ABSTRACT The World Health Organization (WHO, 2018) defines adolescents as individuals in the 10-19 years age group. Every year estimated 21million girls aged 15-19 years, and 2.5 million girls under 15 years become pregnant and approximately 3.9 million girls aged 15-19 years undergo unsafe abortion every year. Despite the high sexual activity by the Malawian adolescents which is rated at 51 percent, there is low utilization of modern contraception. Failure to utilize the modern contraceptio...
ABSTRACT Although vaccines currently approved for routine childhood immunization are safe and effective, frequent Adverse Events Following Immunization often cause ill health and sometimes loss of public trust in immunization programs. Nurses are essential in AEFI surveillance. During the pre-licensure clinical trials, serious adverse events with low occurrence frequency go undetected due to limited number of enrolled subjects. In Nairobi County, only one Adverse Event Following Immunization ...
ABSTRACT Despite numerous benefits of minimally processed fruits vended as street foods, it has been recognized that they can be a source of foodborne illnesses that can majorly result from poor hygiene practices and unsanitary conditions at fruit vending points. The main objective of the study was to assess the hygiene status and microbial contamination in fruit vending businesses in Nairobi central ward. The study was cross sectional with analytical component and through purposive sampling...
ABSTRACT The global cholera burden is not precisely known since many of the cases lack proper investigation and documentation systems. More importantly, the situation is exacerbated by defective epidemiological surveillance as well as inadequate diagnostic procedures. Isolation of Vibrio cholerae is critical for disease outbreak confirmation. Rapid diagnostic testing of fecal specimens, on basis of lipopolysaccharide detection of V. cholerae O1 or O139 sub-types may enhance early outbreak de...
The increase in human population has put tremendous pressure on natural resources. In Kenya, the growing human population is associated with an increase in developmental needs thus posing a threat to the land resource. This problem has been noted in the high potential areas of the country which support a large population seeking to fully exploit the land resources for their livelihoods and welfare. In Lugari district, human population has been increasing over the years and people have c...
ABSTRACT Typhoid is a disease of public health importance which affects people of all walks of lives in urban, per-urban and rural areas. Water borne diseases, typhoid included kill about five million babies annually and make one sixth of the world population ill. It is estimated that globally about 17 million cases of typhoid fever occur annually causing 600,000 deaths. Typhoid fever is still common in the developing world, where it affects about 12.5 million persons each year. In Kenya the ...
ABSTRACT Obesity is a complex condition that is caused by a mixture of medical, psychological and environmental factors. Childhood obesity is characterized by rise in the number of fat cells. It is one of today’s visible yet neglected Public Health problems with serious health implications such as type2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases that affect individuals in all ages and socio-economic groups. This was a crossectional study aimed at investigating the prevalence of obes...
ABSTRACT Cancer is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide with approximately fourteen million new cases and eight million cancer related deaths annually with an approximated 60 per cent of these new cases and 70 percent of these deaths occurring in Africa and other developing countries. Cervical cancer in particular has contributed a fair share of this burden. In Kenya, cervical cancer incidence and prevalence is second to breast cancer and leading cause of cancer rela...
Most hazardous health effects of activities in small scale industries may not be apparent immediately, however they emerge much later in the life of the exposed individuals. One such small scale industrial activity, is spray painting in informal auto garages, popularly known in Kenya as “Jua Kali garages”. Although various disease symptoms may be associated with spray painting, respiratory and skin diseases are the major ones. The objective of this study therefore, was to establish ...
ABSTRACT Despite continued national and international efforts, access to improved water and sanitation remains limited in many developing countries. The health consequences of lacking access to clean water and proper sanitation are severe, and particularly among children. Sixty-two percent and thirty one percent of all deaths in Africa and Southeast Asia, respectively, are caused by infectious disease associated with WASH. Poor access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitary conditions an...
Major sources of coastal and marine pollution affecting coastal condition vary throughout the world, and there is an increasing body of research indicating that the nature and intensity of development activities, the state and type of industry and agriculture, and the size of human populations are significant contributing factors to each region’s unique problems. This study aimed at understanding the extend and impacts of coastal marine waters from land based pollution sources. The mai...
ABSTRACT High or raised blood pressure (HBP) is a global public health issue and a major cardiovascular risk factor. While the Kenya StepWise survey of 2015 confirmed that more than half (56%) of Kenyans have never been screened for BP, renewed interests in hypertension in children and adolescents has resulted from the recognition that its presence in adults often has its roots at a younger age. It is also still controversial whether mild thyroid dysfunction affects BP. To understand if iodin...
ABSTRACT Knowledge of one’s HIV status through HIV Testing and Counselling remains the first step towards HIV prevention, appropriate care, support and treatment services. The knowledge needs to be coupled with means of accessing and obtaining essential post test services including appropriate care and treatment for all individuals who test HIV positive. Through linkages with care, treatment and support programs, HTC is expected to contribute to lessening the impact of the HIV epidemic on ...
ABSTRACT Worldwide, there has been an increasing concern about occupational exposures and injuries among welders in both the small scale and large scale manufacturing industries. Occupational hazards include activities, processes, or materials related to welding with the potential to cause harm or adverse health effects on people performing this task. The sprawling of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world provides several challenges to ensuring health and safety p...
ABSTRACT Khat (Catha edulis) is a dicotyledonous evergreen shrub of the family Celastraceae whose fresh leaves are habitually chewed for their euphoric properties. The habit of khat chewing is mainly found in Arabia, Somalia, Kenya and has spread to Asia, Europe and other parts of the world due to improvement in transport and communication. Khat consumption was traditionally confined to adult men of the population. However; today khat chewing has become popular among all segments of the popu...