Aquaculture in Africa: Aquatic Animal Welfare, Impact on the Environment and the Sustainability of the Sector

The African aquaculture sector recorded the fastest growth in the world between 2006-2018, averaging 10% or more, and is expected to partially fill the growing fish supply-demand gap up to 2063. In 2018, there were about 1.2 million aquafarmers across the continent, an increase from 920 thousand in 2014. According to the African Development Bank, expansion of aquaculture in Africa is hampered by the overwhelming predominance of tilapia farming, which relies heavily on the production of fingerlings from a limited number of genetically improved strains that are resistant to the many diseases affecting this species, and on the production of feed that is still largely imported . The Bank cited projections that African aquaculture would grow far more dramatically if it rapidly diversified, rather than remaining dominated by tilapia farming. The review also noted that the sector now generates products not only for direct consumption, but also used in food processing, feed, fuels, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and a variety of other industrial products

Hernia Surgery in Nyeri Provincial General Hospital, Kenya: Our 6 Year Experience

Introduction: Hernia is a common surgical condition world over. Much of hernia surgery in Africa is carried out as an emergency while elective procedures are few. Knowledge of the burden of hernia disease would facilitate optimal resource allocation. Methods: A retrospective audit between 2007 and 2012 was carried out in Nyeri Provincial General Hospital. Results: Hernia surgery accounted for 5.9% (N=239) of all surgeries excluding obstetric operations. The male to female ratio was 1.6:1 and 35.6% were aged below 5 years. Inguinal hernia was the most common type (51.4%) followed by umbilical (21.5%), epigastric (17.5%), incisional (6.2%) and hiatus hernia (3.4%). A painless abdominal or groin swelling was the most common presentation (81.6%). All cases underwent open surgical repair with 93.8% of the operations done electively. The average length of hospital stay was 3 days. Of the inguinal hernias, 81.3% were right while 18.7% were left sided. Methods of inguinal hernia repair included Modified Bassini (79%), Shouldice 4% and Mesh (19%). Surgery was done under general, spinal or local anaesthesia (86%, 12% and 2% respectively). Conclusion: Hernia disease continues to be a significant source of morbidity in our set-up. While majority of the cases can be handled as elective cases, uptake of mesh repair remains low.Key Words: Hernia surgery, Herniorapphy, Groin hernia, Mesh repai

Potential involvement of the immune system in the development of endometriosis

This article presents an overview of immunological factors and their role in the development of endometriosis, with emphasis on inflammatory cytokines, growth and adhesion factors. Although retrograde menstruation is a common phenomenon among women of reproductive age, not all women who have retrograde menstruation develop endometriosis. The development of endometriosis is hypothesised to be a complex process, which may be facilitated by several factors, including the quantity and quality of endometrial cells in peritoneal fluid (PF), increased inflammatory activity in PF, increased endometrial-peritoneal adhesion and angiogenesis, reduced immune surveillance and clearance of endometrial cells, and increased production of autoantibodies against endometrial cells. Potential biomarkers like cytokines and autoantibodies upregulated during development of endometriosis may be useful in the development of a non-surgical diagnostic tool. Although endometriosis can be treated using hormonal suppression, there is need for non-hormonal drugs, which can inhibit the development of endometriosis and alleviate pain or infertility without inhibition of ovulation. New molecules that modulate immune function in endometriosis should be the targets for future research

Cereal Banks or Seed Banks? An Experience from Makoja Arid Village, Dodoma, Tanzania

Cereal Banks, though important, have failed to become sustainable. The banks have always been requiring close monitoring support or subsidies from an outside agency, but collapse when outside monitoring and subsidies end. Such trend has brought worries and made Cereal Banks labeled negative. Failing to become self-sustaining has called for an inventory to analyze the Cereal Bank benefits realized by the communities. In 2012, a cross section study was done involving 80 households in Makoja Village, Dodoma Region. Makoja Village communities are poor, living in arid land and are chronically food insecure. Surprisingly, significant proportion (89 %) of the respondents acknowledges the Community Cereal Bank as the source of seeds to next season. Poor Makoja Community views the Cereal Bank as the Seed Bank to ensure availability of seeds hence food availability. Cereal banks are essentially not failed attempts but rather require continuing support to ensure production and food security of engaged community. The international development community should explore various outputs realised as benefits by engaged communties before terming them unsuccessful. However, there is a need to increase a pace to promote Community Seed Production Systems to assure improved crop production and household  food security. Keywords: Cereal Bank, Seed Bank, Food Insecurit

Efficacy of total lymphocyte count as a surrogate for CD4 cell counts in HIV-infected adults in the era of higher treatment cutoffs and less funding: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background: Total Lymphocyte Count (TLC) has been previously found to be a suitable surrogate for CD4 counts in the management of HIV in resource limited settings. With the new treatment cutoff of 500 cells/mm 3 , its performance needs to be further evaluated. Objective: To determine the efficacy of TLC as a surrogate for CD4 counts in a resource-limited African setting. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was carried out using the medical database at the comprehensive care clinic for HIV patients in Consolata Hospital Nkubu, Meru county, Kenya

