School of Public Health, Biomedical Sciences and Technology

CHARACTERIZATION OF PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA RECOVERED FROM SURGICAL SITES AT KAKAMEGA COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

CHARACTERIZATION OF PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA RECOVERED FROM SURGICAL SITES AT KAKAMEGA COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL Kindiki, Sarah Karauki Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a significant pathogen in surgical site infections (SSIs) due to its diverse virulence factors and high antibiotic resistance. It is important to understand its prevalence, resistance profiles, genotypic diversity, and physiological attributes in order to formulate effective treatment and infection control strategies. The objective of the investigation was to ascertain the prevalence of P. aeruginosa among bacterial isolates from surgical sites, evaluate the antibiotic resistance profiles of these isolates, assess their genotypic diversity, and determine major physiological characteristics that contribute to their pathogenicity. Standard microbiological techniques were employed to confirm the presence of P. aeruginosa isolates among the 128 bacterial isolates collected and identified from surgical sites. The disc diffusion method was employed to conduct antibiotic susceptibility testing. Sequence typing and phylogenetic analysis were employed to investigate genotypic diversity. Protease secretion, motility, exoprotein production, pigment production, and quorum sensing (QS) activity were evaluated to ascertain their contribution to virulence. In order to identify resistance patterns and ascertain the susceptibility of isolates to a variety of antibiotics, a statistical analysis of antibiotic resistance data, including MIC values, was performed. The genetic relationships among the isolates were revealed through the construction of phylogenetic trees using sequence typing data. Categorical variables were investigated using chi-square analysis, with a significance level of P<0.05. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to identify clustering patterns associated with biofilm formation and QS activity, and physiological data were analysed to compare the virulence characteristics of various isolates. P. aeruginosa was identified as the most prevalent bacterium, accounting for 38.9% of the isolates. The antibiotic susceptibility testing demonstrated significant multidrug resistance, with resistance rates of 60.7% for Ceftazidime, 60.7% for Ciprofloxacin, and 71.4% for Amikacin. Meropenem demonstrated the maximum sensitivity, with a value of 53.6%. Genotypic analysis revealed substantial diversity, including multiple sequence types (STs) and distinct phylogenetic clusters, which suggest both genetic variability and clonal dissemination. Physiological evaluations demonstrated that protease secretion, motility, exoprotein production, and QS activity were subject to variation, with certain isolates exhibiting heightened pathogenic potential. The study emphasises the high prevalence and multidrug resistance of P. aeruginosa in surgical site infections, as well as the significant genotypic diversity and complex physiological traits that contribute to its pathogenesis. These results underscore the necessity of enhanced infection control, targeted antibiotic stewardship, and ongoing research into innovative therapeutic strategies to effectively manage P. aeruginosa infections.

EFFECT OF CRICKET ENRICHED PORRIDGE AND NUTRITION EDUCATION ON GROWTH AND GUT HEALTH OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN IN ALEGO USONGA, SIAYA COUNTY

