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Successful treatment of infections with Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) is difficult because of many confounding factors such as poor abstinence from sex during chemotherapy, lack of standardised chemotherapy, difficulties in understanding transmission patterns and low detection rates among infected individuals. The purpose of this study was to establish the present efficacy of the available drugs at their recommended single or double dosages for Kenya. Adult symptomatic females (age 17-39 years) with positive High Vaginal Swabs but without pregnancy were recruited into the study; and asked to swallow one of the following medicine: nimorazole 2G (Naxogin Farmitalia Carlo Erba, Italy), nimorazole 4G in two equally divided doses 24 hours apart (2GBD), nimorazole 3G, tinidazole 2G (Fasigyn, Pfizer Ltd) and ornidazole 1.5G (Tiberal, Roche, Switzerland). All patients were reviewed 48 hours after the drugs administration and 24 hours after the last dose for the group which received nimorazole 2GBD. 153 patients were recruited into the study. 121 came for follow up out of which 49 were dropped from the study for involvement in sexual intercourse leaving only 72 for the final analysis. Clinical cure was 100% for the group receiving nimorazole 2GBD and nimorazole 3G. Parasitological cure was highest for the group on nimorazole 2GBD (100%) and lowest for the group on tinidazole (50%). Instruction to avoid sex during treatment were withheld from patients. This made it easier during the follow up to pick out and drop from the study those who had had sexual contact.

The treatment of leishmaniasis, as currently conducted in Kenya with sodium stibogluconate, is unsatisfactory as it is expensive, resistance and relapses may occur, and major adverse effects have been reported. Recently, aminosidine (paromomycin) sulphate has shown good antileishmanial activity on its own as well as synergism with pentavalent antimony, administered concurrently. The present study was designed to assess the effectiveness of parenteral aminosidine, alone or combined with sodium stibogluconate, in visceral leishmaniasis, compared to treatment by stibogluconate alone. 53 patients were allocated to the 3 therapeutic regimes. The presenting signs and symptoms of leishmaniasis were those commonly seen in the visceral form of the disease, particularly in Kenya. At termination, clinical cures were achieved in all 53 patients with no difference between treatment groups. Spleen aspirates revealed the best parasitological results in patients receiving the combined treatment, with only 13% failures (partial cures + relapses), as opposed to 21% failures with aminosidine alone and 45% with stibogluconate alone. Treatment with aminosidine alone was the cheapest and safest regime.

417 patients suffering from intestinal amoebiasis were randomly allocated to 6 different treatment groups in a controlled study in 3 District Hospitals in Kenya. The patients received either aminosidine (A), etophamide (E), nimorazole (N), or the combinations NA, NE, EA. Treatment in all cases was given twice daily for 5 days. Before and after treatment, rectosigmoidoscopy was done in each patient, and stool examination with characterization of invasive (IF) and non invasive (NIF) forms of amoeba was done daily throughout treatment, and on Days 15, 30 and 60 of follow-up. Clinical cure was good after all the treatments, varying from 90 to 100%; parasitological cure at the end of treatment was 100% in the NA and EA treatments groups, and 98% in A group. The incidence of relapses was nil in the EA group, followed by 3% in NA and 6% in A groups. Anatomical cure (healing of ulcers) was 97.8% in the NA group, 95.5% in the N group and 88.5% in the A group. Drug tolerance was excellent or good after all the treatments, except that the EA combination produced diarrhoea in 76.5% of patients. Overall analysis of the findings, including tolerance of the various treatments, showed that aminosidine either alone or in combination with nimorazole gave the best results. Ulcers seen on rectosigmoidoscopy were more common in patients excreting invasive forms of amoebae in their stools.

