Search

Abstract Background Globally, under-nutrition accounts for > 3 million deaths annually among children

BackgroundLong-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) are the main malaria vector control measures deployed in Kenya. Widespread pyrethroid resistance among the primary vectors in Western Kenya has necessitated the re-introduction of IRS using an organophosphate insecticide, pirimiphos-methyl (Actellic® 300CS), as a pyrethroid resistance management strategy. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the combined use of non-pyrethroid IRS and LLINs has yielded varied results. We aimed to evaluate the effect of non-pyrethroid IRS and LLINs on malaria indicators in a high malaria transmission area.MethodsWe reviewed records and tallied monthly aggregate of outpatient department (OPD) attendance, suspected malaria cases, those tested for malaria and those testing positive for malaria at two health facilities, one from Nyatike, an intervention sub-county, and one from Suba, a comparison sub-county, both located in Western Kenya, from February 1, 2016, through March 31, 2018. The first round of IRS was conducted in February-March 2017 in Nyatike sub-county and the second round one year later in both Nyatike and Suba sub-counties. The mass distribution of LLINs has been conducted in both locations. We performed descriptive analysis and estimated the effect of the interventions and temporal changes of malaria indicators using Poisson regression for a period before and after the first round of IRS.ResultsA higher reduction in the intervention area in total OPD, the proportion of OPD visits due to suspected malaria, testing positivity rate and annual malaria incidences were observed except for the total OPD visits among the under 5 children (59% decrease observed in the comparison area vs 33% decrease in the intervention area, net change -27%, P ConclusionsOur findings demonstrated a reduced malaria burden among populations protected by both non-pyrethroid IRS and LLINs implying a possible additional benefit afforded by the combined intervention in the malaria-endemic zone.

The High Burden High Impact (HBHI) strategy for malaria encourages countries to use multiple sources of available data to define the sub-national vulnerabilities to malaria risk, including parasite prevalence. Here, a modelled estimate of Plasmodium falciparum from an updated assembly of community parasite survey data in Kenya, mainland Tanzania, and Uganda is presented and used to provide a more contemporary understanding of the sub-national malaria prevalence stratification across the sub-region for 2019. Malaria prevalence data from surveys undertaken between January 2010 and June 2020 were assembled form each of the three countries. Bayesian spatiotemporal model-based approaches were used to interpolate space-time data at fine spatial resolution adjusting for population, environmental and ecological covariates across the three countries. A total of 18,940 time-space age-standardised and microscopy-converted surveys were assembled of which 14,170 (74.8%) were identified after 2017. The estimated national population-adjusted posterior mean parasite prevalence was 4.7% (95% Bayesian Credible Interval 2.6–36.9) in Kenya, 10.6% (3.4–39.2) in mainland Tanzania, and 9.5% (4.0–48.3) in Uganda. In 2019, more than 12.7 million people resided in communities where parasite prevalence was predicted ≥ 30%, including 6.4%, 12.1% and 6.3% of Kenya, mainland Tanzania and Uganda populations, respectively. Conversely, areas that supported very low parasite prevalence (

Background: The prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in low-to-middle-income countries is larger than that observed in developed countries. This study aimed to characterize TB disease among patients diagnosed at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi, Kenya, for public health action. Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at KNH TB clinic from January to December 2015. Data were extracted from TB clinic in- and out-patient registers, entered into MS-Excel, and descriptive and associative statistics were calculated with Open-Epi software. Results: A total of 1,551 TB cases were identified, with mean age of 31.5 ± 16.5 years, and 771 (49.7%) were

BACKGROUND:Cholera remains a public health problem in Kenya despite increased efforts to create awareness. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) in the community is essential for the planning and implementation of preventive measures. We assessed cholera KAP in a community in Isiolo County, Kenya. METHODS:This cross-sectional study involved a mixed-methods approach utilizing a questionnaire survey and focus group discussions (FGDs). Using multistage sampling with household as the secondary sampling unit, interviewers administered structured questionnaires to one respondent aged ≥18 years old per household. We created knowledge score by allotting one point for each correct response, considered any total score ≥ median score as high knowledge score, calculated descriptive statistics and used multivariate logistic regression to examine factors associated with high knowledge score. In FGDs, we randomly selected the participants aged ≥18 years and had lived in Isiolo for >1 year, conducted the FGDs using an interview guide and used content analysis to identify salient emerging themes. RESULTS:We interviewed 428 participants (median age = 30 years; Q1 = 25, Q3 = 38) comprising 372 (86.9%) females. Of the 425/428 (99.3%) who had heard about cholera, 311/425 (73.2%) knew that it is communicable. Although 273/428 (63.8%) respondents knew the importance of treating drinking water, only 216/421 (51.3%) treated drinking water. Those with good defecation practice were 209/428 (48.8%). Respondents with high knowledge score were 227/428 (53.0%). Positive attitude (aOR = 2.88, 95% C.I = 1.34-6.20), treating drinking water (aOR = 2.21, 95% C.I = 1.47-3.33), age

Rapid detection and response to infectious disease outbreaks requires a robust surveillance system with a sufficient number of trained public health workforce personnel. The Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Program (Frontline) is a focused 3-month program targeting local ministries of health to strengthen local disease surveillance and reporting capacities. Limited literature exists on the impact of Frontline graduates on disease surveillance completeness and timeliness reporting. Using routinely collected Ministry of Health data, we mapped the distribution of graduates between 2014 and 2017 across 47 Kenyan counties. Completeness was defined as the proportion of complete reports received from health facilities in a county compared with the total number of health facilities in that county. Timeliness was defined as the proportion of health facilities submitting surveillance reports on time to the county. Using a panel analysis and controlling for county-fixed effects, we evaluated the relationship between the number of Frontline graduates and priority disease reporting of measles. We found that Frontline training was correlated with improved completeness and timeliness of weekly reporting for priority diseases. The number of Frontline graduates increased by 700%, from 57 graduates in 2014 to 456 graduates in 2017. The annual average rates of reporting completeness increased from 0.8% in 2014 to 55.1% in 2017. The annual average timeliness reporting rates increased from 0.1% in 2014 to 40.5% in 2017. These findings demonstrate how global health security implementation progress in workforce development may influence surveillance and disease reporting.