Factors associated with late presentation of suspected tuberculosis cases to tuberculosis management facilities: The case in Dagoretti district, Nairobi, Kenya

Background: Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease accounting for a high number of deaths in the developing countries; its control can beeffectively achieved if individuals with the disease receive adequate and timely treatment. The objective of this study was to determine the factorsassociated with late presentation of suspects to tuberculosis management facilities in Dagoretti district in Nairobi, Kenya.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on patients aged 18 years and above attending TB clinics in Dagoretti District, Nairobi Kenya. A total of 426 TB suspects were interviewed. The study covered 8 clinics in Dagoretti district. Analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0 and Epi info version 6, this included Chi Square for Bivariate analysis and Binary Logistic Regression for Multivariate Analysis.Results: Out of the 426 tuberculosis suspects, 248 (58.2%) suspects had delayed in seeking medical care. In Bivariate analysis male gender (P=0.039, O.R=1.51; 95% Confidence Interval; 1.00- 2.27), level of education (Primary class 5-8) (P=0.001, O.R= 2.06; 95% C.I 1.34-3.19) and place of first medical care (drug store) (P= 0.013, O.R=1.63; 95% C.I 1.09-2.46) were all significantly associated with late presentation. After multivariate logistic regression, gender (P=0,019, OR=1.6), level of education (p=0.029, OR=1.26) and place of first medical care (P= 0.01 OR=1.27), were found to be significantly associated with late presentation. Conclusion: This study shows that age, level of education and place of first medical care are the factors associated with late presentation of suspects to tuberculosis management facilities.Key words: Tuberculosis, late presentation, management, suspects, participants, respondents, Keny

Improving the cost-effectiveness of visual devices for the control of Riverine tsetse flies, the major vectors of Human African Trypanosomiasis

Control of the Riverine (Palpalis) group of tsetse flies is normally achieved with stationary artificial devices such as traps or insecticide-treated targets. The efficiency of biconical traps (the standard control device), 161 m black targets and small 25625 cm targets with flanking nets was compared using electrocuting sampling methods. The work was done on Glossina tachinoides and G. palpalis gambiensis (Burkina Faso), G. fuscipes quanzensis (Democratic Republic of Congo), G. f. martinii (Tanzania) and G. f. fuscipes (Kenya). The killing effectiveness (measured as the catch per m2 of cloth) for small targets plus flanking nets is 5.5–15X greater than for 1 m2 targets and 8.6–37.5X greater than for biconical traps. This has important implications for the costs of control of the Riverine group of tsetse vectors of sleeping sickness

Climate change adaptation among female-led micro, small, and medium enterprises in semiarid areas: a case study from Kenya

This chapter contributes to the literature on private sector adaptation by empirically exploring how female-led micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSMEs) in Kenya’s semiarid lands (SALs) experience and respond to climate risk. The chapter argues that strong sociocultural orientations around gender roles and resource use and access not only confine female-led MSMEs to sectors that experience higher exposure to climate risk – most notably agriculture – but also trigger more pronounced barriers to building resilience within their businesses, including reduced access to land, capital, markets, new technology, and educational opportunities. Faced by these barriers, female entrepreneurs may pursue unsustainable forms of coping, as part of which business activity is scaled back through reduced profits, loss of business, and the sale of valuable business assets. Such strategies may help enterprises to cope in the short term but may undermine longer-term MSME adaptive capacity. Social networks, such as women’s groups and table banking initiatives, appear to be crucial adaptation tools. Additionally, a strong dependency exists between household resilience and business resilience, implying that building resilience at the household level could support adaptive capacity among female-led MSMEs. Supporting the adaptive capacity of women in business should be a policy priority

Improving the Cost-Effectiveness of Artificial Visual Baits for Controlling the Tsetse Fly Glossina fuscipes fuscipes

