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Introduction: Fever is managed using synthetic drugs such as aspirin, paracetamol among others. Synthetic drugs are associated with many side effects. Herbal medicines form alternative therapy since they possess fewer side effects and are readily available . This study aimed to determine antipyretic potential of DCM extracts of E. globulus and S. didymobotrya in Swiss albino rats., Materials and Methods: The plant leaves samples were obtained from Embu County, Kenya. Dichloromethane solvent was used to extract bioactive constituents from the plant samples. Three grams of DCM leaf extracts of Eucalyptus globulus (Labill) and Senna didymobotrya (Fresenius) samples were obtained and analyzed to determine quantitative phytochemical composition at ICIPE laboratory using GC-MS. Albino rats were used in the antipyretic activity study. Nine groups of five experimental animals were used in each test: Positive control, normal control, negative control and experimental (25, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 mg/kg body weight extracts) groups. Pyrexia was induced by injection of turpentine in albino rats intraperitoneally. One hour later, the pyretic animals received the leaf extracts at various dose levels, reference drug (aspirin100 mg/kg body) or the vehicle (DMSO)., Results: Results of antipyretic in vivo bioscreening revealed that E. globulus and S. didymobotrya possess potent antipyretic activity which was comparable to that of the reference drug aspirin. Both extracts exhibited highest antipyretic activity at a dose of 250 mg/kg bw. Results of the GC-MS revealed that these plants possess bio-compounds such as Terpinolene, Alpha-pinene, Borneol, Globulol and Terpineols that are associated with antipyretic activity., Conclusions: In conclusion, this study revealed that these plants are endowed with bioactive compounds such as terpenoids, and flavonoids that possess antipyretic activity in rats., (© 2019 The Author(s).)

Background: Accurate diagnosis of malaria is key to proper management and control and an ideal diagnostic parameter that correlates to disease outcome is required. The former would be helpful in correctly identifying patients that need hospitalisation versus those that can be managed at home. This study determined how well the density estimates by microscopy, qPCR and Pf HRP-2 correlate to malaria severity., Materials and Methods: Patients aged ≤ 5 yrs with severe (n = 60, Hb ≤ 6 g/dl) and mild (n = 60, Hb > 6 g/dl) malaria were enrolled to take part in a case control study at Kisumu District Hospital, Western Kenya. Parasite load was determined by microscopy, qPCR targeting the 18s rRNA gene and Pf HRP-2 antigen ELISA., Results: The median parasite load and the 25 th and the 75 th percentile by microscopy in children with severe malaria (SM) was 49,958 parasites/μl (12,013-128,695) compared to 24,233 (6,122-103,886) in the group with mild malaria (MM), P = 0.10. By qPCR, the translated median parasite density was 31,550 parasites/μl (4,106-196,640) in the SM group compared to 24,365 parasites/μl (5,512-93,401) in the MM group (P = 0.73). According to Pf HRP-2, the translated median parasite load in children with SM was 628,775 parasites/μl (332,222-1.165x106) compared to 150,453 (94,292-399,100) in children with MM (P < 0.0001)., Conclusions: Unlike microscopy and qPCR, the parasite load detected by Pf HRP-2 correlates with disease severity. Because of its unique attributes, Pf HRP-2 is able to account for trophozoites and schizonts that are sequestered away from peripheral circulation. Because it persists in circulation, it also serves as an indicator of the magnitude of current and recent infections., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: No competing interests declared., (Copyright © 2014: Kituyi et al.)

The isolation and characterization of primary strains of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a vital tool for assessing properties of viruses replicating in HIV-infected subjects. HIV-1 isolation was carried out from 30 HIV-1-infected patients from a Comprehensive Care Clinic (CCC) after informed consent. Virus was successfully isolated from 9 out of the 30 samples investigated. Seven of the isolates were from drug-naive patients while two were from patients on antiretroviral drugs. The isolates were biologically phenotyped through measurement of the syncytium-inducing capacity in MT2 cells. Six of the isolates exhibited syncytia induction (SI) associated with CXCR4 coreceptor usage while three of the isolates were non-syncytia-inducing (NSI) isolates associated with CCR5 coreceptor usage. In addition, the replication capacity of the isolates was further determined in established cell line CD4(+) C8166. Indirect immunofluorescence assay was used to check the antigen expression on the cells as a supplementary test. HIV-1 isolation success was 70% (7/10) and 20% (2/20) in naive and drug-experienced patients, respectively. The majority of the viral isolates obtained (6/9) were of the SI phenotype, though SI virus strains are rare among non-B subtypes. A significant correlation between virus isolation success and viral load was established. Coreceptor use data for heavily treatment-experienced patients with limited treatment options are scanty and this is the group with perhaps the most urgent need of novel antiretroviral agents.