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

EFFECT OF CRICKET ENRICHED PORRIDGE AND NUTRITION EDUCATION ON GROWTH AND GUT HEALTH OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN IN ALEGO USONGA, SIAYA COUNTY OKEYO, NICKY ODHIAMBO Globally about 45% of all deaths in children is attributed to undernutrition. Children who survive severe undernutrition suffer long-term growth retardation. There is a growing interest in insects for alleviation of malnutrition due to their energy density, protein quality, vitamins and mineral contents. Insects can potentially replace dairy and flesh in complementary foods (CFs) in food insecure settings. In this study, infants 6 months old were exposed to daily serving of insect-based CF for 8 months, with their mothers exposed to nutrition education were evaluated for linear growth as primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included skinfolds and dietary diversity. The study was an experimental randomized controlled trial with 4 study arms. It enrolled 284 mother infant dyads, randomly assigned to the study arms at Rwambwa Sub-County Hospital. Each dyad was assigned to a combination of the two treatments: Cricket treatment (+/-CR), and Nutrition Education treatment (+/-ED). The study CFs were provided monthly as take-home rations adjusted for age, while +NE sessions were monthly personalized audio-visual sessions with both education messages and reminder sent to the mother’s mobile phones. Monthly, infant anthropometric, feeding practices and child health data were collected using structured questionnaires. Gut health at baseline was tested in a random sample of 40 infants using 13C-Sucrose breath test. Both study CFs had high acceptability rate of 98.3% and 99.2% for +CR and -CR respectively. The researcher observed a significant (Z=-0.28 (p=0.03)) height-for-age z-score (HAZ) effect between -CR and +CR with no significant change in height on either cricket or education treatment. Signifying a relatively similar growth rate in terms of absolute height. Nutrition education to mothers significantly improved the weight-for-height (WHZ), irrespective of CFs consumed by a magnitude of 0.45 WHZ-score. Those suffering more than 3 episodes of illness were significantly (p=0.03) associated with at least a four times likelihood of suffering acute malnutrition as noted by low middle upper arm circumference (MUAC). Girls were significantly (p=0.01) 1.98 times likely to be malnourished by MUAC compared to boys at end-line. The mean cumulative % 13C sucrose dose recovered in a breath at 90 min from stunted infants was lower compared to the non stunted. It is supposed that high breastfeeding rates combined with the small difference in nutrients composition, limited detection of difference in absolute linear growth and stunting effect. Concluding, this similarity in growth rate in all study arms suggest the potential of insects in providing healthy protein comparative to the super cereal. The study recommends, uptake of safe, deliciously prepared cricket porridge to enhance diet diversity, with a call for research on gut health for more insight on their contribution to human growth. Key words: infants, insects, crickets, complementary feeding, linear growth, gut health

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF COMPOUNDS ISOLATED FROM SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM NANDI COUNTY, KENYA

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF COMPOUNDS ISOLATED FROM SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM NANDI COUNTY, KENYA Kogo, Kimutai Nicholas Microbial infections are becoming a major public health problem due to the emergence of multi-drug resistant bacterial strains. Traditional healers have long used plants to treat bacterial infections. Globally, 80% of the people depend on traditional medicine as primary health care to treat different human ailments. Hence, there is an increased interest in ethno pharmacological approaches to identify compounds from plants that can be used to treat bacterial infections. However, the efficacy of most of these plant extracts and their compounds have not been determined. Questionnaires were used to ascetain plants that are used to treat bacterial infections and disesases. Fresh plant parts were collected from the field, dried and the extracts obtained using methanol. The extracts were screened for antibacterial activities against selected strains of bacteria using disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods. Active plant extracts were further used for isolation of compounds and to determined the antibacterial activities of crude and isolated compounds. Bioguided fraction isolation using column chromatography was employed to isolate compounds. Antibacterial activities of the isolated compounds was determined as indicated above for plant extracts. Structural elucidation of the bioactive compoundsn was done using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Thirty three (33) medicinal plants distributed within 24 botanical families were found to be used against bacterial infections. Majority of medicinal plants were used to treat pneumonia 11 (33.3%), wounds 10 (30.3%) and diarrhea10 (30.3%), followed by skin diseases 9 (27.3%). Other remedies used fewer plants species. Seventeen (17) medicinal plants were screened for antibacterial activities basing on the frequency of their use. The extracts from O. rochetiana, A. lahai, L. calastachys and C. myricoides were active against 60% of the test microorganisms and were considered for further tests. Ethyl acetate extracts (EAE) were the most active extracts from all the the plant extract selected except hexane (HE) extracts of L. calastachys. Antibacterial activities of fractions from active successive extracts were determined. Antibacterial activities of O. rochetiana and A. lahai were the most active against majority of bacteria with highest inhibition zone of 14 mm against MR. S. aureus.

GENOTYPIC CHARACTERISTICS AND MOLECULAR MARKERS OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT NONTUBERCULOUS MYCOBACTERIA AND ASSOCIATED CLINICAL OUTCOMES AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING BUNGOMA COUNTY, KENYA

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

GENOTYPIC CHARACTERISTICS AND MOLECULAR MARKERS OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT NONTUBERCULOUS MYCOBACTERIA AND ASSOCIATED CLINICAL OUTCOMES AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING BUNGOMA COUNTY, KENYA RONALD, WAMALWA