Epidemiology of malaria in irrigated parts of Tana River County, Kenya

Irrigation schemes introduced in areas of high malaria endemicity often amplify malaria burden especially if no mitigation or adaptation measures are implemented (Renshaw et al., 1998). Thias study was conducted in Bura and Hola irrigation schemes in Tana River County to (i) understand the knowledge, attitude and practices of the community in relation to malaria control and transmission, (ii) determine malaria prevalence and the associated risk factors of infection and (iii) develop and validate a transmission model for analyzing the effects of irrigation on malaria burden. A cross sectional survey was conducted in 48 households where 160 people were screened for malaria parasites using Rapid Diagnostic Test. A deterministic model was developed and validated using field data. The community demonstrated good knowledge on causes, symptoms, transmission and control of malaria. The main malaria control measure was use of bed nets where one net was shared by two people. Only 12% of the households practice environmental management to control malaria. Treatment of malaria was mainly based on Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) which is freely available in the government health facilities. The prevalence of malaria was 5% with the clinical records showing a declining trend of malaria cases. Households located ≤5kms to the nearest facility had lower risk of malaria infection (OR=0.104, p-value=0.013) than those located >5kms. Household size was also associated with malaria infection (OR=1.685, p-value=0.022). The model predicted the observed prevalence data. The high usage of bed nets and AL could have led to the observed decrease in malaria prevalence despite the intensification of irrigated agriculture. The model developed could be used to predict the prevalence of malaria in this area enabling decision makers to implement appropriate control measures in good time

Modelling malaria transmission dynamics in irrigated areas of Tana River County, Kenya

Development of irrigation schemes is usually associated with escalation of the malaria problem. Mathematical models can be used to explain the effects of irrigation on malaria transmission dynamics. This study aimed at developing and validating a one-host one-vector deterministic model made up of a mosquito population sub-module and disease transmission sub-module. Model parameters were obtained from the literature. Data covering the year 2013 were collected and these included the amount of irrigation water per unit area of irrigated land, rainfall, temperature and prevalence of malaria from the local hospitals. The Fuzzy distribution function was used to relate rainfall and irrigation patterns with oviposition and mortality rates of acquatic stages of mosquitoes. The model was fitted to malaria prevalence data obtained from the local hospitals by varying the parameters of the Fuzzy distribution function. Parameter values that gave the least variance between predicted and observed prevalence were used. The model was implemented in MS Excel using difference equations.The model fitted the data well and predicts an upsurge in the number of malaria cases 2-3 months after the rains or active irrigation. The model could be used to predict the prevalence of malaria in this area enabling decision makers to implement appropriate control measures in good time. Data from non-irrigated areas and covering a longer period of time should be collected for more rigorous model validation and simulation of the effectiveness of various the interventions

The prevalence of gastrointestinal nematode infection and their impact on cattle in Nakuru and Mukurweini districts of Kenya

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Nakuru and Mukurweini districts of Kenya to estimate the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and the financial impact of such infections among smallholder dairy farms. Parasitological examination involving feacal egg count and larval culture was employed to determine prevalence and burden of GIN. Questionnaires were administered to collect individual animal and farm management data. The impact of GIN infection on average daily milk production in lactating cows was also estimated using generalized linear regression analysis The prevalence of GIN infection was significantly different (p< 0.05) between Nakuru and Mukurweini, at 19.8% and 8.3%, respectively (13.8% overall), for a relative risk of infection of 2.3. Farm-level prevalence of infections were estimated at 28.1% (36/128) for Haemonchus, 19.5% (25/128) for Trichostrongylus and 14.8% (19/128) for Oesophagostomum. Average daily milk production in litres in the GIN-infected milking cows was 5.4 compared to 7.8 in the noninfected cows. GIN infection was associated with 1.4 litres per cow per day less milk and this difference was statistically significant (p< 0.05). The observed difference in milk production translated to a daily loss of 0.35 US dollars (USD) per cow per day at a cost of 0.25 USD per litre, which was the average farm gate price of milk at study time in the area under study.Keywords: Cattle, Gastrointestinal nematode infections, Milk production, Cross-sectional study