We evaluated the use of silver nitrate drops and tetracycline ointment for the prophylaxis of ophthalmia neonatorum in a controlled trial involving 2732 newborns in Nairobi, Kenya. The overall rates of prevalence of intrapartum maternal gonococcal and chlamydial infection were 6.4 and 8.9 percent, respectively. After prophylaxis with silver nitrate, the incidence rates of gonococcal, chlamydial, and nongonococcal, nonchlamydial ophthalmia neonatorum were 0.4, 0.7, and 6.2 percent, respectively, whereas after prophylaxis with tetracycline, the rates were 0.1, 0.5, and 4.5 percent. The attack rates of gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum in newborns exposed to Neisseria gonorrhoeae at birth were 7.0 percent in those receiving silver nitrate and 3.0 percent in those receiving tetracycline (95 percent confidence interval for the difference in rates, -3.4 to 11.4 percent). As compared with historical controls, the incidence of gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum decreased 83 percent among infants treated with silver nitrate and 93 percent among those treated with tetracycline. Failure of prophylaxis was associated with postpartum maternal endometritis (P = 0.05). Among newborns exposed to maternal infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, chlamydial conjunctivitis developed in 10.1 percent given silver nitrate and in 7.2 percent given tetracycline (95 percent confidence interval for the difference in rates, -4.7 to 10.5 percent), yielding reductions in the incidence of chlamydial ophthalmia of 68 and 77 percent, respectively, as compared with the historical controls. We conclude that tetracycline is as effective as silver nitrate in preventing gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum.

A malformation syndrome has been proposed in infants with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related complex secondary to congenital infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States and Europe. To determine whether embryopathy is detectable in HIV-exposed African infants, 85 infants of HIV-seropositive mothers and 98 infants of HIV-seronegative mothers in Nairobi, Kenya, were examined for minor and major anomalous features shortly after birth. No mother used intravenous drugs. With the exception of growth failure no anomalous feature was associated with in utero HIV exposure. No increase in the number of anomalous features per infant was correlated with HIV, nor did any infant have the reported malformation syndrome. Thus in this population of African infants examination for anomalous features during the neonatal period failed to identify those infants with fetal exposure to HIV.

Four antiamoebic drugs currently used in many Kenyan hospitals and health centres were compared for their efficacy on symptomatic luminal amoebiasis in Kiambu, Kilifi, and Machakos hospitals during this study. The drugs were; the brand metronidazole (Flagyl, May & Baker, Kenya Ltd.), the generic metronidazole (Metrozol, Cosmos Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya), the brand tinidazole (Fasigyn, Pfizer Laboratories Ltd.) and the generic tinidazole (Tynazole Laboratory and Allied Equipments, Kenya Ltd). Clinical cure was achieved in all individuals receiving any of the four drugs. Parasitological cure was better for those receiving either Flagyl or Fasigyn, than those receiving the generic counterparts. Both parasitological and clinical cures were achieved in about 50% of all those who received either Flagyl or Fasigyn. It appears that Flagyl and Fasigyn are not as efficacious as previously reported but are still much better than their generic counterparts for the treatment of symptomatic Entamoeba histolytica infections.

One hundred and sixty seven volunteer medical students were exposed to intradermal skin tests for schistosomiasis. 35(21%) were positive. On further screening using routine stool and urine examinations, only 11(6.6%) were found to have eggs of Schistosoma mansoni. We conclude that although a useful procedure, schistosomal skin test should not be used alone for the diagnosis of schistosoma infections but should be complimented with the routine stool and urine examinations.

One hundred children comprising of 57 males and 43 females aged between 8 and 24 months entered the study. 46 children had single and 54 children had multiple helminth infections. All children received albendazole 200 mg (10 ml) suspension as a single dose. Albendazole proved very effective and safe in the treatment of single and multiple helminth infections in children under 2 years of age, achieving cure rates of 100% in both Ascaris lumbricoides and Necator americanus respectively, 83% in Trichuris trichiura and 66% in Hymenolepis nana. Treatment of polyparasitism appears to be of benefit in improving nutritional status using haemoglobin concentrations as an index.

An unusual case of ophthalmomyiasis is reported, in which two living fly larvae were observed inside the patient's eye. One larva was removed from the anterior chamber by paracentesis; the other was destroyed on the retina by photocoagulation. The mode of infestation, clinical picture and treatment are discussed in brief.