Changing Patterns of Malaria Epidemiology between 2002 and 2010 in Western Kenya: The Fall and Rise of Malaria

The impact of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) on reducing malaria incidence is shown mainly through data collection from health facilities. Routine evaluation of long-term epidemiological and entomological dynamics is currently unavailable. In Kenya, new policies supporting the provision of free ITNs were implemented nationwide in June 2006. To evaluate the impacts of ITNs on malaria transmission, we conducted monthly surveys in three sentinel sites with different transmission intensities in western Kenya from 2002 to 2010.Longitudinal samplings of malaria parasite prevalence in asymptomatic school children and vector abundance in randomly selected houses were undertaken monthly from February 2002. ITN ownership and usage surveys were conducted annually from 2004 to 2010. Asymptomatic malaria parasite prevalence and vector abundances gradually decreased in all three sites from 2002 to 2006, and parasite prevalence reached its lowest level from late 2006 to early 2007. The abundance of the major malaria vectors, Anopheles funestus and An. gambiae, increased about 5-10 folds in all study sites after 2007. However, the resurgence of vectors was highly variable between sites and species. By 2010, asymptomatic parasite prevalence in Kombewa had resurged to levels recorded in 2004/2005, but the resurgence was smaller in magnitude in the other sites. Household ITN ownership was at 50-70% in 2009, but the functional and effective bed net coverage in the population was estimated at 40.3%, 49.4% and 28.2% in 2010 in Iguhu, Kombewa, and Marani, respectively.The resurgence in parasite prevalence and malaria vectors has been observed in two out of three sentinel sites in western Kenya despite a high ownership of ITNs. The likely factors contributing to malaria resurgence include reduced efficacy of ITNs, insecticide resistance in mosquitoes and lack of proper use of ITNs. These factors should be targeted to avoid further resurgence of malaria transmission

Population Genetics of Trypanosoma evansi from Camel in the Sudan

Genetic variation of microsatellite loci is a widely used method for the analysis of population genetic structure of microorganisms. We have investigated genetic variation at 15 microsatellite loci of T. evansi isolated from camels in Sudan and Kenya to evaluate the genetic information partitioned within and between individuals and between sites. We detected a strong signal of isolation by distance across the area sampled. The results also indicate that either, and as expected, T. evansi is purely clonal and structured in small units at very local scales and that there are numerous allelic dropouts in the data, or that this species often sexually recombines without the need of the “normal” definitive host, the tsetse fly or as the recurrent immigration from sexually recombined T. brucei brucei. Though the first hypothesis is the most likely, discriminating between these two incompatible hypotheses will require further studies at much localized scales

The Influence of Blended family Structures on Socio-emotional Development of Pre-priamry School Learners in Ganze Sub-county, Kilifi County, Kenya

Families provide a conducive environment that necessitates the acquisition of self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy amongst learners in pre-primary schools. However, pre-primary school learners have manifested and continue to manifest instances of low self-esteem, low self-confidence, and self-efficacy levels. This study sought to assess the influence of contemporary blended family structures on the socio-emotional development of pre-primary school learners. The study was guided by the family systems theory. The study adopted a mixed methodology and thus applied concurrent triangulation research design. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically along the objectives and presented in narrative forms. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages and inferentially using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis in Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 23) and presented using tables. The study established that pre-primary school learners manifest instances of low self-esteem, low self-confidence and low self-efficacy. The study also established that there are different dimensions of blended family structures that influence socio-emotional development, that is, self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy, of pre-primary school learners. Thus, the study recommends that parents who are in blended family structures should adopt the mechanism of enhancing the socio-emotional development of their children. The government and other stakeholders should provide necessary support meant to help such families improve the socio-emotional development of their children. Government agencies should create funds and kitties meant for the upkeep of children who are orphans and vulnerable

International Business, Trade and the Nagoya Protocol: Best Practices and Challenges for Sustainability in Access and Benefit-Sharing

Biodiversity is critical for international trade, businesses and investment. However, the issue of their ownership and exploitation has been a matter of debate. Specifically, the access to biodiversity resources and the distribution of the associated benefits are at the core of the environmental economics debate. Since 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established regulations for the access and benefits-sharing of genetic resources, which materialized in the 2010 Nagoya Protocol. In 2015, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 15 renewed countries’ commitment to the promotion of appropriate access to genetic resources, and equitable and fair sharing of the associated benefits, calling for countries to adopt the policy and strategic frameworks to implement the ABS regime. Using examples from developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, this chapter explains how the ABS regime is being implemented in relation to international business and trade, and analyzes how it brings opportunities, best practices and challenges in order for these countries to improve the balance in the relationship between biodiversity conservation and economic activities. These new circumstances support the identification of actions that governments and international business actors can follow to effectively use the ABS regime as a policy instruments that contribute to sustainability through the implementation of economic and environmental regulations. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG