Serological Evidence of Cryptic Rift Valley Fever Virus Transmission Among Humans and Livestock in Central Highlands of Kenya.

Although the highlands of East Africa lack the geo-ecological landmarks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) disease hotspots to participate in cyclic RVF epidemics, they have recently reported growing numbers of small RVF clusters. Here, we investigated whether RVF cycling occurred among livestock and humans in the central highlands of Kenya during inter-epidemic periods. A 2-year prospective hospital-based study among febrile patients (March 2022-February 2024) in Murang'a County of Kenya was followed by a cross-sectional human-animal survey.

Understanding demographic events and migration patterns in two urban slums of Nairobi City in Kenya.

Understanding the dynamics of movements between different demographic events is essential for informing effective population management strategies. This study aims to characterize the trajectories of demographic and other vital events within the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS). Thus, it intends to unravel patterns and trends that can guide the development of targeted policies and interventions to address the population's evolving needs.

Integrating longitudinal mental health data into a staging database: harnessing DDI-lifecycle and OMOP vocabularies within the INSPIRE Network Datahub.

Background: Longitudinal studies are essential for understanding the progression of mental health disorders over time, but combining data collected through different methods to assess conditions like depression, anxiety, and psychosis presents significant challenges. This study presents a mapping technique allowing for the conversion of diverse longitudinal data into a standardized staging database, leveraging the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) Lifecycle and the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM) standards to ensure consistency and compatibility across datasets.

Methods: The "INSPIRE" project integrates longitudinal data from African studies into a staging database using metadata documentation standards structured with a snowflake schema.

Widening geographic range of Rift Valley fever disease clusters associated with climate change in East Africa.

Background: Recent epidemiology of Rift Valley fever (RVF) disease in Africa suggests growing frequency and expanding geographic range of small disease clusters in regions that previously had not reported the disease. We investigated factors associated with the phenomenon by characterising recent RVF disease events in East Africa.

Methods: Data on 100 disease events (2008-2022) from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania were obtained from public databases and institutions, and modelled against possible geoecological risk factors of occurrence including altitude, soil type, rainfall/precipitation, temperature, normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), livestock production system, land-use change and long-term climatic variations.

Widening geographic range of Rift Valley fever disease clusters associated with climate change in East Africa.

Background: Recent epidemiology of Rift Valley fever (RVF) disease in Africa suggests growing frequency and expanding geographic range of small disease clusters in regions that previously had not reported the disease. We investigated factors associated with the phenomenon by characterizing recent RVF disease events in East Africa.

Methods: Data on 100 disease events (2008 - 2022) from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were obtained from public databases and institutions, and modeled against possible geo-ecological risk factors of occurrence including altitude, soil type, rainfall/precipitation, temperature, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), livestock production system, land-use change, and long-term climatic variations.

Factors associated with viral load non-suppression among treatment-experienced pre-teenage children living with HIV in Kenya: a nationwide population-based cohort study, 2015-2021.

Background: Viral load non-suppression (VLNS) in children is a major public health concern because of attendant HIV disease progression and risk of morbidity and mortality. Based on a nationally representative database we present estimates of the prevalence, trends and factors associated with VLNS in Kenyan pre-teenage children between 2015 and 2021.

Methods: Kenya National AIDS & STI Control Program's (NASCOP) maintains an early infant diagnosis and viral load (EID/VL) database for all persons living with HIV who are enrolled in the country's primary care clinics for purposes of monitoring progress towards achievement of the 95% viral suppression goals.

A Bayesian model for predicting monthly fire frequency in Kenya.

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of historical fire and climatic data to estimate the monthly frequency of vegetation fires in Kenya. This work introduces a statistical model that captures the behavior of fire count data, incorporating temporal explanatory factors and emphasizing the predictive significance of maximum temperature and rainfall. By employing Bayesian approaches, the paper integrates literature information, simulation studies, and real-world data to enhance model performance and generate more precise prediction intervals that encompass actual fire counts.

Assessing predictive performance of supervised machine learning algorithms for a diamond pricing model.

This study conducted a comprehensive analysis of multiple supervised machine learning models, regressors and classifiers, to accurately predict diamond prices. Diamond pricing is a complex task due to the non-linear relationships between key features such as carat, cut, clarity, table, and depth. The analysis aimed to develop an accurate predictive model by utilizing both regression and classification approaches.

Nevirapine plasma concentration is associated with virologic failure and the emergence of drug-resistant mutations among HIV patients in Kenya: A cross sectional study.

This study aimed to determine the association between the plasma concentration of nevirapine (NVP) and clinical outcomes. In this cross-sectional study, sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from 233 HIV patients receiving NVP-based first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens in Nairobi, Kenya. The mean age was 41.

Application of optimal control to the onchocerciasis transmission model with treatment.

In this paper, we present a model for onchocerciasis that considers mass administration of ivermectin, contact prevention controls and vector elimination. The model equilibria are computed and stability analysis carried out in terms of the basic reproduction number R. The model is found to exhibit a backward bifurcation so that for R less than unity is not sufficient to eradicate the disease from the population and the need is to lower R to below a certain threshold, R for effective disease control.