Antimicrobial resistance profiles of selected enterobacteriaceae contaminanting raw beef from retail butcheries In Kakamega Town, Kenya

Background: Meat has been the main source of protein foodstuff globally since ancient times to date. However, it should not habour disease causing agents. Its high nutritive value has been found to hasten microbial growth.Objective: To determine antimicrobial resistance profiles of selected Enterobacteriaceae isolates from raw beef samples.Design: This was a cross-sectional study to determine antimicrobial resistance profiles of bacteria isolated from raw beef. Antibiofilm formation activity was determined. Statistical analysis techniques such as descriptive statistics and chisquare test of homogeneity were used for data analysis.Setting: Samples were obtained from selected 54 retail butcheries in Kakamega town, analysis was done at Masinde Muliro University microbiology laboratory.Results: Out of the 1296 samples collected, 548/1296(42.3%) were contaminated with E. coli, 80/1296(6.17%) with Salmonella sp. and 20/1296(1.54%) with Shigella spp. Among the 548 E. coli strains sensitivity to quinolones differed (nalidixic acid-486/548 and ciprofloxacin-535/548), and all the strains were sensitive to chloramphenicol and ceftriaxone, 72.6% of the E. coli isolates were sensitive to gentamicin, 21% to streptomycin, and 89% to kanamycin. About, 70 (87.5%) strains of Salmonella species isolated were sensitive to all the drugs though some [10 (12.5%)] were resistant to cotrimoxazole, ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid. All the 20(100.0%) isolates of Shigella sp, were sensitive to all the drugs tested in this study.Conclusion: Raw beef samples were found to be contaminated with enterobacteriaceae. E. coli was the main contaminant isolated, also major antimicrobial resistant isolate. The study recommends stringent hygiene measures on butcheries and personnel handling meat

Sickle cell trait frequencies in blood donors and its effect among recepients in Bungoma County, Kenya

Sickle cell trait blood can cause complications in transfused patients.Objective: This study aimed at evaluating the prevalence of sickle cell trait among the blood donors and its impact in transfused patients in Bungoma County.Design: A cross sectional study targeting healthy blood donors and patients transfused with sickle cell trait blood in Bungoma County from January 2019 to January 2020.Participants: A total of 350 blood donors and 10 patients transfused with sickle cell trait blood were enrolled.Results: The sickle cell trait prevalence amongst the blood donor population in Bungoma County was deduced to be 14.28 %.White, red blood cell counts, haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin and mean cell haemoglobin concentration parameters were not affected in patients transfused with sickle cell trait blood ( p = 0.466, 0.980, 0.787, 0.886, 0.971, 0.476 and 0.524).Also, liver function tests in the same patients was not affected ( p= 0.2193, 0.4678, 0.3052 and 0.7263) respectively for Alanine, Aspartate, Direct and Total Bilirubin levels respectively.Conclusion: There were no clinical abnormalities in patients transfused with sickle cell trait, however it was observed that acquired haemoglobin AS (Sickle cell trait) was detected among the transfused population