Aetiology, Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Predictors of\ud Urinary Tract Infection among Febrile Under-Fives at\ud Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam-Tanzania

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common cause of fever in children and contributes to morbidity and mortality. This study aimed at determining prevalence, aetiology and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Dar es Salaam- Tanzania. Demographic data were collected using a pretested questionnaire. 382 febrile children below five years admitted in the general paediatric wards were recruited. Urine specimens were obtained for urinalysis, culture and antimicrobial sensitivity testing. UTI was detected in 16.8% (64/382). Children who presented prolonged duration of fever (7 days or longer) were more likely to have UTI (p< 0.01). Duration of fever, positive leukocyte and nitrite tests were independent predictors of UTI. Isolated bacteria included Escherichia coli (39.1%), Klebsiella spp (31.2%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (6.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (4.7%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.7%). We observed high resistance of the isolated uropathogens to ampicillin (79.9%), co-trimoxazole (89%) and clavulanate-amoxillin (70.3%). Amikacin had the least resistance (12.5%) from the isolated pathogens

HIV serostatus disclosure among people living with HIV/AIDS in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Disclosing HIV serostatus is important for HIV prevention and maintenance of health for people living with HIV their spouses and the community, it plays a role in the social relation which is critical in reducing HIV transmission. The process may have positive and negative effects to the HIV infected people who disclose their status. The present study was undertaken to describe HIV serostatus disclosure among HIV infected people attending care and treatment clinic at Sekou-Toure hospital in Mwanza, Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 270 HIV infected adults attending Care and Treatment Clinic (CTC) at Sekou-Toure hospital between September and October, 2010. A Swahili questionnaire was used to obtain demographic and HIV disclosure information. Hundred and ninety five (72.5%) of all recruited participants were females, 88.1% (238/270) were aged above 30 years and 44.1% (119/270) were married. The prevalence of serostatus disclosure was 93.3% (252/270) with participants aged above 30 years having significantly higher proportion of serostatus disclosure compared to those aged below 30 years (94.5% vs. 84.4%, p < 0.05). Among the participants who disclosed their status, 69.3% reported closeness to the disclosed person as the reason for disclosure while 25.8% (65/252) disclosed because they needed help. Two hundred (79.4%) reported to have received emotional support following disclosure while 25.8% and 29.7% received financial support and freedom to use their anti-retroviral drugs around the person they disclosed their status respectively. Thirty four participants reported to have been discriminated following disclosure and 12 participants reported to have been divorced. Rate of disclosure of HIV serostatus was noted to be high in this study. Delayed disclosure was also noted in small proportion of participants. Negative outcomes following disclosure of serostatus were reported by participants. Efforts need to be increased to promote disclosure of HIV serostatus in Tanzania through health education and awareness for both HIV infected individuals and the community

Knowledge of diabetes and hypertension among members of teaching staff of higher learning institutions in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Diabetes and hypertension are among the most common non-communicable diseases (NCD) that contribute to a large number of adult morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to determine knowledge of diabetes and hypertension and the associated risk factors among members of teaching staff of Higher Learning Institutions in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A cross sectional community based study was conducted in 10 higher learning institutions including universities. A structured pretested questionnaire was utilized. A total of 139 participants were involved in this study. A total of 139 teaching members of staff from higher learning institutions participated in the study. The majority (74.8%; n=104) of the participants were males. Mean age of the participants was 40.7 ± 12.6. Over half (56.8%; 79/139) of the respondents correctly identified failure of body to use insulin as one of the causes of diabetes. Of the respondents, 43.2% (60/139) were able to identified heredity as cause of hypertension. Increasing age was correctly identified as one of risk factors for diabetes by 38.1% (53/139) and for hypertension by 36.7% (51/139) respondents. Thus knowledge of the causes, signs and symptoms, risk factors and complications was not as high as expected considering the respondents were among the highly educated and professional population. In conclusion, the majority of teaching staff in the higher learning Institutions in Dar es Salaam were aware of the diabetes and hypertension. However the knowledge of the causes, signs and symptoms, risk factors and complications was not as high as expected. It is important that this group of professionals is appropriately informed as regards to diabetes, hypertension and other non-communicable diseases as they may serve as key advocacy group to the community and policy makers in Tanzania

