ABSTRACT Introduction: Caesarean section is one of the regular procedures in obstetric practices in Ghana. Caesarean surgical site infection is one of the commonest complications associated with caesarean delivery in developing countries. In order to prevent and decrease the occurrence of the caesarean surgical infections in our health facilities, there is the need to assess the risk factors associated with caesarean surgical site infections. Objectives: To determine the incidence of caesarea...
Abstract Background: Essential oil from Mesembryanthemum edule leaves have been used by the Eastern Cape traditional healers for the treatment of respiratory tract infections, tuberculosis, dysentery, diabetic mellitus, laryngitis and vaginal infections. The investigation of bioactive compounds in the essential oil of this plant could help to verify the efficacy of the plant in the management or treatment of these illnesses. Materials and methods: Various concentrations of the hydro-distill...
ABSTRACT Plant extracts with medicinal value have been used to treat many diseases that can either be bacterial, fungal or parasitic among many others. Plants with medicinal value produce certain chemical elements known as phytochemicals that have antimicrobial activity. Enteric bacterial pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms that are usually located in the intestinal tracts of either animal or human beings. The pathogenic members are usually associated with infections that are charact...
ABSTRACT Introduction; One of the foremost and important steps towards rational anti-fungal use and conservation is drug utilization research. A lot is known about the determinants and patterns of use of antibiotics. However, only few studies have investigated consumption of antifungals in a given population. Methods; the current study is a cross-sectional drug utilisation study of 304 clients purchasing anti-fungal products from retail community Pharmacies. A structured questionnaire was use...
Abstract: Abstract Purpose Push–pull is an intercropping technology that is rapidly spreading among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The technology intercrops cereals with Desmodium to fight off stem borers, eliminate parasitic weeds, and improve soil fertility and yields of cereals. The above-ground components of push–pull cropping have been well investigated. However, the impact of the technol-ogy on the soil microbiome and the subsequent role of the microbiome on diverse eco...
ABSTRACT Developing therapeutics for infectious diseases requires understanding the main processes driving host and pathogen through which molecular interactions influence cellular functions. The outcome of those infectious diseases, including influenza A (IAV) depends greatly on how the host responds to the virus and how the virus manipulates the host, which is facilitated by protein-protein functional inter-actions and analyzing infection associated genes at the systems level, which may ena...
ABSTRACT A major constraint to increased and sustainable production of tomatoes is its infestation by insect pests particularly the tomato fruit worm Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The control of this insect relies heavily on the use of synthetic insecticides which have negative environmental effects. Some insects have developed resistance to certain insecticides. Efforts are therefore being made to look for alternative control strategies that are environmentally-safe...
ABSTRACT Street children are exposed to environmental, socioeconomic and behavioural factors that increase risk of parasitic infections and are excluded from disease control programmes. The prevalence and intensity of parasitic infections as well as the link between the parasitic infections and anaemia status of these children is not known. Epidemiologic information on parasitic infection among street children in Kenya is required for developing appropriate control programs. This was a compar...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Nosocomial or those infections acquired in a hospital setting are a great cause of morbidity in our patients due to their easy transmissibility from a patient to another at times through the health care provider who does not practice appropriate infection control. Of more importance is the fact that, other than their prevalence going up, resistance to antibiotics has developed within the causative agents of these infections. Medical students, like other health staff, ar...
Abstract: Akagera National Park and its surroundings are home to tsetse flies and a number of their mammalian hosts in Rwanda. A One-health approach is being used in the control and surveillance of both animal and human try-panosomosis in Rwanda. Determination of the infection level in tsetse flies, species of trypanosomes circulating in vectors, the source of tsetse blood meal and endosymbionts is crucial in understanding the epidemiology of the disease in animals and humans in the region. ...
Abstract: Intestinal parasitic infections are growing problems worldwide and have been described as constituting the greatest worldwide cause of illnesses and deaths. Entamoeba histolytica / dispar and Giardia lamblia are major causes of infection among protozoan parasites which infect most school children. However, there was no research conducted so far in this regard in the selected study area. Thus, the major objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of parasitic intesti...
INTRODUCTION Hepatitis B is a viral disease process caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B virus is a major cause of acute and chronic hepatitis worldwide and is more prevalence in developing countries. More than 2 billion people are infected with HBV worldwide while some 280million are chronic carriers, harbouring the virus in their liver. The disease is responsible for 80% of all cases of primary liver cases, which is one of leading causes of death in Asia and Af...
Abstract Currently no published data addressing the burden of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) co-infection among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Kenya exists. These two viruses share similar routes of transmission, with illicit drug use by injection being the major route of infection. Injecting drug use is a rapidly growing problem in coastal towns of Kenya and the problem is aggravated by sex tourism.This study aimed at determining the prevalence of HBV in HIV ...
Abstract/Overview Human co-infection with Plasmodium falciparum and helminths is ubiquitous throughout Africa, although its public health significance remains a topic for which there are many unknowns. In this review, we adopted an empirical approach to studying the geography and epidemiology of co-infection and associations between patterns of co-infection and hemoglobin in different age groups. Analysis highlights the extensive geographic overlap between P. falciparum and the major huma...
ABSTRACT Gastrointestinal infections, such as soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) and Salmonella typhi infection, are a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. In rural areas of Kenya, 9.1 million people are at risk of STHs infection with Western Kenya having the highest burden of both STH and S. typhi infection. Siaya County is more prone to S. typhi and STHs infection with Ukwala hospital records estimating the burden of infection at 30%. Given that STHs cause intestinal ulcers that ...