Advanced Technologies in Dermatology

Cellular therapies are an attractive area of regenerative medicine. For large partial thickness wound, keratinocytes transplant is suggested. The transplantation of cell graft is achieved by obtaining large amounts of cultured cells from a skin biopsy in 3 weeks. Stem cells can be applied before that, but are also efficient in chronic wound closure. Alternative treatment methods are transplants of allogeneic, biostatic skin and amnion. Amnion can be applied as a skin substitute on shallow facialburn wounds, hand burn wounds, on donor areas and granulating wounds. For medium depth or even deep burns, allogeneic skin is recommended. Thanks to the removing of cells from human allogeneic dermis, collagen scaffolding is obtained. It can be populated de novo by autologous skin cells. Artificial skin substitutes are especially good for hand burns and shallow burns. Even though scarring is a part of normal wound healing, it often leads to a pathological process. When scar treatment methods prove insufficient, surgical intervention becomes necessary. Surgical scar intervention involves removal of the pathological skin tissue fragment and replacing it with healthy skin or application of expanders. Improvement of the visual features can be also achieved by laser therapy

Sequentially partitioned population attributable fraction as an estimate of impact of tick presence on infection

he impact of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus tick presence (exposure) on Theileria parva infection seroprevalence (outcome) on a farm was assessed in a group of cattle using population attributable fractions (PAF). The analysis was based on a representative sample of 80 traditional smallholder mixed farms from Mbeere District, Kenya. The PAFs were estimated using sequentially partitioned PAF approach that estimated a PAF associated with the exposure after adjusting for any effect that the confounder (agro-ecological zone [AEZ]) may have had by influencing the prevalence of the exposure. The resultant PAF was compared with Bruzzi approach PAF that estimated the proportion of T. parva infection cases directly attributable to the exposure after controlling for confounding by AEZ. The estimated PAF on the Bruzzi approach was 26.4% [95% CI: 9.6%, 43.2%]) whereas the partitioned PAF was 15.5% [95% CI: 1.5%, 29.6%]) implying that about 11% of the estimated impacts was driven by AEZ effects. Both approaches were consistent in estimating a relatively low impact of farm vector tick presence with a relatively high level of uncertainty. Overall, the results suggested that under endemic instability in Mbeere District, (1) presence of R. appendiculatus was not a good indicator of T. parva infection occurrence on a farm, and (2) ecological variation could play a role in determining infection impacts. This study provides a preliminary basis for evaluating the potential value of estimating PAFs for variables amenable to control in tick-borne diseases epidemiological studies

Effects of Long Acting Oxytetracycline on Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia Experimentally Infected Cattle

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia is an important disease of cattle. Many strategies employed for its eradication and control have had shortcomings. This study was conducted to determine the effects of long acting Oxytetracycline on its course. The study involved 30 indigenous zebu cattle sourced from an area free of the disease, infected by contact transmission and randomly allocated to Oxytetracycline or saline treatment groups. Clinical observations were recorded on the two groups concurrently. Cattle were tested for the disease using complement fixation test. The mean clinical scores of the groups for each observation was compared post treatment on GENSTAT using unpaired t-test for single sample in groups. Full post-mortem was conducted on the cattle and samples collected for Mmm SC isolation. The clinical scores were worse in the control treatment group; there was no fever in the Oxytetracycline-treated group post treatment. Lesions were observed in 93% of the control and 27% of the Oxytetracycline-treated group. In this study, as in others, Oxytetracycline was shown to lower the severity of the clinical signs of the disease. This is important at slaughter houses meat inspection where decision on whether to pass or condemn the animal is based on the clinical signs and post-mortem findings. Keywords:  Contagious bovine Pleuropneumonia, Oxytetracycline, Bovine respiratory distress, Trans- boundary disease