The two classes of cytokines Th1 and Th2 determine the type of immune response elicited. The Th2 immune response is associated with successful pregnancy. Brucellosis is an intracellular bacterium that elicits the Th1 response and is known to cause spontaneous abortion in mammalian species. This study sought to determine if Brucella infection causes spontaneous abortion by causing the circulating cytokine profile be Th1 dominant during pregnancy. Forty-eight Swiss white mice were used in this murine model and the S19 strain of Brucella abortus was used in as the infective agent. Pregnant mice in the test group were injected intraperitoneally with 10(5-8) CFU of Brucella and cytokine profile evaluated over the three trimesters of pregnancy. Pregnant mice in the control group were left to go through normal pregnancy and their cytokine profile evaluated over the three trimesters of pregnancy. Cytokines in serum samples were analyzed by Cytometric Bead Array. The data was analyzed using the Paired T- test and p < 0.05 was considered significant. IFN-γ and TNF-α represented the Th1 cytokines while IL-4 and IL-5 represented the Th2 cytokines. None of the mice in the test group had spontaneous abortion. IFN-γ and TNF-α had no significant differences between cytokine levels for infected and uninfected groups in all 3 trimesters of pregnancy. IL-4 levels had significant differences in all three trimesters of pregnancy (t = 13, P = 0.036, 0.0071 and 0.0277). IL-5 levels had significant differences second trimester (t = 14, P = 0.0075). The cytokine profile was robustly Th2. In conclusion, Brucella abortus cannot cause spontaneous abortion by altering the mouse cytokine profile towards Th1 in pregnancy. Elevated IL-4 levels with corresponding suppression of IFN-γ can be used as a marker for successful pregnancy in Brucellosis.

Molecular tools continue to be important in the prevention and control of parasitic diseases. However, using these techniques directly in the field remains a major challenge. Therefore, the preservation of clinical samples collected from endemic field areas for later analysis remains an important preanalytical process. This study aimed at identifying a suitable protocol for stabilization and preservation of RNA and DNA in bioclinical specimens for Trypanosoma, Leishmania, and Plasmodium research. Both spiked and unspiked blood samples were preserved in 7 protocols (different media; storage temperatures). Samples were evaluated for possible degradation of DNA and RNA along the storage duration up to the 10th week. Nucleic acid targets were assessed as follows: (i) Trypanosoma and Plasmodium RNA analysis was done using real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (RT-NASBA) for 18S rRNA and for stage-specific Pfs25 mRNA, respectively; (ii) Trypanosoma DNA assessment analysis was conducted by using a conventional PCR for 18S rDNA; (iii) Leishmania RNA analysis was performed with a quantitative NASBA for 18S rRNA and Leishmania DNA assessment with an RT-PCR for 18S rDNA. Findings suggested that a newly developed L3™ buffer proved to be reliable and suitable for both short- and long-term preservation of parasite nucleic acid material. This buffer is envisaged to be suitable for utilization in field situations where resources are limited., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Infections due to methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) present global challenges to clinicians since therapeutic options are limited and suboptimal dosing contributes to heightened mortality and increased length of hospital stay particularly among the HIV infected patients., Objectives: To assess the prevalence and relative risk of MRSA infections in HIV infected patients., Design: Cross sectional analytical study., Setting: Kenya Medical Research Institute, Opportunistic Infection Laboratories in Nairobi., Subjects: Four hundred and thirty six male and female patients aged one to 65 years, of whom 220 were HIV-infected and 216 were non-infected., Results: There was 436 male (57.1%) and female (42.9%) respondents. The prevalence of MRSA was 26.3% with majority infecting the HIV infected patients (P=0.046). Likewise, the overall Staphylococcal infections were more common in HIV patients (P <0.001). The common test for MRSA oxacillin disk diffusion had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 92%., Conclusion: HIV is a predisposing factor to Staphylococcal infection and there are indications that treatment with beta-lactam antibiotics may no longer be relied on as sole empiric therapy for several ill HIV patients whose infections may be of MRSA in origin. There is need for an informed choice in administration of appropriate antibiotics in order to minimise treatment failures due to the multidrug resistance and Vanvomycin intermediate S. aureus (VISA) strains. Molecular epidemiology of MRSA strains in understanding new and emerging trends is recommended.

A total of 90 animals was immunized against East Coast fever (ECF) using Theileria parva (Marikebuni) stock on three large-scale farms in Kiminini Division, Trans-Nzoia District, North Rift, Kenya. Another 90 cattle served as non-immunized controls. Following immunization the number of cattle with significant indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) titres increased from 43.9% to 84.4% and 6.7% of the cattle developed clinical ECF reactions. Two months after immunization, the immunized and non-immunized cattle were divided into two groups one of which was dipped every 3 weeks and the other dipped when total full body tick counts reached 100. All the animals were monitored for 51 weeks for incidences of ECF and other tick-borne diseases. Twenty-four cases of ECF were diagnosed among the non-immunized cattle compared to four cases among the immunized cattle; a difference that was significant (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidences of babesiosis and anaplasmosis between the immunized and non-immunized cattle.