Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Isolated From Pooled Samples of Sick, Farm, and Market Chickens in Nairobi County, Kenya.

Bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to both human and animal health. This is mainly because the same antimicrobial molecules are used for the treatment and prophylaxis of bacterial diseases in both cases, and about 60% of human pathogens are shared with animals. For effective control of AMR in any country, the current situation has to be established; this is done through surveillance exercises.

Seroprevalence of Cysts in Cattle, Human Hospital Cases, and Risk Factors for Human Taeniasis in Kajiado County, Kenya.

is a zoonotic tapeworm that causes diseases in cattle and humans. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between June and July 2021 in Kajiado County, Kenya, to estimate the seroprevalence of cysts in cattle presented for slaughter in Kitengela, Kiserian, and Keekonyokie slaughterhouses; determine the annual hospital reported cases of in humans that visited all level 4 hospitals in Kajiado County between 2015 and 2021; and assess the risk factors for in humans. Analyzed data in this study revealed that the seroprevalence of cysts in cattle in the selected slaughterhouses was 2.

Molecular evidence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in olive baboons and vervet monkeys in Kenya.

Background: Nonhuman primates (NHPs) play a significant role in zoonotic spill-overs, serving as either reservoirs, or amplifiers, of multiple neglected tropical diseases, including tick-borne infections. Anaplasma phagocytophilum are obligate intracellular bacteria of the family Anaplasmatacae, transmitted by Ixodid ticks and cause granulocytic anaplasmosis (formerly known as Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE)) in a wide range of wild and domestic mammals and humans too. The aim of this study was to determine whether Anaplasma phagocytophilum was circulating in olive baboons and vervet monkeys in Laikipia County, Kenya.

Epidemiological study on foot-and-mouth disease in small ruminants: Sero-prevalence and risk factor assessment in Kenya.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Kenya affecting cloven-hoofed ruminants. The epidemiology of the disease in small ruminants (SR) in Kenya is not documented. We carried out a cross-sectional study, the first in Kenya, to estimate the sero-prevalence of FMD in SR and the associated risk factors nationally.

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Adolescent Blood Donors within Selected Counties of Western Kenya.

Hepatitis B virus is a widespread public health menace approximated to have infected 257 million people chronically by 2015. Data on the prevalence of HBV is important in formulating public health policies on HBV control like safe blood transfusion. Adolescents aged 15 to 24 years, known to engage in risky activities associated with HBV spread, constitute major blood donors in Kenya.

Infection dynamics of gastrointestinal helminths in sympatric non-human primates, livestock and wild ruminants in Kenya.

Background: Gastrointestinal parasites are neglected infections, yet they cause significant burden to animal and human health globally. To date, most studies of gastrointestinal parasites focus on host-parasite systems that involve either a single parasite or a host species. However, when hosts share habitat and resources, they may also cross-transmit generalist gastrointestinal parasites.

Hematologic Values of Healthy and Sick Free-ranging Lesser Flamingos ( Phoeniconaias minor) in Kenya.

We determined hematologic parameters of five healthy and nine sick free-ranging Lesser Flamingos ( Phoeniconaias minor) from Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Heterophilia and lymphopenia were evident in sick birds, with up to 7.5-fold higher heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in sick birds compared to healthy birds.

Epidemiology of snake bites in selected areas of Kenya.

Introduction: Snake bites are a silent public health problem in Kenya. Previous studies on snake bites in the country have mainly focused on identifying offending snake species, assessing the severity of envenomation and testing the efficacy of antivenom. Factors associated with snake bites in the country are yet to be fully understood.

Molecular survey of Coxiella burnetii in wildlife and ticks at wildlife-livestock interfaces in Kenya.

Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever, a zoonotic disease of public health importance. The role of wildlife and their ticks in the epidemiology of C. burnetii in Kenya is unknown.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Towards Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses and Q Fever in Laikipia and Maasai Mara, Kenya.

Many factors contribute to misdiagnosis and underreporting of infectious zoonotic diseases in most sub-Saharan Africa including limited diagnostic capacity and poor knowledge. We assessed the knowledge, practices and attitudes towards spotted fever group rickettsioses (SFGR) and Q fever amongst local residents in Laikipia and Maasai Mara in Kenya. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to a total of 101 respondents including 51 pastoralists, 17 human health providers, 28 wildlife sector personnel and 5 veterinarians.

Molecular surveillance of spotted fever group rickettsioses in wildlife and detection of in a Topi ( ssp. ) in Kenya.

