Uganda's experience in Ebola virus disease outbreak preparedness, 2018-2019.

BACKGROUND: Since the declaration of the 10th Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in DRC on 1st Aug 2018, several neighboring countries have been developing and implementing preparedness efforts to prevent EVD cross-border transmission to enable timely detection, investigation, and response in the event of a confirmed EVD outbreak in the country. We describe Uganda's experience in EVD preparedness. RESULTS: On 4 August 2018, the Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH) activated the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) and the National Task Force (NTF) for public health emergencies to plan, guide, and coordinate EVD preparedness in the country. The NTF selected an Incident Management Team (IMT), constituting a National Rapid Response Team (NRRT) that supported activation of the District Task Forces (DTFs) and District Rapid Response Teams (DRRTs) that jointly assessed levels of preparedness in 30 designated high-risk districts representing category 1 (20 districts) and category 2 (10 districts). The MoH, with technical guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO), led EVD preparedness activities and worked together with other ministries and partner organisations to enhance community-based surveillance systems, develop and disseminate risk communication messages, engage communities, reinforce EVD screening and infection prevention measures at Points of Entry (PoEs) and in high-risk health facilities, construct and equip EVD isolation and treatment units, and establish coordination and procurement mechanisms. CONCLUSION: As of 31 May 2019, there was no confirmed case of EVD as Uganda has continued to make significant and verifiable progress in EVD preparedness. There is a need to sustain these efforts, not only in EVD preparedness but also across the entire spectrum of a multi-hazard framework. These efforts strengthen country capacity and compel the country to avail resources for preparedness and management of incidents at the source while effectively cutting costs of using a "fire-fighting" approach during public health emergencies

Invertebrate drift densities in the Njoro and Kamweti Rivers in the Kenyan highlands that differ in the level of anthropogenic disturbances

Invertebrate drift is one of several fundamental ecological processes in streams. However, little is known about the dynamics of invertebrate drift in Kenyan streams. In this study, we assessed invertebrate drift in two rivers, i.e. Njoro and Kamweti, that differ in the level of anthropogenic disturbances, between February and March, 2016. The aim was to evaluate the effect of river sampling duration (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 min) and sampling period (day or night) on invertebrate drift densities. The 5-minute sampling period resulted in significantly higher mean drift densities than the other time intervals in both rivers. The highest mean drift density (2.0 ± 0.9 individuals m−3) was recorded at the Njoro River during the day, whereas the lowest drift density (0.3 ± 0.2 individuals m−3) was recorded at the Kamweti River during the day. A strong nocturnal drift pattern was noted at the less disturbed river (Kamweti). The present results suggest that anthropogenic perturbations influence invertebrate drift densities, and sampling duration and sampling period are important factors to consider when sampling invertebrate drift.Keywords: anthropogenic impacts, drift, Kenya, sampling duration, sampling perio

Invertebrate drift densities in the Njoro and Kamweti Rivers in the Kenyan highlands that differ in the level of anthropogenic disturbances

<p>Invertebrate drift is one of several fundamental ecological processes in streams. However, little is known about the dynamics of invertebrate drift in Kenyan streams. In this study, we assessed invertebrate drift in two rivers, i.e. Njoro and Kamweti, that differ in the level of anthropogenic disturbances, between February and March, 2016. The aim was to evaluate the effect of river sampling duration (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 min) and sampling period (day or night) on invertebrate drift densities. The 5-minute sampling period resulted in significantly higher mean drift densities than the other time intervals in both rivers. The highest mean drift density (2.0 ± 0.9 individuals m⁻³) was recorded at the Njoro River during the day, whereas the lowest drift density (0.3 ± 0.2 individuals m⁻³) was recorded at the Kamweti River during the day. A strong nocturnal drift pattern was noted at the less disturbed river (Kamweti). The present results suggest that anthropogenic perturbations influence invertebrate drift densities, and sampling duration and sampling period are important factors to consider when sampling invertebrate drift.</p

Does the exclusion of meiofauna affect the estimation of biotic indices using stream invertebrates?

<p>Biomonitoring of rivers is usually undertaken using information based on macroinvertebrate assemblages. However, exclusion of meiofauna (i.e. invertebrates less than 0.5 mm in size) when sorting benthic invertebrates can affect the estimation of densities and other biotic indices. In the present study, the effect of excluding the less than 0.5 mm fraction of invertebrates on estimation of benthic invertebrate indices was investigated in the Naro Moru River, Kenya. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Pielou’s evenness index, a multimetric index, Simpson’s diversity index, Margalef’s diversity index, mean invertebrate density, taxa richness, and Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) densities were determined. Only mean invertebrate and EPT densities differed significantly between the greater than 0.5 mm and total fractions. In conclusion, exclusion of meiofauna from invertebrate samples can affect the estimation of some stream invertebrate biotic indices.</p