Tsetse flies, which transmit sleeping sickness to humans and nagana to cattle, are commonly controlled by stationary artificial baits consisting of traps or insecticide-treated screens known as targets. In Kenya the use of electrocuting sampling devices showed that the numbers of Glossina fuscipes fuscipes (Newstead) visiting a biconical trap were nearly double those visiting a black target of 100 cm×100 cm. However, only 40% of the males and 21% of the females entered the trap, whereas 71% and 34%, respectively, alighted on the target. The greater number visiting the trap appeared to be due to its being largely blue, rather than being three-dimensional or raised above the ground. Through a series of variations of target design we show that a blue-and-black panel of cloth (0.06 m2) flanked by a panel (0.06 m2) of fine black netting, placed at ground level, would be about ten times more cost-effective than traps or large targets in control campaigns. This finding has important implications for controlling all subspecies of G. fuscipes, which are currently responsible for more than 90% of sleeping sickness cases

Tracking the Feeding Patterns of Tsetse Flies (Glossina Genus) by Analysis of Bloodmeals Using Mitochondrial Cytochromes Genes

Tsetse flies are notoriously difficult to observe in nature, particularly when populations densities are low. It is therefore difficult to observe them on their hosts in nature; hence their vertebrate species can very often only be determined indirectly by analysis of their gut contents. This knowledge is a critical component of the information on which control tactics can be developed. The objective of this study was to determine the sources of tsetse bloodmeals, hence investigate their feeding preferences. We used mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) and cytochrome b (cytb) gene sequences for identification of tsetse fly blood meals, in order to provide a foundation for rational decisions to guide control of trypanosomiasis, and their vectors. Glossina swynnertoni were sampled from Serengeti (Tanzania) and G. pallidipes from Kenya (Nguruman and Busia), and Uganda. Sequences were used to query public databases, and the percentage identities obtained used to identify hosts. An initial assay showed that the feeds were from single sources. Hosts identified from blood fed flies collected in Serengeti ecosystem, included buffaloes (25/40), giraffes (8/40), warthogs (3/40), elephants (3/40) and one spotted hyena. In Nguruman, where G. pallidipes flies were analyzed, the feeds were from elephants (6/13) and warthogs (5/13), while buffaloes and baboons accounted for one bloodmeal each. Only cattle blood was detected in flies caught in Busia and Uganda. Out of four flies tested in Mbita Point, Suba District in western Kenya, one had fed on cattle, the other three on the Nile monitor lizard. These results demonstrate that cattle will form an integral part of a control strategy for trypanosomiasis in Busia and Uganda, while different approaches are required for Serengeti and Nguruman ecosystems, where wildlife abound and are the major component of the tsetse fly food source

Hericenols A-D and a chromanone from submerged cultures of a Stereum species

Extracts of submerged cultures of a Stereum species afforded four new pentasubstituted phenolic compounds, named hericenols A, B, C, and D (1-4), 6-hydroxymethyl-2,2-dimethylchroman-4-one (5) and the known erinapyrone C. Hericenol A (1) showed weak antimicrobial activity while hericenol C (3) was weakly cytotoxic. The structures of the metabolites were determined by spectroscopic techniques. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Larvicidal Activity of Mellein from Cultures of an Ascomycete Pezicula Livida against Aedes Aegypti

Mosquito-borne diseases remain one of the major health problems in many developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as other tropical and sub-tropical countries. The resistance of mosquitoes to synthetic chemicals and environmental toxicity created by the chemicals raised the demand for finding of alternate natural molecules that control mosquito. In the present study, a crystalline compound mullein was isolated from the crude extracts prepared from cultures of an ascomyete Pezicula livida. The crude extracts showed larvicidal activity which was tracked by bio-activity guided chromatographic purification to obtain mellein. The larvicidal activity of mellein was evaluated against late 3rd and early 4th instars larvae of Aedes aegypti. The crude extract exhibited 100% larval mortality of Ae. aegypti at 20 ppm. Mellein had LC50 and LC50 values of 1.4 and 4.3 ppm against Ae. aegypti, respectively at 24 h. Mellein is reported here as larvicidal compound for the first time to our best of knowledge

Larvicidal Activity of Mellein from Cultures of an Ascomycete Pezicula Livida against Aedes Aegypti

