Integrating socio-economic support into drug-resistant TB care to optimise treatment outcomes.

Background: Drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) remains a public health concern in Kenya, with an estimated 2,500 individuals acquiring DR-TB annually. Despite significant progress in DR-TB management, the treatment success rate (TSR) in 2021 stood at 77%, falling short of the 85% target. This low TSR occurs amidst a complex range of treatment challenges, including psychosocial factors.

Complete Genome Sequence of Microcystis aeruginosa FD4, Isolated from a Subtropical River in Southwest Florida.

We report the first complete genome of from North America. A harmful bloom that occurred in the Caloosahatchee River in 2018 led to a state of emergency declaration in Florida. Although strain FD4 was isolated from this toxic bloom, the genome did not have a microcystin biosynthetic gene cluster.

Deciphering the targets of retroviral protease inhibitors in Plasmodium berghei.

Retroviral protease inhibitors (RPIs) such as lopinavir (LP) and saquinavir (SQ) are active against Plasmodium parasites. However, the exact molecular target(s) for these RPIs in the Plasmodium parasites remains poorly understood. We hypothesised that LP and SQ suppress parasite growth through inhibition of aspartyl proteases.

Amodiaquine resistance in is associated with His95Pro mutation, loss of chloroquine, artemisinin and primaquine sensitivity, and high transcript levels of key transporters.

The human malaria parasite has evolved complex drug evasion mechanisms to all available antimalarials. To date, the combination of amodiaquine-artesunate is among the drug of choice for treatment of uncomplicated malaria. In this combination, a short acting, artesunate is partnered with long acting, amodiaquine for which resistance may emerge rapidly especially in high transmission settings.

Detection of Anaplasma ovis infection in goats by major surface protein 5 competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

A competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on a major surface protein 5 (MSP5) B-cell epitope conserved among Anaplasma species was used to detect goats infected with Anaplasma ovis. We examined strains of A. ovis isolated from goats in Kenya and demonstrated that MSP5 and the target B-cell epitope, bound by monoclonal antibody ANAF16C1, were conserved.