Geophagy and parasitic infections in pregnant women attending an ante-natal care clinic in Thika Hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya

Background: Geophagy, a regular and deliberate habit of eating non-food substances is practiced  worldwide and in sub-Saharan Africa. Pregnant women and children commonly eat soil. Soil consumption exposes one to the risk of consuming eggs of  soil-transmitted intestinal parasites, which may cause severe health consequences for pregnant women and children.Objective: Determine the association between geophagy and parasitic infections in pregnant women attending Thika Level 5 Hospital.Design: Cross sectional hospital based study.Setting: Ante-natal care clinic at Thika Level-5 Hospital.Subjects: Four hundred and ten pregnant women.Results: Twenty six point one percent of the studied women practiced geophagy, majority of whom did it occasionally. Ninety two point five percent preferred soil purchased from market places. Eleven percent of the study women examined were infected with Entamoeba histolytica (8.8%), Trichuris trichiura (1%), Ascaris lumbricoides (1%), Schistosoma mansoni (0.7%), and Strongyloides stercoralis (0.2%). None of the five intestinal parasites detected were however, associated with geophagy, P>0.05. Nevertheless, only the E. histolytica infection (8.4%) was found in women who practised geophagy. Gestation period was associated with E. histolytica infection, p=0.049. Those who ate soil from the garden were more likely to have E. histolytica infection, p=0.026.Closely associated to geophagy were education at   p=0.009, feeding problems at p=0.000 and history of practising geophagyat p=0.000.Conclusion: While geophagy was not associated with parasitic infections in pregnant women, geophagy was found to have a significant association with education, history of geophagy and the feeding problems. Besides, pregnancy trimester and the source of soil were found to beassociated with E. histolytica  infection

Pharmacokinetics of Chloramphenicol in Sheep after Intramuscular Administration

This study was carried out to determine the pharmacokinetics of chloramphenicol in eight sheep injected intramuscularly with chloramphenicol sodium succinate (25 mg/kg body weight). The animals were bled at pre-determined time intervals and serum chloramphenicol concentrations monitored using chloramphenicol-ELISA for a period of 30 days post drug administration. Pharmacokinetic evaluation was carried out using a non-compartment analysis. The mean Cmax values obtained in the eight sheep was 134±34 mg/ml and the time required to reach Cmax (tmax) was 10±0.05 minutes. The mean elimination half-life obtained was 36.37±3.7 h and the mean residence time was 2.83±0.27 h. These findings show that chloramphenicol was absorbed and distributed rapidly from the injection site. At two weeks post drug administration, the drug levels had declined to below the limit of detection of the assay (0.1 ng/ml).Keywords: Chloramphenicol, pharmacokinetics, sheep, ELISAEast and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 12 (2009) 3-

Validation of a competitive chloramphenicol enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for determination of residues in Ovine tissues

Chloramphenicol is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, which has been used for treatment of animals. However, in humans it leads to hematoxic side effects particularly aplastic anaemia for which a dosage-effect relationship has not yet been established. The objective of this study was to validate a developed chloramphenicol enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of chloramphenicol residues in ovine tissues. Two groups (n=5) of sheep were injected with chloramphenicol sodium succinate at 25-mg/kg bodyweight and slaughtered one and four weeks post drug administration. Overall, the mean percentage recoveries in muscle, liver and kidney were 92 %, 70% and 78% respectively. The limits of detection were 1.2 ng/g, 0.6 ng/g and 0.8 ng/g while the detection capability was 2.5 ng/g, 1 ng/g and 1 ng/g in muscle, kidney and liver respectively. This enables the method to be used effectively as a screening tool for chloramphenicol residues in livestock products especially in the liver, muscle and kidney.Keywords: Chloramphenicol, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, ovine, muscle, liver, kidneyEast and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 13 (2010) 12-1

Seroprevalence of Ehrlichia ruminantium (heartwater) in small ruminants in a pastoral production system in Narok district, Kenya

A survey was undertaken on the prevalence of heartwater in Narok district, Kenya as a component of a broader study to establish constraints to livestock production in a Maasai pastoral production system. Serum samples were collected on a single occasion from 147 Red Maasai sheep and 149 Small East African goats aged 6 months to 3 years from three sites in the district. The sera were tested for antibodies to Ehrlichia ruminantium, by a MAP1 B ELISA. The sero-prevalence of E. ruminantium ranged from 62% to 82.5% in sheep, while in goats the range was 42.5% to 52%. Brain crush smears prepared from a dead sheep on the study site were positive for E. ruminantium organisms thus confirming the presence of the disease. The most prevalent tick species observed on the animals was Rhipicephallus appendiculatus with a mean tick count per animal of 3.98 to 5.67 while the mean tick count for Amblyomma variegatum, the vector of heartwater, was 0.015 to 0.12 per animal. The results of the study do suggest that the farmers need to adopt a regular tick control programme to prevent the susceptible animals from getting infected with heartwater. Keywords: seroprevalence, survey, pastoral production system, sheep and goats, Ehrlichia ruminantium Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa Vol. 54(1) 2006: 23-3

Prevalence of parasitic infections in small ruminants in a pastoral community in Narok district, KenyaPrevalence des infections parasitaires chez les petits ruminants dans une communaute pastorale du district de Narok au Kenya

A cross-sectional study was carried out in two villages (Emorijoi and Ngoswani) in Lemek group ranch and one village (Enkoje) situated in Koyaki group ranch in Narok District to investigate parasitic infections in small ruminants. Blood and faecal samples were collected from 150 sheep and an equal number of goats during wet season (May-June) and dry season (August-September) and analyzed using different parasitological methods. The findings showed that parasites infecting small ruminants in the area were helminthes, Cowdria ruminantium, ticks and trypanosomes. The most prevalent genera of nematodes identified were Strongyles, which usually occurred concurrently in most animals. The percentage of animals with at least one or more helminth eggs detected during the wet season in sheep and goats was 36% (54) and 52% (78) respectively before deworming with Nilzan plus (1.5% levamisole plus refoxanide hydrochloride). Approximately two months after deworming the animals, this percentage of animals declined to 18% (27) and 24.6% (37) in sheep and goats respectively during the dry season. During the wet season the overall trypanosome prevalence in sheep and goats was 1.3% (2) and 4.6% (7) respectively and decreased significantly to 0% (0, goats) (P0,05). Le taux de prvalence globale de la cowdriose tait beaucoup plus lev (