Intermodal Transportation and Supply Chain Efficiency: A Kenyan Perspective

Globalization has forced many firms to restructure their supply chains. Firms now not only operate within national boundaries but across international boundaries. Intermodal transportation holds the solution for this movement within national and across international boundaries. This study was conducted to establish the effect of intermodal transportation among Kenyan firms. A total of 71 Kenyan firms from manufacturing, Distribution and Logistics sectors were involved in the survey. The study findings reveal that Several Kenyan firms utilize more than one mode of transportation to move goods to and from various destinations. Road transport is the most popular mode of transport due to its ability to deliver door to door transportation services. Rail transport is the second most popular mode of transport because of the cost involved in moving goods by rail. It is cheaper than road and air modes. However rail transport suffers from network disadvantages since it serves a few regions in the country. Air transport is also used though by a few firms because it is the most expensive mode of transport. It is commonly used by firms that are engaged in horticultural farming. Water transport is also among the popular modes of transport that is used to transport bulky goods to and from other countries. It is also considered cheaper than all the other modes of transport. Intermodal transportation has enabled most firms to reduce supply chain costs, reduce lead times, engage in cheaper global sourcing of goods and materials, reduce downtimes and maintain steady flow of goods. It has also enabled the firms to get value for money spent. Keywords: Intermodal, Transportation and Efficienc

Adoption of Supply Chain Management Practices: Review of Determining Factors

Different companies may adopt different supply chain management practices to enable them achieve the objectives if their supply chain. This becomes necessary due to the fact that the modern business environment puts managers in demanding situations where they have to balance between the demands of consumers and the company’s desire for growth and enhanced profitability. Most of the managers have therefore realized that for them to efficiently and effectively manage such a situation, they must focus on supply chain management from a strategic perspective. This article focuses on a review of the factors that determine the supply chain management practices that are adopted by organizations. It is clear that there are several determinants of the supply chain management practices that organizations adopt. They include: the size of the firm, its position in the supply chain, capital, government policy, the industry the firm operates in and the structure of the organization among others. Keywords: Determinants, Supply Chain Managemen

Effects of Workplace Diversity Management on Organizational Effectiveness: a case study

The study sought to establish effects of workforce diversity management on the organizational effectiveness selected branches of Kenya commercial bank limited .Specifically, the study sought to establish the extent of demographic diversity , extent of social-cultural diversity, the management of diversity at the bank‟s branches and how the management of the workforce diversity affect organizational effectiveness.The Study adopted a descriptive research design .The study population consisted of all branches of KCB limited in five countries in the East African region. A sample size of 100 respondents was selected. The internet mail survey had a 60% response rate. Data collection was by use of questionnaire through internet mail. Analysis was by use of descriptive and inferential statistics and SPSS version 15.0. The Pearson‟s correlation coefficient indicated the relationship between each independent variables and the dependent variable and tested at 5% significance level.The study established that overall, diversity affects the cohesion of the KCB and although the problems related to diversity are intermittent occurrences, in some branches, less than 20% of the branches, these happen very often. Although in 20% of the branches, diversity issues are minimal. Although, there are deliberate efforts to capitalize on diversity at KCB, very little is being achieved, and negative diversity is likely to affect organizational effectiveness, if not properly addressed. The study recommended that in order leverage of the existing diversity, a philosophy be established on diversity that would affect most of the human resources activities with regard to the differences as existing among its employees

A Seven Weeks Old Baby with Diabetic Ketoacidosis: A Case Report.

Diabetes mellitus is rare during infancy, however, it should be suspected in infants presenting with features consistent with sepsis and hyperglycemia. This is crucial in initiating the treatment of diabetes ketoacidosis which if delayed may result in significant morbidity and death

A Seven Weeks Old Baby with Diabetic Ketoacidosis: A Case\ud Report

Diabetes mellitus is rare during infancy, however, it should be suspected in infants presenting with features consistent with sepsis and hyperglycemia. This is crucial in initiating the treatment of diabetes ketoacidosis which if delayed\ud may result in significant morbidity and death

Thirty years old lady with nephrotic syndrome: a case of biopsy proven lupus nephritis in Tanzania

We describe a case of a 30 years old female patient who presented with nephrotic syndrome and impaired renal function which was diagnosed to have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with lupus nephritis. This is the first biopsy proven lupus nephritis in Tanzania. SLE is common among females and is reported be more common among Africans as compared to other races. This patient presented with nephrotic syndrome, pleural effusion and pericardial effusion which depicts the multisystem effects of SLE. This patient was treated with cyclophosphamide in combination with steroid as induction therapy and attained remission after one month of treatment. Systemic lupus erythematosus should be considered in patients with nephrotic syndrome and these patients should have renal biopsy to determine renal involvement