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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is endemic in dromedary camels from the Arabian Peninsula and Africa; seroprevalence is >75% (1-3). Zoonotic transmission to humans has occurred sporadically, mainly on [...]

Introduction: Animal health surveillance systems in Kenya have undergone significant changes and faced various challenges throughout the years. Methods: In this article, we present a comprehensive overview of the Kenya animal health surveillance system (1944 to 2024), based on a review of archived documents, a scoping literature review, and an examination of past surveillance assessments and evaluation reports. Results: The review of archived documents revealed key historical events that have shaped the surveillance system. These include the establishment of the Directorate of Veterinary Services in 1895, advancements in livestock farming, the implementation of mandatory disease control interventions in 1944, the growth of veterinary services from a section to a ministry in 1954, the disruption caused by the Mau Mau insurrection from 1952 to 1954, which led to the temporary halt of agriculture in certain regions until 1955, the transition of veterinary clinical services from public to private, and the progressive privatization plan for veterinary services starting in 1976. Additionally, we highlight the development of electronic surveillance from 2003 to 2024. The scoping literature review, assessments and evaluation reports uncovered several strengths and weaknesses of the surveillance system. Among the strengths are a robust legislative framework, the adoption of technology in surveillance practices, the existence of a formal intersectoral coordination platform, the implementation of syndromic, sentinel, and community-based surveillance methods, and the presence of a feedback mechanism. On the other hand, the system's weaknesses include the inadequate implementation of strategies and enforcement of laws, the lack of standard case definitions for priority diseases, underutilization of laboratory services, the absence of formal mechanisms for data sharing across sectors, insufficient resources for surveillance and response, limited integration of surveillance and laboratory systems, inadequate involvement of private actors and communities in disease surveillance, and the absence of a direct supervisory role between the national and county veterinary services. Discussion and recommendations: To establish an effective early warning system, we propose the integration of surveillance systems and the establishment of formal data sharing mechanisms. Furthermore, we recommend enhancing technological advancements and adopting artificial intelligence in surveillance practices, as well as implementing risk-based surveillance to optimize the allocation of surveillance resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For optimal functionality, immune cells require a robust and adaptable metabolic program that is fueled by dynamic mitochondrial activity. In this study, we investigate the metabolic alterations occurring in immune cells during HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy by analyzing the uptake of metabolic substrates and mitochondrial phenotypes. By delineating changes in immune cell metabolic programming during HIV, we may identify novel potential therapeutic targets to improve anti-viral immune responses. Methods: After consent and voluntary participation was confirmed, whole blood was drawn from HIV uninfected women and women with chronic HIV infection on long-term combination antiretroviral therapy (HIV/cART). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells-derived immune cells were directly incubated with different fluorescently tagged metabolites and markers of mitochondrial activity: FITC-2-NBDG (2-[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino]-2-deoxy-D-glucose), FITC-BODIPY (4,4-Difluoro-5,7-Dimethyl-4-Bora-3a,4a-Diaza-s-Indacene-3-Hexadecanoic Acid), FITC-MitoTracker Green and APC-MitoTracker Deep Red. The uptake of glucose and fats and the mitochondrial mass and potential were measured using flow cytometry. All values are reported quantitatively as geometric means of fluorescence intensity. Results: During chronic HIV infection, cellular uptake of glucose increases in HIV+ dendritic cells in particular. CD4+ T cells had the lowest uptake of glucose and fats compared to all other cells regardless of HIV status, while CD8+ T cells took up more fatty acids. Interestingly, despite the lower utilization of glucose and fats in CD4+ T cells, mitochondrial mass increased in HIV+ CD4+ T cells compared to HIV negative CD4+ T-cells. HIV+ CD4+ T cells also had the highest mitochondrial potential. Conclusions: Significant disparities in the utilization of substrates by leukocytes during chronic HIV/cART exist. Innate immune cells increased utilization of sugars and fats while adaptive immune cells displayed lower glucose and fat utilization despite having a higher mitochondrial activity. Our findings suggest that cART treated HIV-infected CD4+ T cells be dysfunctional or may prefer alternative fuel sources not included in these studies. This underscores the importance of understanding the metabolic effects of HIV treatment on immune function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the early inequity in global COVID-19 vaccine distribution, we compared the level of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2 with vaccine uptake and refusal between rural and urban Kenya two years after the pandemic onset. A population-based seroprevalence study was conducted in the city of Nairobi (n = 781) and a rural western county (n = 810) between January and February 2022. The overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 90.2% (95% CI, 88.6–91.2%), including 96.7% (95% CI, 95.2–97.9%) among urban and 83.6% (95% CI, 80.6–86.0%) among rural populations. A comparison of immunity profiles showed that >50% of the rural population were strongly immunoreactive compared to <20% of the urban population, suggesting more recent infections or vaccinations in the rural population. More than 45% of the vaccine-eligible (≥18 years old) persons had not taken a single dose of the vaccine (hesitancy), including 47.6% and 46.9% of urban and rural participants, respectively. Vaccine refusal was reported in 19.6% of urban and 15.6% of rural participants, attributed to concern about vaccine safety (>75%), inadequate information (26%), and concern about vaccine effectiveness (9%). Less than 2% of vaccine refusers cited religious or cultural beliefs. These findings indicate that despite vaccine inequity, hesitancy, and refusal, herd immunity had been achieved in Kenya and likely other African countries by early 2022, with natural infections likely contributing to most of this immunity. However, vaccine campaigns should be sustained due to the need for repeat boosters associated with waning of SARS-CoV-2 immunity and emergence of immune-evading virus variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The optimal functioning of immune cells depends on a robust and adaptable metabolic program powered by dynamic mitochondrial activity. Immunometabolism has become an attractive immunotherapeutic strategy, particularly in chronic HIV infection. Objective: To investigate the metabolic functionality of different human leukocyte populations in chronic HIV infection with combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Methods: Sixteen female volunteers with chronic HIV infection managed by long-term cART and fifteen HIV-uninfected female volunteers were recruited. The uptake of glucose and fats, as well as the mitochondrial mass and mitochondrial potential, were measured in PBMCs using flow cytometry. Results: During chronic HIV infection, cellular uptake of glucose increases in innate immune cells while having little effect on adaptive immune cells. In particular, HIV+ dendritic cells have a higher glucose uptake than other profiled cell types. There was a negative correlation between CD4 counts, which decline with HIV infection, and glucose uptake in HIV+ patients. CD4+ T-cells had the lowest uptake of fats compared to all other cells regardless of HIV status, while CD8+ T-cells took up more fatty acids. Despite the lower utilization of glucose and fats in CD4+ T-cells, the mitochondrial mass increased in HIV+ CD4+ T-cells compared to HIV- CD4+ T-cells controls. They also had the highest mitochondrial potential. Discussions: Mitochondrial activity was higher in adaptive immune cells than in innate immune cells. However, despite an increase in mitochondrial mass and potential in HIV-infected CD4+ T-cells, these cells still had the lowest metabolic utilization of glucose and fats. This suggests that in chronic HIV, CD4+ Tcells may be maladapted to the use of common substrates for glycolysis and OXPHOS or may prefer an alternative fuel source. Relevance: This study provides new insights into the metabolic changes in human leukocyte populations during chronic HIV infection and cART and how this may affect their ability to fight off infections. The findings of this study are relevant for the field of sexually transmitted infections (STI) as they provide a deeper understanding of the immune system's response to chronic viral infections and how this may impact the immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]