ABSTRACT Crop production has continued to decline in sub-Saharan Africa due to soil infertility and increased cost of farm inputs. To enhance food security, farmers have adopted the use of both inorganic and organic fertilizers on their farms. The production and use of inorganic chemical fertilizers are not only expensive for family farming systems but also contribute significantly to environmental pollution. Biological nitrogen fixation using rhizobia has proven to be a cost-effective and en...
ABSTRACT Viral hepatitis B and C co-infections among Human immunodeficiency virus infected patients is significantly becoming a worrying public health problem worldwide. The three infectious viruses’ shares common routes of transmission including, blood transfusion, sexual intercourse, and injecting drug users among others, which could be the reason for the co-infections observed in the previous studies in sub-Sahara Africa. In Kenya, the documented data from the studies conducted indicate ...
ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is a major food-borne pathogen that poses a serious threat to public health. In Kenya, with the continuous water shortage, proper sanitary conditions are not sufficiently met and hence pre-disposing the community to S. aureus infections. One of the difficulties of controlling S. aureus food poisoning is that food can contain a very high population of the bacteria without being noticeably identified. It has been suggested that food-borne diseases represent one of...
ABSTRACT Water contamination is a serious threat to human health especially if the contaminant is from sewage. Ground water is increasingly used as a water source in urban settlements due to limited sources of fresh surface water. This has increased the vulnerability of underground water sources to sewage and waste water contamination and therefore exposing the population to infections by various water borne pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Exposure to these bacteria coupled ...
ABSTRACT The cut-flower industry is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of the horticultural industry contributing significantly to the continued growth of Kenyan economy. Roses are the most popular cut-flowers world-wide. Rose flower production in Kenya faces significant challenges particularly with regard to pests and diseases. Crown gall disease caused by A. tumefaciens is one of the limiting factors in the production of roses. The disease is widespread in rose flower farms and nurserie...
ABSTRACT Typhoid fever is a major cause of human mortality throughout large areas of the world. Human typhoid occurs following the ingestion of the Salmonella typhi bacteria, mostly found in contaminated water, animal products or close association with an infected individual. This study aimed to investigate the major factors contributing to the persistent attacks by typhoid fever among people of Mwea region. In addition, the study also aimed at investigating the microbial load of the water an...
ABSTRACT Lake Victoria is the main source of water in Homa Bay town as well as the surrounding community. Increase in population in the resent past has led to intensified human activities with a possible compromise on the sanitation standards around the town consequently resulting into increased fecal load to the lake through fecal pollution. Increased fecal contamination of the lake has consequently led to an increase in pathogenic microorganisms including waterborne enteric viruses. These v...
ABSTRACT Tuberculosis (TB), an ancient scourge of humanity known for several thousands of years, is still a main public health challenge in many countries today even though some progress has been made recently in curbing the disease. Deferred diagnosis, poor treatment regimens and fatality qualify drug-resistant and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB). Unlike other bacterial pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis lacks plasmid mediated mechanisms of resistance. Drug resistance in M. tub...
ABSTRACT The Avian family has been a significant source of human epidemic. Over the last three decades, reports on yeast infections in humans have increased especially with respect to immunocompromised individuals. This is associated with increased morbidity and mortality especially in HIV/AIDS immunocompromised individuals. The purpose of this study was to isolate and characterize pathogenic yeasts from domestic Chicken (Gallus gallus) dropping. The droppings were collected from Kabigeriet ...
ABSTRACT Sanitary materials (pads and diapers) are mainly made of cellulose and non-degradable synthetic elements including superabsorbent gel which collects fluids. These materials are disposed of in the open together with other domestic waste in the low-income urban settlements in Kenya. The waste remains uncollected for long, thus posing health risk to street children and the neighborhood especially when scattered by stray dogs, cats and chicken. The scattered sanitary materials are a nuis...
ABSTRACT Salmonellosis is one of the most common and widely distributed group of enteric diseases in the world today. It causes high mortality and morbidity especially in developing countries. This study was aimed at identifying the factors that predispose people to salmonellosis. In addition the study was meant to isolate Salmonella, and determine its antimicrobial sensitivity and test the effectiveness of water treatment for the control of salmonellosis. To identify the predisposing factors...
ABSTRACT Medicinal plants have been used since time immemorial to treat and prevent human ailments. WHO indicates that up to 80% of the world’s population uses traditional medicine. Infections caused by bacteria and fungi have become a major health problem globally accounting for over 50,000 deaths every day. It is estimated that more than 70% of the pathogenic bacteria are resistant to at least one of the antibiotics commonly used to treat them. Conventional drugs are expensive and have s...
ABSTRACT Proper management strategies for huge amounts of crop residue generated from agricultural farms need to be obtained. Composting is a good strategy in rice straw management. Traditional methods of composting rice straw are limited in timely production of good quality compost due to its recalcitrant nature. There is need to develop and formulate microbial starter cultures that are adapted to local climatic conditions to ensure efficiency in using microorganisms in composting. This st...
ABSTRACT Tinea capitis is a worldwide public health problem that affects children below 15 years of age and requires identification of the specific causative fungal agent. The hair and skin of the scalp are associated with symptoms and signs of inflammation and hair loss. Poor hygiene, low standards of living, sharing of hair devices or garment, climate conditions and overcrowding are some of the predisposing factors contributing to frequent transmission of the infection. Several previous st...
ABSTRACT Global crop and energy production are fast dwindling inversely to population growth. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) yield has reduced worldwide due to soil infertility which can be reversed through application of chemical fertilizers. The chemical fertilizers used to ameliorate nitrogen, phoshorus and potassium are expensive and cause both deleterious physico‒chemical modification of soil and water mass eutrophication. The common bean has ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen s...