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Complete Genome Sequence of a New Chickpea Chlorotic Dwarf Virus Strain Isolated from Tomato in Kenya, Obtained from Illumina Sequencing.
Full text linkHigh-throughput sequence analysis revealed the complete genome sequence of a novel, hitherto uncharacterized strain of Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CpCDV) from tomato plants in Kenya. The sequence shared its highest nucleotide similarity (88.7%) with two CpCDV isolates from Burkina Faso
Birgen_Determinants of Microbial Contamination of Street-Vended Chicken Products Sold in Nairobi County, Kenya
No full textFood safety problems pose a great threat to the health of consumers with the greatest burden in developing countries. Street-vended foods play a key role in providing many urban dwellers with cheap, nutritious, and accessible food, but when prepared in an unhygienic and unregulated environment, they could contribute to increased food safety burden. The study investigated the microbiological recovery of work surfaces and chicken sold in Korogocho and Kariobangi North slums in Nairobi County as well as evaluating vendors’ hygiene and food safety practices. This is a cross-sectional study on an exhaustive sample size of 15 vendors, and swabs of the equipment and work surfaces and chicken were taken for microbial analysis. An exhaustive sample size of 15 vendors was selected for the study. The results showed that most vendors operate under unhygienic conditions. Microbial results revealed that raw portions of chicken had the highest contamination with all the four tested microorganisms (). The level of E. coli ranged from to ; Salmonella spp., to ; Staphylococcus aureus, to ; and Campylobacter jejuni, to log CFU/g in raw and cooked chicken samples, respectively. The predictors of E. coli contamination were the presence of pests and flies, unclean vending place, vending environment littered with waste, washing of hands by the vendor, and lack of appropriate clothing among the vendors at of 0.33. The vendor practices and environmental hygiene of the vending place would not significantly () predict contamination with Campylobacter and Staphylococcus. Consequently, there is a need to regulate the informal food processing and marketing channels, besides trainings, infrastructural development, and code of practice and inspections which are recommended in order to enhance the quality and safety standards of street-vended chicken products
Entrepreneurial habits in the Kenya red cross society
No full textLearning outcomes
The case study takes students through basic principles and applications of entrepreneurship theory as demonstrated by the story of Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). The case further demonstrates the significance of communicating a rallying vision in a change management situation. The case further allows the students to evaluate the concept and implication of entrepreneurial leadership thereby enhancing creativity and innovativeness in a firm.
Case overview/synopsis
An area that has had little interaction in the study of entrepreneurship is within the development and humanitarian agencies. This is a case study on Entrepreneurial Habits in the KRCS. The leadership of KRCS combined different entrepreneurial actions that were able to deliver commercial goals in a not-for-profit organization. The final overarching consideration was the sustainability of the changes implemented over a period of time
Technical Efficiency of Thermal Electricity Generators in Kenya
No full textThe Government of Kenya introduced energy sector reforms in the late 1990s aimed at improving efficiency in the supply of energy. After over two
decades of reforms, there has been no comprehensive study to estimate the technical efficiency amongst electricity generators in Kenya. This study
examined 27 thermal electricity generating plants in Kenya using data sourced from Energy Regulation Commission for the period July 2015 to
December 2017. The study applied two methods to estimate efficiency, viz., the Stochastic Frontier Analysis and Data Envelope Analysis. The results
indicated that there is inefficiency in thermal power generation. The average efficiency score was 71% meaning the industry was missing its technical
potential by about 29%. The plants experienced increasing returns to scale and were improving on efficiency and productivity. Age and public ownership
contributed to inefficiency while grid connection had a positive effect on efficiency. The government should encourage private investment in future
power generation projects while at the same time increasing connection of the isolated areas to the national grid. The regulator should also revisit the
current specific fuel targets used in determining the fuel pass through costs to consumers to encourage efficienc
Effect of a community-based approach of iron and folic acid supplementation on compliance by pregnant women in Kiambu County, Kenya: a quasi-experimental study
No full textIntroduction
Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (IFAS) is an essential and affordable intervention strategy
for prevention of anaemia during pregnancy. The supplements are currently provided
for free to pregnant women in Kenya during antenatal care (ANC), but compliance remains
low over the years. There is need for diversification of IFAS programme implementation by
exploring other distribution channels to complement existing antenatal distribution and
ensure consistent access to IFAS supplements.
Objectives
To determine the effect of a community-based approach of IFAS distribution on compliance
and assess side-effects experienced and their mitigation by pregnant women in Kiambu
County.
Methodology
A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study design was used, consisting of an intervention
and a control group, among 340 pregnant women 15–49 years, in five health facilities in Lari
Sub-County in Kiambu County, between June 2016 and March 2017. Community health volunteers
provided IFAS supplements, counselling and weekly follow-up to pregnant women
in the intervention group while the control group followed standard practice from health facilities.
Baseline and endline data were collected during antenatal care and compared. Quantitative
data was analyzed using STATA version 14. Analysis of effect of intervention was
done using Difference-In-Difference regression approach.
Results
Levels of compliance increased by 8% in intervention group and 6% in control group. There
was increased awareness of IFAS side-effects across groups. The intervention group reported experiencing less side-effects and were better able to manage them compared to
the control group.
Conclusion
Implementation a community-based approach improved maternal compliance with IFAS,
awareness of IFAS side effects and their management, with better improvement being
recorded in the intervention group. Hence, there is need to integrate community-based
approach with antenatal distribution of IFAS to improve supplementation
Aflatoxin-producing fungi associated with pre-harvest maize contamination in Uganda.
Full text linkMaize is an important staple crop for the majority of the population in Uganda. However, in tropical and subtropical climates, maize is frequently contaminated with aflatoxins, a group of cancer-causing and immuno-suppressive mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus section Flavi fungi. In Uganda, there is limited knowledge about the causal agents of aflatoxin contamination. The current study determined both the aflatoxin levels in pre-harvest maize across Uganda and the structures of communities of aflatoxin-producing fungi associated with the maize. A total of 256 pre-harvest maize samples were collected from 23 major maize-growing districts in eight agro-ecological zones (AEZ). Maize aflatoxin content ranged from 0 to 3760 ng/g although only around 5% for Ugandan thresholds. For EU it is about 16% of the samples contained aflatoxin concentrations above tolerance thresholds. A total of 3105 Aspergillus section Flavi isolates were recovered and these were dominated by the A. flavus L morphotype (89.4%). Densities of aflatoxin-producing fungi were negatively correlated with elevation. Farming systems and climatic conditions of the AEZ are thought to have influenced communities' structure composition. Fungi from different AEZ varied significantly in aflatoxin-producing abilities and several atoxigenic genotypes were identified. The extremely high aflatoxin concentrations detected in some of the studied regions indicate that management strategies should be urgently designed for use at the pre-harvest stage. Atoxigenic genotypes detected across Uganda could serve as aflatoxin biocontrol agents to reduce crop contamination from fields conditions and throughout the maize value chain.
Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved