Risk factors of gastrointestinal nematode parasite infections in small ruminants kept in smallholder mixed farms in Kenya

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Helminth infections in small ruminants are serious problems in the developing world, particularly where nutrition and sanitation are poor. This study investigated the burden and risk factors of gastrointestinal nematode parasite infections in sheep and goats kept in smallholder mixed farms in the Kenyan Central Highlands. Three hundred and seven small ruminants were sampled from 66 smallholder mixed farms in agro-ecological zones 1 (humid) and 3 (semi-humid) in the Kenyan Central highlands. The farms were visited once a month for eight months during which a health and production survey questionnaire was administered. Fecal samples were collected at each visit from each animal. Fecal egg counts (FEC) were performed using the modified McMaster technique. Associations between potential risk factors and FEC were assessed using 3-level Poisson models fit in SAS using GLIMMIX macro. Correlations among repeated observations were adjusted for using three different correlation structures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A rise in FEC was observed two months after the onset of rains. Farmer education, age category, de-worming during the preceding month and grazing system were significant predictors of FEC. Additionally, there were significant interactions between grazing system and both de-worming and age category implying that the effect of grazing system is dependent on both de-worming status and age category; and that the effect of de-worming depends on the grazing system. The most important predictors of FEC in the study area were grazing system, de-worming status and education of the farmers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Since several factors were important predictors of FEC, controlling gastrointestinal helminths of small ruminants in these resource-poor smallholder mixed farms requires a sustainable integrated helminth control strategy that includes adoption of zero-grazing and more farmer education probably through extension services. Achieving improved helminth controls in these resource-poor farming systems offers an opportunity to increase small ruminant productivity and hence has a potential of improving the livelihood of the resource-poor farmers.</p

Rheumatic heart disease in Uganda: the association between MHC class II HLA DR alleles and disease: a case control study

Background Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), the only long term consequence of acute rheumatic fever, remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among young adults in Uganda. An inherited susceptibility to acute rheumatic fever centers around the major histocompatibility class II human leucocyte antigens. However, there is paucity of data from sub-Saharan Africa. This study compares the frequency of HLA class II DR alleles between RHD cases and normal controls in Uganda. Methods One hundred ninety-nine participants including 96 established RHD cases aged 5–60 years and 103 age and sex matched normal controls were recruited for participation. DNA was manually extracted from buffy coat samples and HLA analysis was performed. HLA-DR allelic frequency comparison between cases and controls were estimated using conditional logistic regression with 95% confidence intervals. P -values were corrected for multiple hypothesis testing. Results 199 participants (103 female, 51.8%) completed the study. The mean (SD) age in years for cases and controls were 29.6 (10.2) and 29(18), respectively. After conditional logistic regression and multiple hypothesis testing, HLA-DR1was associated with a decreased risk of RHD (OR = 0.42, CI 0.21-085, P = 0.01, Corrected P value (PC) = 0.09,) while HLA-DR11 was associated with increased risk of RHD (OR = 3.31, CI 1.57-6.97, P = \u3c0.001, Pc \u3c 0.001). No other significant associations were found. Conclusion In this first study of HLA genetic susceptibility to RHD in Uganda, HLA- DR1 was more common in normal controls while HLA- DR11 was more common among RHD cases suggesting a disease susceptibility association. In future studies, high resolution HLA analysis and genome wide studies should be carried out to confirm this pattern

A Taxonomically-informed Mass Spectrometry Search Tool for Microbial Metabolomics Data

MicrobeMASST, a taxonomically-informed mass spectrometry (MS) search tool, tackles limited microbial metabolite annotation in untargeted metabolomics experiments. Leveraging a curated database of >60,000 microbial monocultures, users can search known and unknown MS/MS spectra and link them to their respective microbial producers via MS/MS fragmentation patterns. Identification of microbial-derived metabolites and relative producers, without a priori knowledge, will vastly enhance the understanding of microorganisms’ role in ecology and human health

Risk factors of gastrointestinal nematode parasite infections in small ruminants kept in smallholder mixed farms in Kenya-0

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Risk factors of gastrointestinal nematode parasite infections in small ruminants kept in smallholder mixed farms in Kenya"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-6148/3/6</p><p>BMC Veterinary Research 2007;3():6-6.</p><p>Published online 20 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1868712.</p><p></p> agro-ecological zones (humid and semi-humid) in the Kenyan Central Highlands during the first eight months of 1997

Risk factors of gastrointestinal nematode parasite infections in small ruminants kept in smallholder mixed farms in Kenya-1

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Risk factors of gastrointestinal nematode parasite infections in small ruminants kept in smallholder mixed farms in Kenya"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-6148/3/6</p><p>BMC Veterinary Research 2007;3():6-6.</p><p>Published online 20 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1868712.</p><p></p>ts kept on smallholder farms in the Kenyan Central Highlands during the first eight months of 1997

Risk factors of gastrointestinal nematode parasite infections in small ruminants kept in smallholder mixed farms in Kenya-3

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Risk factors of gastrointestinal nematode parasite infections in small ruminants kept in smallholder mixed farms in Kenya"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-6148/3/6</p><p>BMC Veterinary Research 2007;3():6-6.</p><p>Published online 20 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1868712.</p><p></p>stigate determinants of nematode fecal egg count in small ruminants kept in smallholder farms in the Central Highlands of Keny

Socioeconomic and environmental risk factors among rheumatic heart disease patients in Uganda.

BackgroundAlthough low socioeconomic status, and environmental factors are known risk factors for rheumatic heart disease in other societies, risk factors for rheumatic heart disease remain less well described in Uganda.Aims and objectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate the role of socio-economic and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of rheumatic heart disease in Ugandan patients.MethodsThis was a case control study in which rheumatic heart disease cases and normal controls aged 5-60 years were recruited and investigated for socioeconomic and environmental risk factors such as income status, employment status, distance from the nearest health centre, number of people per house and space area per person.Results486 participants (243 cases and 243 controls) took part in the study. Average age was 32.37+/-14.6 years for cases and 35.75+/-12.6 years for controls. At univariate level, Cases tended to be more overcrowded than controls; 8.0+/-3.0 versus 6.0+/-3.0 persons per house. Controls were better spaced at 25.2 square feet versus 16.9 for cases. More controls than cases were employed; 45.3% versus 21.1%. Controls lived closer to health centers than the cases; 4.8+/-3.8 versus 3.3+/-12.9 kilometers. At multivariate level, the odds of rheumatic heart disease was 1.7 times higher for unemployment status (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.05-8.19) and 1.3 times higher for overcrowding (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.1-1.56). There was interaction between overcrowding and longer distance from the nearest health centre (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.05-1.42).ConclusionThe major findings of this study were that there was a trend towards increased risk of rheumatic heart disease in association with overcrowding and unemployment. There was interaction between overcrowding and distance from the nearest health center, suggesting that the effect of overcrowding on the risk of acquiring rheumatic heart disease increases with every kilometer increase from the nearest health center