Mosquito-borne diseases remain one of the major health problems in many developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as other tropical and sub-tropical countries. The resistance of mosquitoes to synthetic chemicals and environmental toxicity created by the chemicals raised the demand for finding of alternate natural molecules that control mosquito. In the present study, a crystalline compound mullein was isolated from the crude extracts prepared from cultures of an ascomyete Pezicula livida. The crude extracts showed larvicidal activity which was tracked by bio-activity guided chromatographic purification to obtain mellein. The larvicidal activity of mellein was evaluated against late 3rd and early 4th instars larvae of Aedes aegypti. The crude extract exhibited 100% larval mortality of Ae. aegypti at 20 ppm. Mellein had LC50 and LC50 values of 1.4 and 4.3 ppm against Ae. aegypti, respectively at 24 h. Mellein is reported here as larvicidal compound for the first time to our best of knowledge

Antimicrobial prenylated acetophenones from berries of Harrisonia abyssinica

The ripe berries of Harrisonia abyssinica yielded two new prenylated acetophenones, namely 5-(ethan-1‴-one)-4,6-dihydroxy-7-(3″, 3″-dimethylallyl)-2S-(1′S-hydroxy-1′,5′-dimethylhex- 4′-enyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran (1) and 5-(2″′-hydroxyethan- 1″′-one)-4,6-dihydroxy-7-(3″,3″-dimethylallyl) -2S-(1′S-hydroxy-1′,5′-dimethylhex-4′-enyl)-2, 3-dihydrobenzofuran (2), herein named harronin I and harronin II, respectively. The compounds were isolated following activity guided fractionation and the structures were determined using 1D, 2D NMR spectroscopic, CD and MS spectrometric techniques. The methanol-dichloromethane mixture (1: 1 v/v) crude extract exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Lactobacillus casei. Harronin I (1) showed a MIC of 5 μg/mL against C. albicans, 6 μg/mL against B. cereus, and more than 20 μg/mL against other tested microorganisms. Harronin II (2) showed much weaker MIC values (> 100 μg/mL) against all the tested microorganisms. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart

Field grain losses and insect pest management practices in subsistence agriculture: Farmers' perceptions

A farm survey was conducted in subsistence farming communities to document the major grain crops, insect pests, indigenous pest control methods (PCM) and farmer perceptions of grain losses associated with identifiable pest species and perceived efficacies of the PCMs. Maize, beans and sorghum were identified as the major staple food crops, with the major pests being cutworm, stem borers, aphids, beanfly, pod borers, armyworms and termites. Statistical analyses revealed that the level of crop yield losses was dependent upon the area cropped, total yield and respondents' background. There was, however, a negative correlation between crop yield loss due to insect pests and the efficacy of PCM applied. Farmers lost, on average, 24.75% of their crop to insect pests with high value crops suffering the greatest insect pest attack in terms of species diversity and magnitude of damage incurred. The occurrence of field insect pests varied from season to season with most species reportedly occurring during the long rains. Most (72.6%) farmers never applied any PCM against all the insect pests of food crops. The use of synthetic pesticides and alternatives accounted for less than 10%. Seventy one percent of the respondents crops, with the major pests being cutworm, stem borers, aphids, beanfly, pod borers, armyworms and termites. Statistical analyses revealed that the level of crop yield losses was dependent upon the area cropped, total yield and respondents' background. There was, however, a negative correlation between crop yield loss due to insect pests and the efficacy of PCM applied. Farmers lost, on average, 24.75% of their crop to insect pests with high value crops suffering the greatest insect pest attack in terms of species diversity and magnitude of damage incurred. The occurrence of field insect pests varied from season to season with most species reportedly occurring during the long rains. Most (72.6%) farmers never applied any PCM against all the insect pests of food crops. The use of synthetic pesticides and alternatives accounted for less than 10%. Seventy one percent of the respondents reported that the efficacy of the PCMs applied was unknown. Some of the indigenous PCMs reportedly used included crude powders and aqueous extracts of local botanical plants such as Tobacco, Tephrosia, and Basil. The study recommends that bioassay-guided investigations be instituted to develop and rationalise the use of identified PCM strategies compatible with the target user domains.Keywords: Farmer perceptions yield loss, indigenous pest control Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology Vol. 8 (1) 2006: pp. 24-4