Abstract: Chilo partellus Swinhoe (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is an exotic cereal stem borer that was accidentally introduced into Africa from South Eastern Asia early 20th century. It is now widespread in most of the lowland areas of the Eeastern and Southern parts of the African continent. The invasive stem borer C. partellus, has proved to be a highly competitive colonizer in many of the areas it has invaded in eastern and southern Africa, often becoming the most serious stem borer.
Abstract: The efficacy of Limburger cheese as an odour bait for sampling African malaria vectors was evaluated. Studies were done in Suba district, Western Kenya at Lwanda Nyamasare village and in a screen house set up at the Thomas Odhiambo campus of the International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). Preliminary investigations compared mosquitoes caught by a Counter Flow Geometry (CFG) trap baited with Limburger cheese, a standard centres for disease control (COC) light trap...
Abstract: The long-horned grasshopper (Ruspolia differens) is a delicacy in Uganda and many African countries. It is traditionally trapped at night during the swarming seasons using mercury bulbs that consume a lot of electric energy and pollute the environment. In addition, thecollection drums used in the traditional trappingtechnique are non-selective,trapping non-target insects, some of which are allergenic to humans. Further, these traps areinefficient in retaining the insects.The Intern...
Abstract: Edible insects are now globally recognisedas alternative sources of food and feed. Currently, over 470 spp of insects are consumed in Africa alone, with Ruspolia differensbeing the most common in central Uganda.Harvesting and trading of these insects is done informally andthe post-harvest handling, processingand marketing involvesseveral people. These coupled with other factors increase the risk of microbial contamination of R. differens. This study identifiedand characterisedbacte...
ABSTRACT Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a dominant aquatic macrophyte found in tropical rivers, which has a relationship with the food web, and surrounding environment. This study aimed to investigate the influence of Eichhornia crassipes on the seasonal abundance and distribution of members of the phylum Rotifera in Ovia River, Edo State. Four stations of the river were selected along the river, and samples were collected monthly from April to September, 2019. Quantitative sample...
Abstract The distribution, nesting habits and activity as well as seasonal population pattern of Camponotus acvapimensis Mayr were studied in a savanna area of Ghana* The ants were distributed in the poor shaded areas of the savanna grassland* Type of soil, light and food availability were found to influence the nesting and anti’s distribution. Analysis for preference of nesting sites indicated that the ants nest in the soil or grass roots but where wood is available, the bark formed a ve...
ABSTRACT Bats are nocturnal mammals found everywhere except in the Antarctica and Arctic regions. They are important for the maintenance of the ecosystem in terms of pollination and seed dispersal, particularly in tropical regions, as well as in controlling insect populations that would otherwise be pests. Bats have been reported as reservoir hosts for several pathogens including viruses such as Ebola, Nipah, Hendra and Lyssa. The purpose of the study was to document the parasites that infes...
ABSTRACT The important role of antibody-mediated mechanisms in protection from clinical malaria has been demonstrated by passive transfer experiments but the targets of protective immunity are not clearly defined. A number of antigens are however in various stages of testing as possible vaccine candidates. Polymorphism in these antigens, which has been reported to be an immune evasion mechanism, has hampered the development of these antigens as vaccines since antibody responses against one a...
ABSTRACT The environment harbours many bacterial species, some of which include non-tuberculous mycobacteria which have recently become important in public health. Isolation of mycobacteria from the environment has not been easy because of the presence of other fast growing bacteria and fungi. For isolation of mycobacteria from the environment, decontamination methods that minimize contamination but maximize recovery of mycobacteria are needed. This study sought to compare three decontaminat...
ABSTRACT Interventions adopted for the eradication of dracunculiasis in Borno State were evaluated between July 2003 and June 2004 to assess the feasibility of the 2009 target date set for the eradication of guinea worm. Data on cases in Nigeria; North east zone, and Borno State from 1995 - 2007 were obtained from Nigeria Guinea Worm Eradication Programme. Primary data on the cases occurring during the 2003/2004 were obtained through active surveillance. The various intervention strategies...
ABSTRACT Sericulture (Silk farming) is the rearing of silk moths for the production of raw silk. Silk farming originated from China where it was secretly practiced for many years before spreading to other parts of the world. Silk moths are grouped into mulberry silk moths (domesticated) and wild silk moths. Silk moth cocoon has a double filament made of insoluble protein known as fibroin which is embedded in a water soluble protein called sericin. Prior to processing cocoons, are boiled in s...
ABSTRACT Marine pollution is increasingly becoming a problem along the Kenyan coast. ' I Heavy metals and organochlorine pollutants have the potential to damage the delicate marine ecosystem with the result that the country's important foreign exchange earner - tourism - could seriously be affected. This study aimed at assessing the levels of cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, manganese, iron and titanium using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescene (EDXRF) and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) in...
ABSTRACT Parasites play an important role in ecosystems including shaping the populations and communities of their hosts. Majority of arthropod parasites transmit vector-borne zoonotic diseases, some of which are transmissible to humans and livestock. Birds are a host to a variety of arthropod parasites. Despite their importance, parasites continue being excluded in most ecological inventories. For example, the diversity of avian fauna in Kenya is fairly well known yet little is known about t...
ABSTRACT The biosafety of commonly used domestic grinding techniques was investigated; the effects of attrition mills using new (attrition mill 1) and old (attrition mill 2) plates, wooden mortar and pestle, grinding stone and electric blender on iron content of wetground staple foods, Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) and Capsicum frutescens (pepper) were examined in this study. Attrition mill 1 was in use 4 weeks prior to this study while the attrition mill 2 had newly installed grinding plate....
ABSTRACT The development of resistance to insecticides by Anopheles mosquitoes continues to threaten the success of malaria control programmes in West Africa. Local data on mechanisms and factors causing resistance in the region are scanty. This study was designed to investigate the environmental factors and mechanisms implicated in resistance to pyrethroids by Anopheles gambiae in southwestern Nigeria and southern Benin Republic. Larvae of Anopheles mosquito were collected in 2007 from 19...