Toward Establishing Integrated, Comprehensive, and Sustainable Meningitis Surveillance in Africa to Better Inform Vaccination Strategies

Large populations across sub-Saharan Africa remain at risk of devastating acute bacterial meningitis epidemics and endemic disease. Meningitis surveillance is a cornerstone of disease control, essential for describing temporal changes in disease epidemiology, the rapid detection of outbreaks, guiding vaccine introduction and monitoring vaccine impact. However, meningitis surveillance in most African countries is weak, undermined by parallel surveillance systems with little to no synergy and limited laboratory capacity. African countries need to implement comprehensive meningitis surveillance systems to adapt to the rapidly changing disease trends and vaccine landscapes. The World Health Organization and partners have developed a new investment case to restructure vaccine-preventable disease surveillance. With this new structure, countries will establish comprehensive and sustainable meningitis surveillance systems integrated with greater harmonization between population-based and sentinel surveillance systems. There will also be stronger linkage with existing surveillance systems for vaccine-preventable diseases, such as polio, measles, yellow fever, and rotavirus, as well as with other epidemic-prone diseases to leverage their infrastructure, transport systems, equipment, human resources and funding. The implementation of these concepts is currently being piloted in a few countries in sub-Saharan Africa with support from the World Health Organization and other partners. African countries need to take urgent action to improve synergies and coordination between different surveillance systems to set joint priorities that will inform action to control devastating acute bacterial meningitis effectively

Eff ect of pentavalent rotavirus vaccine introduction on hospital admissions for diarrhoea and rotavirus in children in Rwanda: a time-series analysis

Background In May, 2012, Rwanda became the fi rst low-income African country to introduce pentavalent rotavirus vaccine into its routine national immunisation programme. Although the potential health benefi ts of rotavirus vaccination are huge in low-income African countries that account for more than half the global deaths from rotavirus, concerns remain about the performance of oral rotavirus vaccines in these challenging settings. Methods We conducted a time-series analysis to examine trends in admissions to hospital for non-bloody diarrhoea in children younger than 5 years in Rwanda between Jan 1, 2009, and Dec 31, 2014, using monthly discharge data from the Health Management Information System. Additionally, we reviewed the registries in the paediatric wards at six hospitals from 2009 to 2014 and abstracted the number of total admissions and admissions for diarrhoea in children younger than 5 years by admission month and age group. We studied trends in admissions specifi c to rotavirus at one hospital that had undertaken active rotavirus surveillance from 2011 to 2014. We assessed changes in rotavirus epidemiology by use of data from eight active surveillance hospitals. Findings Compared with the 2009–11 prevaccine baseline, hospital admissions for non-bloody diarrhoea captured by the Health Management Information System fell by 17–29% from a pre-vaccine median of 4051 to 2881 in 2013 and 3371 in 2014, admissions for acute gastroenteritis captured in paediatric ward registries decreased by 48–49%, and admissions specifi c to rotavirus captured by active surveillance fell by 61–70%. The greatest eff ect was recorded in children age-eligible to be vaccinated, but we noted a decrease in the proportion of children with diarrhoea testing positive for rotavirus in almost every age group. Interpretation The number of admissions to hospital for diarrhoea and rotavirus in Rwanda fell substantially after rotavirus vaccine implementation, including among older children age-ineligible for vaccination, suggesting indirect protection through reduced transmission of rotavirus. These data highlight the benefi ts of routine vaccination against rotavirus in low-income settings

Norovirus GII.17 predominates in selected surface water sources in Kenya

In this study, the prevalence and genotypes of noroviruses (NoVs) in selected water sources from rural, urban and refugee settings in Kenya were investigated. Ten litres each of river, household and borehole water was collected in rural (Mboone River), urban (Nairobi and Mutoine River) and refugee (Dadaab refugee camp) settings. NoVs were recovered from the water samples by a glass wool adsorption–elution technique and/or PEG/NaCl precipitation. Nucleic acid was extracted using the automated MagNA Pure platform. NoVs were detected with singleplex real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays and characterised by nucleotide sequence analysis. NoVs were detected in 63 % (25/40) of the selected water samples comprising GII (42.5 %), GI (2.5 %) and mixed GI/GII (17.5 %) positive samples. The prevalence of NoVs in the Mutoine River (urban area) was higher than in the Mboone River (rural area) (P = 0.0013). Noroviruses GI.1, GI.3, GI.9, GII.4, GII.6, GII.12, GII.16 and GII.17 were identified, with GII.17 accounting for 76 % (16/21) of the typed strains. The NoV GII.17 predominance differs to other studies in Africa and further surveillance of NoVs in clinical and environmental settings is required to clarify/elucidate this observation. As information regarding NoVs in Kenyan water sources is limited this report provides valuable new data on NoV genotypes circulating in environmental water sources and the surrounding communities in Kenya.The National Research Foundation, South Africa and the National Council for Science and Technology, Kenya: South Africa/Kenya Research Programme.http://link.springer.com/journal/12560hb2017Medical Virolog

Rhizoctonia in ameliorated and non-ameliorated soils

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