Health-seeking behaviour of human brucellosis cases in rural Tanzania

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brucellosis is known to cause debilitating conditions if not promptly treated. In some rural areas of Tanzania however, practitioners give evidence of seeing brucellosis cases with symptoms of long duration. The purpose of this study was to establish health-seeking behaviour of human brucellosis cases in rural Tanzania and explore the most feasible ways to improve it.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was designed as a longitudinal study. Socio-demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected from patients who reported to selected hospitals in rural northern Tanzania between June 2002 and April 2003. All patients with conditions suspicious of brucellosis on the basis of preliminary clinical examination and history were enrolled into the study as brucellosis suspects. Blood samples were taken and tested for brucellosis using the Rose-Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and other agglutination tests available at the health facilities and the competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) test at the Veterinary Laboratory Agencies (VLA) in the UK. All suspects who tested positive with the c-ELISA test were regarded as brucellosis cases. A follow-up of 49 cases was made to collect data on health-seeking behaviour of human brucellosis cases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of cases 87.7% gave a history of going to hospital as the first point of care, 10.2% purchased drugs from a nearby drug shop before going to hospital and 2% went to a local traditional healer first. Brucellosis cases delayed going to hospital with a median delay time of 90 days, and with 20% of the cases presenting to hospitals more than a year after the onset of symptoms. Distance to the hospital, keeping animals and knowledge of brucellosis were significantly associated with patient delay to present to hospital.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>More efforts need to be put on improving the accessibility of health facilities to the rural poor people who succumb to most of the diseases including zoonoses. Health education on brucellosis in Tanzania should also stress the importance of early presentation to hospitals for prompt treatment.</p

HIV-1 subtype and viral tropism determination for evaluating antiretroviral therapy options: an analysis of archived Kenyan blood samples

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infection with HIV-1 is characterized by genetic diversity such that specific viral subtypes are predominant in specific geographical areas. The genetic variation in HIV-1 <it>pol </it>and <it>env </it>genes is responsible for rapid development of resistance to current drugs. This variation has influenced disease progression among the infected and necessitated the search for alternative drugs with novel targets. Though successfully used in developed countries, these novel drugs are still limited in resource-poor countries. The aim of this study was to determine HIV-1 subtypes, recombination, dual infections and viral tropism of HIV-1 among Kenyan patients prior to widespread use of antiretroviral drugs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Remnant blood samples from consenting sexually transmitted infection (STI) patients in Nairobi were collected between February and May 2001 and stored. Polymerase chain reaction and cloning of portions of HIV-1 <it>gag</it>, <it>pol </it>and <it>env </it>genes was carried out followed by automated DNA sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty HIV-1 positive samples (from 11 females and 9 males) were analyzed. The average age of males (32.5 years) and females (26.5 years) was significantly different (p value < 0.0001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 90% (18/20) were concordant HIV-1 subtypes: 12 were subtype A1; 2, A2; 3, D and 1, C. Two samples (10%) were discordant showing different subtypes in the three regions. Of 19 samples checked for co-receptor usage, 14 (73.7%) were chemokine co-receptor 5 (CCR5) variants while three (15.8%) were CXCR4 variants. Two had dual/mixed co-receptor use with X4 variants being minor population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>HIV-1 subtype A accounted for majority of the infections. Though perceived to be a high risk population, the prevalence of recombination in this sample was low with no dual infections detected. Genotypic co-receptor analysis showed that most patients harbored viruses that are predicted to use CCR5.</p

The Rose Bengal Test in Human Brucellosis: A Neglected Test for the Diagnosis of a Neglected Disease

Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis affecting livestock and human beings. The human disease lacks pathognomonic symptoms and laboratory tests are essential for its diagnosis. However, most tests are difficult to implement in the areas and countries were brucellosis is endemic. Here, we compared the simple and cheap Rose Bengal Test (RBT) with serum agglutination, Coombs, competitive ELISA, Brucellacapt, lateral flow immunochromatography for IgM and IgG detection and immunoprecipitation with Brucella proteins. We tested 208 sera from patients with brucellosis proved by bacteriological isolation, 20 contacts with no brucellosis, and 1559 sera of persons with no recent contact or brucellosis symptoms. RBT was highly sensitive in acute and long evolution brucellosis cases and this related to its ability to detect IgM, IgG and IgA, to the absence of prozones, and to the agglutinating activity of blocking IgA at the pH of the test. RBT was also highly specific in the sera of persons with no contact with Brucella. No test in this study outperformed RBT, and none was fully satisfactory in distinguishing contacts from infected patients. When modified to test serum dilutions, a diagnostic titer >4 in RBT resulted in 87.4% sensitivity (infected patients) and 100% specificity (contacts). We discuss the limitations of serological tests in the diagnosis of human brucellosis, particularly in the more chronic forms, and conclude that simplicity and affordability of RBT make it close to the ideal test for small and understaffed hospitals and laboratories

The effect of farmyard manure and gertilisers to cabbage yields in Kenya

No Abstract Available E. Afr. Agric. For. J Vol.68(1) 2002: 41-4

Research Article: Parasitology Tsetse and Livestock Disease Situation in a Ranch and Surrounding Farms of Makueni District, Kenya

Surveys on vectors, livestock diseases and socio-economic issues were undertaken in June and August 2005 in Kiboko area, Makueni District of Kenya. It was deemed that the information generated would help to understand the farmersf awareness of the extent of tsetse and trypanosomosis and other diseases within and around Kiboko ranch. Over 500 head of cattle belonging to KARI and surrounding small scale farms were screened for parasites . tick-borne, trypanosomes, helminths and ticks. The farmers who presented their animals were interviewed to generate the socio-economic data. Biconical traps deployed were baited with acetone and 8.4.1.phenol sachets. A total of 21 tsetse flies (6 in June and 15 in August) were caught. Veterinary records from the area indicated the commonest diseases to be anaplasmosis, trypanosomosis and non-specific pneumonia in cattle. The overall trypanosome point prevalence in phase I and II were 3.9% and 0 respectively. On a four-point scale stratification the abundance of tick infestation in Kiboko was clean to low (Clean = 0; low . 20) with the overall tick infestation prevalence of 28.2%. Results on helminth-faecal egg count ranged from 0 . 4000 epgs with a mean 74.64. Skin diseases, trypanosomosis and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) were mentioned by the respondents as the most important livestock diseases in proportions of 61%, 50% and 36%, respectively. From this investigation, despite livestock playing a key role in the economy of farmers around Kiboko ranch, their knowledge of livestock diseases and their management was found to be low. In conclusion, trypanosomosis and TBDs as well as their vectors are still constraints to livestock production

Hepcidin regulation in Kenyan children with severe malaria and non-typhoidal Salmonella bacteremia

Malaria and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) are life-threatening infections that often co-exist in African children. The iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin is highly upregulated during malaria and controls the availability of iron, a critical nutrient for bacterial growth. We investigated the relationship between Plasmodium falciparum malaria and NTS bacteremia in all pediatric admissions aged ≤5 years between August 1998 and October 2019 (n=75,034). We then assayed hepcidin and measures of iron status in five groups: (1) children with concomitant severe malarial anemia (SMA) and NTS (SMA+NTS, n=16); and in matched children with (2) SMA (n=33); (3) NTS (n=33); (4) cerebral malaria (CM, n=34); and (5) community-based children. SMA and severe anemia without malaria were associated with a two-fold or more increased risk of NTS bacteremia, while other malaria phenotypes were not associated with increased NTS risk. Children with SMA had lower hepcidin/ferritin ratios (0.10 [IQR 0.03, 0.19]) than those with CM (0.24 [0.14, 0.69]; P=0.006) or asymptomatic malaria (0.19 [0.09, 0.46]; P=0.01) indicating suppressed hepcidin levels. Children with SMA+NTS had lower hepcidin levels (9.3 ng/mL [4.7, 49.8]) and hepcidin/ferritin ratios (0.03 [0.01, 0.22]) than those with NTS alone (105.8 ng/mL [17.3, 233.3]; P=0.02 and 0.31 [0.06, 0.66]; P=0.007, respectively). Since hepcidin degrades ferroportin on the Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV), we hypothesize that reduced hepcidin in children with SMA might contribute to NTS growth by modulating iron availability for bacterial growth. Further studies are needed to understand how the hepcidinferroportin axis might mediate susceptibility to NTS in severely anemic children