Cancer patterns in Arua district, Uganda: a hospital-based retrospective study.

Introduction: Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality with over 19 million cases and 10 million deaths worldwide. Available data on cancer patterns in Uganda are through modelling of data from two population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) representing only about 10% of the cancer situation in Uganda. This study sought to determine the common types of cancer among adults and children in Arua District over a 5-year period (2017-2021).

Hepatitis B virus infection status and associated factors among health care workers in selected hospitals in Kisumu County, Kenya: A cross-sectional study.

Poorly managed medical waste produced at the health facilities are potential source of infections including occupational exposure to Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). This study evaluated the prevalence of HBV infection among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Kisumu County. We determined prevalence of HBV infections among 192 HCWs from nine purposively selected high-patient volume public hospitals in Kisumu County.

Intimate partner violence among pregnant women attending prenatal care in Bondo sub-county, Western Kenya.

Objectives: To investigate prevalence and factors that contribute to intimate partner violence among pregnant women attending prenatal care in Bondo sub-county, Western Kenya.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis was conducted in three health facilities in Bondo, Western Kenya, from August 2020 to August 2021. Using systematic sampling 360 pregnant women attending prenatal care were selected.

Determinants of the uptake of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy with sulphadoxine pyrimethamine in Sabatia Sub County, Western Kenya.

Background: Annually, 125.2 million pregnant women worldwide risk contracting malaria, including 30.3 million and 1.

Perennial transmission of malaria in the low altitude areas of Baringo County, Kenya.

Background: Malaria causes the greatest public health burden in sub-Saharan Africa where high mortality occurs mainly in children under 5 years of age. Traditionally, malaria has been reported mainly in the lowlands endemic regions of western Kenya, while the highlands of the Rift Valley have been relatively free except for the sporadic epidemics in some areas. Baringo County is located in the Kenyan highlands.

Effect of climatic variability on malaria trends in Baringo County, Kenya.

Background: Malaria transmission in arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya such as Baringo County, is seasonal and often influenced by climatic factors. Unravelling the relationship between climate variables and malaria transmission dynamics is therefore instrumental in developing effective malaria control strategies. The main aim of this study was to describe the effects of variability of rainfall, maximum temperature and vegetation indices on seasonal trends of malaria in selected health facilities within Baringo County, Kenya.

CD23b isoform expression in human schistosomiasis identifies a novel subset of activated B cells.

Resistance to schistosomiasis is associated with increased levels of serum parasite-specific IgE. IgE exerts its functions through its cellular receptors, FcεRI and FcεRII/CD23; however, its functional significance in humans requires further characterization. We previously reported that increased levels of CD23(+) B cells correlate with resistance to schistosomiasis in hyperexposed populations and sought to define their potential function and relationship with IgE.

Human schistosomiasis is associated with endotoxemia and Toll-like receptor 2- and 4-bearing B cells.

Schistosomiasis is caused by parasitic trematodes. Individuals can accumulate hundreds of intravascular worms, which secrete a myriad of antigenic molecules into the bloodstream. Some of these molecules suppress immunity to microbial Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, such as lipopolysaccharides, which may increase host susceptibility to coinfecting pathogens.

CD23-bound IgE augments and dominates recall responses through human naive B cells.

Human peripheral blood BCRμ(+) B cells express high levels of CD23 and circulate preloaded with IgE. The Ag specificity of CD23-bound IgE presumably differs from the BCR and likely reflects the Ag-specific mix of free serum IgE. CD23-bound IgE is thought to enhance B cell Ag presentation to T cells raising the question of how a B cell might respond when presented with a broad mix of Ags and CD23-bound IgE specificities.