities of 86% [95% confidence interval (CI), 79 to 91% (measles)] and 81% [95% CI, 73 to 88% (rubella)] and specificities of 80% [95% CI, 49 to 94% (measles)] and 91% [95% CI, 76 to 97% (rubella)] (measles, n = 140; rubella, n = 135) compared with reference tests (measles IgG and rubella IgG ELISAs from Siemens Enzygnost) conducted in a centralized laboratory. These results demonstrate a potential role for this point-of-care system in global serological surveillance, particularly in remote areas with limited access to centralized laboratories

Mean weekly body weight for LPHC diet group during treatment phase.

Mean weekly body weight for LPHC diet group during treatment phase.</p

Adipose tissue weights (grams) of the low protein high calorie group during the treatment phase.

Adipose tissue weights (grams) of the low protein high calorie group during the treatment phase.</p

Total serum cholesterol for the NPHC during the treatment phase.

Total serum cholesterol for the NPHC during the treatment phase.</p

Growth hormone levels for the LPHC diet group during the treatment phase.

Growth hormone levels for the LPHC diet group during the treatment phase.</p

Fasting insulin levels for the LPHC diet group during the treatment phase.

Fasting insulin levels for the LPHC diet group during the treatment phase.</p

Pericardial adipose tissue for the standard diet group during the treatment phase.

Pericardial adipose tissue for the standard diet group during the treatment phase.</p