Spotted fever group rickettsioses are a group of tick-borne zoonotic diseases caused by intracellular bacteria of the genus Rickettsia. The diseases are widely reported amongst international travellers returning from most sub-Saharan Africa with fever, yet their importance in local populations largely remains unknown. Although this has started to change and recently there have been increasing reports of the diseases in livestock, ticks and humans in Kenya, they have not been investigated in wildlife.

Seroepidemiological Survey of Rift Valley Fever Virus in Ruminants in Garissa, Kenya.

Introduction: Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by phlebovirus in the family Bunyaviridae. In Kenya, major outbreaks occurred in 1997-1998 and 2006-2007 leading to human deaths, huge economic losses because of livestock morbidity, mortality, and restrictions on livestock trade.

Aim: This study was conducted to determine RVF seroprevalence in cattle, sheep, and goats during an interepidemic period in Garissa County in Kenya.

A comparison of malaria prevalence, control and management strategies in irrigated and non-irrigated areas in eastern Kenya.

Background: This study was conducted in Bura irrigation scheme in Tana River County and the pastoral area in Ijara, Garissa County in the eastern Kenya to establish the knowledge, attitude and practices on malaria transmission, control and management, and determine malaria prevalence and the associated risk factors.

Methods: A cross sectional survey design that involved 493 randomly selected people from 334 households was used between November and December 2013. All the randomly selected people were screened for malaria parasites using rapid diagnostic test (RDT)-Carestart™ malaria HRP2 (pf) kit.

A systematic review of Rift Valley Fever epidemiology 1931-2014.

Background: Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne viral zoonosis that was first isolated and characterized in 1931 in Kenya. RVF outbreaks have resulted in significant losses through human illness and deaths, high livestock abortions and deaths. This report provides an overview on epidemiology of RVF including ecology, molecular diversity spatiotemporal analysis, and predictive risk modeling.

Risk factors associated with infectious bursal disease vaccination failures in broiler farms in Kenya.

Immunization together with application of biosecurity measures are the principal methods of preventing infectious bursal disease outbreaks in high-risk areas. However, outbreaks in vaccinated chicken flocks have been reported in many parts of the world as a result of factors of vaccine virus, animal, or vaccine handler. In Kenya, such outbreaks have been reported, but the causes have not been studied.

Sarcoptic mange and cheetah conservation in Masai Mara (Kenya): epidemiological study in a wildlife/livestock system.

The sanitary control of threatened wild animals is of pivotal interest for their conservation. This task, however, is highly complex in wildlife/livestock systems. In this paper we report findings from a 2-year cross-sectional study of the epidemiology and attempted control of a Sarcoptes mite infestation in the threatened cheetah population in Masai Mara (Kenya), and discuss its interaction with sympatric wild (lion, wildebeest and Thomson's gazelle) and domestic (dog, cattle and sheep) animals.

The curse of the prey: Sarcoptes mite molecular analysis reveals potential prey-to-predator parasitic infestation in wild animals from Masai Mara, Kenya.

Background: Recently, there have been attempts to understand the molecular epidemiology of Sarcoptes scabiei, to evaluate the gene flow between isolates of S. scabiei from different hosts and geographic regions. However, to our knowledge, a molecular study has not been carried out to assess the molecular diversity and gene flow of Sarcoptes mite in a predator/prey ecosystem.

Assessing the productivity of indigenous chickens in an extensive management system in southern Nyanza, Kenya.

The present study was conducted to assess the performance of indigenous chickens under extensive system in southern Nyanza, Kenya. The study was carried out in two phases in Komolorume and Kawere villages in Rongo and Rachuonyo districts, respectively. The first phase was a cross-sectional study in 81 farms selected by cluster sampling to get the overview of the indigenous chicken production.

A survey of bovine cysticercosis/human taeniosis in Northern Turkana District, Kenya.

Bovine cysticercosis is a zoonosis that is mainly of socioeconomic and public health importance. A survey of this disease was carried out in Northern Turkana District, Kenya to estimate the prevalence through both serology and meat inspection, to determine the prevalence of the adult tapeworm in the human definitive host, and to determine risk factors for cattle seropositivity. This information is of public health importance and will be of use in assessing economic losses due to downgrading, refrigeration or condemnation of infested carcasses.

Origin and diversification of the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosoma mansoni is the most widespread of the human-infecting schistosomes, present in 54 countries, predominantly in Africa, but also in Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Neotropics. Adult-stage parasites that infect humans are also occasionally recovered from baboons, rodents, and other mammals. Larval stages of the parasite are dependent upon certain species of freshwater snails in the genus Biomphalaria, which largely determine the parasite's geographical range.