Switch from 200 to 350 CD4 baseline count: what it means to HIV care and treatment programs in Kenya

Introduction: With the increasing population of infected individuals in Africa and constrained resources for care and treatment, antiretroviralmanagement continues to be an important public health challenge. Since the announcement of World Health Organization recommendation andguidelines for initiation of antiretroviral Treatment at CD4 count below 350, many developing countries are adopting this strategy in their countryspecific guidelines to care and treatment of HIV and AIDS. Despite the benefits to these recommendations, what does this switch from 200 to 350CD4 count mean in antiretroviral treatment demand? Methods: A Multi-centre study involving 1376 patients in health care settings in Kenya. CD4count was carried out by flow cytometry among the HIV infected individuals in Kenya and results analyzed in view of the In-country and the newCD4 recommendation for initiation of antiretroviral treatment. Results: Across sites, 32% of the individual required antiretroviral at <200 CD4Baseline, 40% at <250 baseline count and 58% based on the new criteria of <350 CD4 Count. There were more female (68%) than Male(32%).Different from <200 and <250 CD4 baseline criteria, over 50% of all age groups required antiretroviral at 350 CD4 baseline. Age groupsbetween 41-62 led in demand for ART. Conclusion: With the new guidelines, demand for ARVs has more than doubled with variations notedwithin regions and age groups. As A result, HIV Care and Treatment Programs should prepare for this expansion for the benefits to be realized.Key words: CD4, New criteria, HIV, AIDS, care and treatment, ARV initiatio

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the people of Mosop, Nandi County in Kenya

Background: Throughout the history, nature has provided mankind with most of their basic needs, which include food, shelter, medicine, clothes, flavours, scents as well as raw materials. Given that they are an integral part of cultural heritage, medicinal plants have played a significant role in human healthcare systems around the world. Investigating various biological resources for use as medicines requires ethnomedicinal studies.Methods: Data on utilization of ethnomedicinal plants from local healers in Kenya’s Mosop Sub-County in Nandi County was documented through open-ended, semi-structured questionnaires. A number of quantitative indices, such as the Use Citation (UC), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Use Value (UV), Frequency of Citation (FoC) and Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) were used to convey the potential medical benefits, vitality and variety of the ethnomedicine.Results: 102 informants provided information on 253 ethnomedicinal plant species, classified into 74 families. There were 249 native plant species identified, along with few exotic species: Senegalia senegal (L.) Britton, Persea americana Mill, Carica papaya L. and Solanum betaceum Cav. Of all recorded species, 32% and 27% were herbs and trees, respectively. Among plant parts, leaves were most frequently utilized (27%) and roots (26%), while decoctions (21%) were the most widely used formulations. The dominant family was Asteraceae, with 28 species, followed by Lamiaceae, with 19 species. The highest ICF value was 0.778 for a number of parasitic and infectious illnesses, including ringworms, athlete’s foot rot, tetanus, typhoid, intestinal parasites, abscesses, malaria, and amoebiasis. The study’s data validates the region’s widespread use of traditional medicinal plant remedies.Conclusion: The current study will lay a foundation of knowledge for future research investigations. The abundance of knowledge regarding ethnomedicinal species and their medicinal applications will stimulate further phytochemical and pharmacological research, which could lead to the discovery of potentially significant pharmaceuticals