Bacterial contamination in platelet concentrates prepared at Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service (NRBTC)

Background: Contamination of platelets may result from bacterial inoculation into the blood bags. This is due to insufficient disinfection of the venipuncture site.Objective: To determine the prevalence of bacterial contamination in platelet concentrates prepared at Nairobi Regional Blood Transfusion Centre (NRBTC).Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study was used.Setting: The study was conducted at Nairobi Regional Blood Transfusion CentreSubject: Nighty one (91) platelet concentrates were selected for the studyResults: The prevalence of bacterial contamination was 12.1% (11/91) with 95 CI [5.4%-18.8%]. Out of the 11 concentrates that were contaminated, Staphylococcus epidermis was isolated from 5 units, staphylococcus aureus from 4 units and pseudomonas paucimobilis from 2 units.Conclusion: The isolates obtained in the donated blood are skin associated organisms and are considered as contaminants related to venepuncture process during the blood donation process. Based on these findings, there is need to review the quality assurance protocol and focus mainly on the venepuncture process

Women empowerment in livestock index (WELI) baseline report - Kenya

The research/ survey addresses whether the Women Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) percentage of indicators differ significantly from baseline to post intervention. WELI is a standardized survey tool that measures empowerment of women in the livestock sector at the level of the household and along the vaccination value chain (VVC). The survey is constructed so as to better understand levels of agency, empowerment and decision-making capacity of women within households. The report analyzes scores and the meaning of measurement indicators. In Kenya, the study found no significant association between empowerment scores and being knowledgeable about animal health, or between access to information regarding the vaccines

Are antepartum urinary tract infections associated with adverse perinatal outcomes in Kenya?

Background: Pregnant women are considered immuno-compromised because of the physiologic changes associated with pregnancy. Consequently, they often host urinary tract infections which have been implicated as a risk factor for numerous complications. Objective: To investigate the antepartum urinary tract infection profile among pregnant women in Kenya and their association with perinatal outcomes. Methodology: A retrospective cohort of expectant women admitted at Kisii Level 5 hospital in 2012 were studied to determine the prevalence of urinary tract infections in pregnancy. The antenatal records were also correlated with adverse perinatal outcomes. Results: Out of the 2014 pregnant women attending clinic in this study, 14.4% were diagnosed with urinary tract infections in the third trimester. The prevalence rate of the infections was affected by the age, with pregnant women below 25 years showing higher susceptibility (P= 0.018) compared to pregnant women above 35 years age group. There was a significant association between preterm delivery, low birth weights and urinary tract infections in pregnant women (P<0.01). However, there was no significant correlation between maternal urinary tract infections and the incidence of neonatal sepsis at P=0.05. Discussion: Pregnant women under the age of 25 are vulnerable to urinary tract infections resulting in adverse perinatal outcomes in the study population. This reinforces the need for screening of pregnant women and treatment of urinary tract infections to reduce perinatal complications. Further research is required to elucidate the underlying risk factors for neonatal sepsis. Key Words: pregnancy, urinary tract infections, perinatal outcomes, preterm delivery, low birth weigh

On Quality of Service and Geo-service Compositions

Geographic information services (geo-services) are gaining popularity as an efficient and costeffective framework for integrating geo-information systems, within and between enterprises, to enhance enterprise business processes. Geo-services can be chained dynamically to create customised geo-information and value-added services and therefore offer a business opportunity for disparate partners to collaborate and address the needs of consumers in the marketplace. Nonetheless, commercial exploitation of geo-service technology demands a computing platform that facilitates chaining of geo-services taking into account user requirements, both functional and quality of service (QoS), and that is capable of handling changes in the marketplace. We call such a platform a geo-service infrastructure. A geo-service infrastructure enables geo-services possibly offered by different enterprises and with potentially different capabilities to be discovered, composed and executed to obtain customized information and value-added services suited to user needs. In this paper we prescribe a geo-service infrastructure and define how it facilitates QoS-aware chaining of geo-services. We identify the basic components of the infrastructure and define their main functions. We also elaborate on the design principles upon which the infrastructure is based and explore how the infrastructure can be realized