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Post-treatment Prevalence of Schistosomiasis and Geohelminthic Infections in Children and Adults Living along Lake Victoria, Kenya
Get PDFSchistosomiasis and geohelminthic infections are major public health problems in developing countries and exert a heavy burden on morbidity when they occur singly or concurrently. Chemotherapeutic approach has been adopted in many endemic areas, using praziquantel and albendazole, based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for control. The need for cost-effectiveness considerations in control strategies requires that greater emphasis be placed on further research to understand the factors that determine their occurrence and response to chemotherapy when they occur singly or concurrently. Towards this, a longitudinal survey in Kisumu and Siaya counties, Kenya, was conducted to assess the post-treatment prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni, Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworms in school children (9–12 years) and adults over a 9-month period (September 2008 – May 2009). Adults were followed up monthly, while children were followed up every two months. Baseline prevalence of schistosomiasis was 52.0% + 2.5% in adults, and 38.5% + 1.8% in children while that of geohelminthiasis was 22.5% + 3.9% and 55.6% + 4.1% in adults and school children respectively. The difference in prevalence between the adults and children for both schistosomiasis and geohelmithes was not significant (P=0.9302), After 9 and 5 treatments in adults and children respectively, there was reduction in prevalence of schistosomiasis to 28.9% + 2.3% and 24.0% + 3.1% in adults and children respectively, while in geohelminthiasis prevalence reduced to 4.3% + 1.5% in adults and 27.0% + 2.5% in school children. These difference in prevalence among adults and children was not significant (P=0.8717). This study shows the differential occurrence of schistosomiasis and geohelmiths in children and adults. It also shows that frequent and consistent treatment decreases the prevalence of helminths in endemic areas and is effective both in adults and children. There’s however need for further studies to determine the most cost-effective strategies for mass drug administration, that will impact morbidity caused by helminths to sustainable levels in vulnerable groups
Determinants of Technical Efficiency in Rice Production in Gihanga (Burundi) Irrigation Scheme: A Stochastic Production Frontier Approach
Get PDFThis paper estimated the technical efficiency of rice production under irrigation system in Gihanga, Burundi and attempted to unravel the determinants of technical inefficiency. A Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function was used. The study showed that the average of technical efficiency was 73%. This meant that technical inefficiency of 27% constituted a challenge to overcome by the rice producers in Gihanga. According to Cobb-Douglas model, inorganic fertilizer and pesticide applications showed significant positive and negative effects on production function respectively. The inefficiency model revealed that technical efficiency increased significantly as result of experience but decreased with age of rice producers. There was room to expand rice production through appropriate farmers’ training and timely pesticide delivery. Besides, the extension service should be aware of the experienced farmers as a resource with potentials to train the less experienced ones and focus their attentions on the aged farmers
Epidemiological Factors Determining Clinical Malaria in the Highlands of Western Kenya: Case Study of Iguhu Location
Get PDFThis paper reports findings on the prevailing “epidemiological factors that determine occurrence of clinical malaria in the highlands of western Kenya, a case study of Iguhu location. In this study, the risk factors associated with clinical malaria in western Kenya highlands were evaluated. A simple household survey of existing clinical malaria cases and their age-matched cohorts was undertaken to collect information on the potential exposure factors and prevailing socio-economic status. Mosquito samples were harvested from participants’ houses for identification and cataloging. The differences in parasite and vector populations in clinical malaria cases and controls were determined using the “t-test”. The results showed that sex, age, household population, education level and occupation status of the household head were not significant determinants for clinical malaria in the area of study. These was in contrast, to families whose spouses were employed and educated to tertiary level that exhibited lower infections rates since they had used insecticide treated nets (ITNs) prophylaxis and mosquito prevention measures. These significantly reduced the disease incidence suggesting that socio economic factors played a role in the ailment control. These findings show that clinical malaria incidence in western Kenya highlands is likely to be influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors including parasite and vector densities suggesting that any successful eradication program should be directed towards prevailing local conditions in a given area
Farmers Perception and Adoption of Drought Tolerant Wheat Varieties in the Arid and Semi-arid Lands of Kenya
Get PDFWheat is an important cereal crop in Kenya and ranks second after maize in its cereal crop priority grown mainly in highlands parts of the country. About 20% of the country is classified as medium to high potential land ideal for wheat production. The limited ideal land for crop production has forced farmers to extend production in to the arid to semi-arid areas. Drought tolerant wheat varieties (DTV) have been developed for the Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL) but adoption is generally low. Production has therefore lagged behind in meeting national demand resulting in importation in order to bridge the gap. This study was therefore designed to describe and determine farmer perception and adoption of drought tolerant wheat varieties by assessing socio-economic factors influencing adoption of DTV in the (ASALs) areas of Kenya. A sample size of one hundred and eight (108) wheat farmers from Ololung’a division of Narok and Isinya division of Kajiado districts respectively were randomly selected. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 12 for windows. Descriptive statistics like frequency distribution and inferential statistics like Chi-square and T-test were used. Farmer perception on drought tolerant wheat varieties was very low (0.9%) with majority of the farmers (77.8%) being uncertain of the objective of drought tolerant wheat varieties as a technology and its benefits. Eighty seven point nine percent (87.9%) of the farmers identified input cost as a major constraint and 85.1% lacked the relevant information. Opportunities for adoption cited by 91.6% of the respondents included the availability of the appropriate technology. There was no significant difference in perception between the farmers of Narok and Kajiado districts. However, there were significant differences in adoption levels by farmers with the average percentage for Narok mean of 1.58 being higher than Kajiado mean of 1.33 with a t-test value of -2.497; (P<0.014; ?=0.05. Age, gender, and education did not have any statistical significance relationship in the adoption of DTV but farm size, land tenure system and extension services were statistically significant. It is therefore recommended that extension services be given great emphasize in the ASAL of Kenya. 
Reproduction Inhibition Effects of Neem Products on the Larger Grain Borer (Prostephanus truncatus) (HORN) in Stored Maize Grains
Get PDFThe larger grain borer (LGB), Prostephanus truncatus (HORN), has become one of the most important insect pest of stored maize in tropical Africa where it was introduced in the early 1980s. It has the major effect of seriously damaging dry stored maize grains and so increasing post-harvest losses and contributing towards food shortage in this region. Losses of up to 85% by weight and 100% by food value have been reported. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of two neem products, neem oil and NeemAzal® powder on egg laying, hatching, larval development and adult emergence of the pest on shelled maize. Treatment of the grains with sub-lethal dosages resulted in 76.3% and 0.6% reduction in egg laying by neem oil and NeemAzal®, respectively. No adults emerged from samples treated with 0.3 and 0.6% w/w NeemAzal® and ca 2% v/w of neem oil. Generally, neem oil reduced the progeny population more than the adult population, the contrast of which was true for NeemAzal®. When the grains were treated after oviposition, no progeny emerged in neem oil samples while 4.4 and 20 larvae, 3.4 and 27.8 live adults and 17.6 and 1.4 dead adults were observed in NeemAzal® and control samples, respectively. The grain weight loss recorded was significantly lower for neem oil than for NeemAzal®. The two products have different effects on LGB, neem oil being effective in controlling early stages while NeemAzal® is more effective in controlling the adults. It can therefore be concluded that the effect of the neem products used in this study on LGB depended more on the formulation than on the content or dosage of azadirachtin used. The results of this study will help refocus research on the control of LGB towards design of appropriate formulations of neem products, which will make them useful in the control of the management of LGB by small scale, resource poor farmers in Africa