Long-term impact of rotavirus vaccination on all-cause and rotavirus-specific gastroenteritis and strain distribution in Central Kenya: An 11-year interrupted time-series analysis.

Background: Kenya introduced a monovalent rotavirus vaccine administered orally at 6 and 10 weeks of age into her National Immunization Program in July 2014. The study evaluated the long-term impact of the vaccine on hospitalization for all-cause and rotavirus-specific acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and strain epidemiology in Kenya.

Methods: Data on all-cause and rotavirus-specific AGE and strain distribution were derived from an eleven-year hospital-based surveillance of AGE among children aged <5 years at Kiambu County Teaching and Referral Hospital (KCTRH) in Central Kenya between 2009 and 2020.

Application of Hybridization Chain Reaction/CRISPR-Cas12a for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Globally, the emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on life. The need for ongoing SARS-CoV-2 screening employing inexpensive and quick diagnostic approaches is undeniable, given the ongoing pandemic and variations in vaccine administration in resource-constrained regions. This study presents results as proof of concept to use hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas12a complex for detecting SARS-CoV-2.

Characterization of influenza infection in a high-income urban setting in Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: Influenza viruses are an important cause of respiratory infections across all age groups. Information on occurrence and magnitude of influenza virus infections in different populations in Kenya however remains scanty, compromising estimation of influenza disease burden. This study examined influenza infection in an urban high-income setting in Nairobi to establish its prevalence and activity of influenza viruses, and evaluated diagnostic performance of a rapid influenza diagnostic test.

Impact of integrated water, sanitation, hygiene, health and nutritional interventions on diarrhoea disease epidemiology and microbial quality of water in a resource-constrained setting in Kenya: A controlled intervention study.

Objectives: We assessed the impact of water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), maternal, new-born and child health (MNCH), nutrition and early childhood development (ECD) on diarrhoea and microbial quality of water in a resource-constrained rural setting in Kenya.

Methods: Through a controlled intervention study, we tested faecal and water samples collected from both the intervention and control sites before and after the interventions using microbiological, immunological and molecular assays to determine the prevalence of diarrhoeagenic agents and microbial quality of water. Data from the hospital registers were used to estimate all-cause diarrhoea prevalence.

Analysis of Environmental and Pathogenic Bacteria Attached to Aerosol Particles Size-Separated with a Metal Mesh Device.

Metal mesh devices (MMDs) are novel materials that enable the precise separation of particles by size. Structurally, MMDs consist of a periodic arrangement of square apertures of characteristic shapes and sizes on a thin nickel membrane. The present study describes the separation of aerosol particles using palm-top-size collection devices equipped with three types of MMDs differing in pore size.

Rapid detection of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) from artificial urine samples based on IFAST and ATP bioluminescence assay: from development to practical challenges during protocol testing in Kenya.

We report the rapid detection (20 min) of Streptococcus agalactiae, Group B Streptococcus (GBS) employing on-chip magnetic isolation of GBS based on immiscible filtration assisted by surface tension (IFAST), followed by detection of the isolated GBS using an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assay. Up to 80% GBS cells were isolated from spiked artificial urine samples with linear responses of bioluminescence signals from isolated cells at 2.3 × 102-9.

Genomic characterization of uncommon human G3P[6] rotavirus strains that have emerged in Kenya after rotavirus vaccine introduction, and pre-vaccine human G8P[4] rotavirus strains.

A monovalent rotavirus vaccine (RV1) was introduced to the national immunization program in Kenya in July 2014. There was increased detection of uncommon G3P[6] strains that coincided temporally with the timing of this vaccine introduction. Here, we sequenced and characterized the full genomes of two post-vaccine G3P[6] strains, RVA/Human-wt/KEN/KDH1951/2014/G3P[6] and RVA/Human-wt/KEN/KDH1968/2014/G3P[6], as representatives of these uncommon strains.

Impact of rotavirus vaccination on rotavirus hospitalisation rates among a resource-limited rural population in Mbita, Western Kenya.

Objectives: A two-dose oral monovalent rotavirus vaccine (RV1) was introduced into the Kenyan National Immunization Program in July 2014. We assessed trends in hospitalisation for rotavirus-specific acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and strain distribution among children <5 years in a rural, resource-limited setting in Kenya before and after the nationwide implementation of the vaccine.

Methods: Data on rotavirus AGE and strain distribution were derived from a 5-year hospital-based surveillance.

Impact of rotavirus vaccination on rotavirus and all-cause gastroenteritis in peri-urban Kenyan children.

A monovalent rotavirus vaccine (RV1) was introduced into the National Immunization Program in Kenya in July 2014. We examined the impact of the vaccine on hospitalization for all-cause acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and rotavirus-specific AGE and strain distribution at a large referral hospital which serves a predominantly peri-urban population in Central Kenya. Data on rotavirus AGE and strain distribution were derived from ongoing hospital-based AGE surveillance.

Variation in rotavirus vaccine coverage by sub-counties in Kenya.

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in Kenya. In July 2014, Kenya introduced the rotavirus vaccine into her national immunization program. Although immunization coverage is crucial in assessing the real-world impact of this vaccine, variability in the vaccine coverage across the country is likely to occur.

Molecular epidemiology of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Central Kenya before vaccine introduction, 2009-2014.

Between July 2009 and June 2014, a total of 1,546 fecal specimens were collected from children <5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis admitted to Kiambu County Hospital, Central Kenya. The specimens were screened for group A rotavirus (RVA) using ELISA, and RVA-positive specimens were subjected to semi-nested RT-PCR to determine the G and P genotypes. RVA was detected in 429/1,546 (27.