IntroductionAsymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is the presence of bacteria in urine without apparent symptoms of urinary tract infections. The importance of asymptomatic bacteriuria lies in the insight it provides into symptomatic infections. To determine prevalence, bacterial isolates and Antibiotic Sensitivity Profile of asymptomatic bacterial urinary tract infection in pregnant women in selected clinics in Nairobi.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study involving women attending antenatal clinic at selected clinics of Nairobi County. The women who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. The midstream urine samples of these women were subjected to microscopy, culture and sensitivity.ResultsA total of 1020 of women on their first antenatal clinic visit participated in the study; 219 of them had ASB, giving a prevalence of 21.5 % at 95% confidence level. Escherichia coli were the common organism isolated at 38.8%. The majority of the organisms were sensitive to imipenem and gentamycin.ConclusionThere is a high prevalence of ASB among pregnant women included in the study from the Nairobi county clinics. Therefore, routine ASB screening of pregnant women is recommended among the women attending antennal clinics in Nairobi county clinics.

Antimicrobial agents are useful for control of bacterial infections in food animals and man. Their prudent use in these animals is important to control any possible development and transfer of resistance between animals and man. The objective of this study was to generate quantitative information to evaluate antimicrobial usage patterns by animal species, route of administration, antimicrobial class and type of use from 1995 to 1999 in Kenya. Theses data are essential for risk analysis and planning and can be helpful in interpreting resistance surveillance data, and evaluating the effectiveness of prudent use efforts and antimicrobial resistance mitigation strategies. Data on quantities of active substance classes were collected from the official records of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of the Ministry of Health and analysed in MS Excel 2000 program. The mean antimicrobial consumption for the 5-year period was 14 594 +/- 1457 kg per year. This was distributed in the various antimicrobial classes as follows: 7975 kg (54.65%) of tetracyclines, 3103.96 kg (21.27%) of sulfonamides and 954.5 kg (6.56%) of aminoglycosides, 905 kg (6.20%) of beta-lactams, 94 kg (0.64%) of quinolones, 35 kg (0.24%) of macrolides and 24 kg (0.16%) of others (tiamulin). Mean consumption per year among the various food animals was: 10 989 +/- 357 kg in large animals (cattle, sheep, pigs and goats), 2906 +/- 127 kg in poultry alone and 699 +/- 427 kg in both large animals and poultry. These quantities represented 56.56% (8255 kg) consumption per year for parenteral use, 41.79% (6098 kg) for oral use and 1.65% (241 kg) for topical use (intramammary and eye ointments) in cattle. With respect to intended use in food producing animals, the mean consumption per year was: 13 178 kg (90.30%) for therapeutic use (ST), 4 kg (0.03%) for prophylactic treatment (PT) and 1411 +/- 246 kg (9.67%) was used both for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes (GPT). The study confirmed that antimicrobials are not used for growth promotion in Kenya. There was no specific trend in the quantities of active antimicrobial classes. This study has revealed that the tetracyclines, sulfonamides and trimethoprim, nitrofurans aminoglycosides, beta-lactams and the quinolones are the most commonly used drugs in food-producing animals in Kenya. Tetracyclines contributed approximately 55% of the total consumption, and there was an increasing trend in the consumption of quinolones from 1998.

Objective-Several fastidious bacteria have been associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV), but their role in lactobacilli recolonization failure is unknown. We studied the effect of seven BVassociated bacterial species and two Lactobacillus species on vaginal colonization with L. crispatus CTV-05 (LACTIN-V).Methods-Twenty four women with BV were given a 5-day course of metronidazole vaginal gel and then randomized 3:1 to receive either LACTIN-V or placebo applied vaginally once daily for 5 initial consecutive days, followed by a weekly application over 2 weeks. Vaginal swabs for L. crispatus CTV-05 culture and 9-bacterium specific 16S rRNA gene quantitative PCR assays were analyzed on several study visits for the 18 women receiving LACTIN-V.Results-Vaginal colonization with CTV-05 was achieved in 61% of the participants receiving LACTIN-V at either the day 10 or the 28 visit and 44% at day 28. Participants not colonized with CTV-05 had generally higher median concentrations of BV-associated bacteria compared to those who colonized. Between enrollment and day 28, the median concentration of Gardnerella vaginalis minimally reduced from 10 4.5 to 10 4.3 16S rRNA gene copies per swab in women who colonized with CTV-05 but increased from 10 5.7 to 10 7.3 in those who failed to colonize (p=0.19). Similarly, the median concentration of Atopobium spp. reduced from 10 2.7 16S rRNA gene copies per swab to below limit of detection in women who colonized with CTV-05 but increased from 10 2.7 to 10 6.6 in those who failed to colonize (p=0.04). The presence of endogenous L. crispatus at enrollment was found to be significantly associated with a reduced odds of colonization with CTV-05 on day 28 (p=0.003) and vaginal intercourse during the study significantly impaired successful CTV-05 colonization (p=0.018).Corresponding Author Benjamin M. Ngugi, Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 19464-00202 Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: +254-20-2720794; +254-725-808838, Fax: +254-20-2720030, bm_ngugi@yahoo.com. NIH Public Access

BackgroundChicken is a rich source of meat protein and is increasingly being consumed in urban areas in Kenya. However, under poor hygienic environment, raw chicken meat presents an ideal substrate supporting the growth of pathogenic Escherichia coli and Coliform bacteria indicating the potential presence of other pathogenic bacteria; this may constitute a major source of food-borne illnesses in humans. This study sought to assess the microbiological quality and safety of raw chicken meat sold in Nairobi, Kenya by determining the E. coli/coliform contamination levels as well as the antimicrobial resistance patterns and pathogenicity of E. coli isolated.FindingsWe conducted a Cross-sectional study to collect two hundred raw chicken samples that were randomly purchased between the periods of August 2011-February 2012. Enumeration of bacteria was done using 3 M Petri film E. coli/Coliform count plates, isolation and identification of E. coli through standard cultural and biochemical testing, antimicrobial susceptibilities interpreted according to criteria set by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (2012) while Polymerase chain reaction assays were used to determine presence of virulence genes in isolated E. coli. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. Contamination rates were 97% and 78% respectively for Coliform bacteria and E. coli. Seventy six percent of samples fell under the unacceptable microbial count limit (>100 cfu/ml) and significant differences in the E. coli/coliform counts (p < 0.001) were observed among the chicken retail outlets with samples from supermarkets having the lowest level of contamination compared to the rest of the retail outlets. Seventy five percent of the isolates were resistant to at least one of the 12 antibiotics tested with resistance to tetracycline being the highest at 60.3%. In addition 40.4% E. coli isolates were positive for the ten virulence genes tested.ConclusionRaw retail chicken meats in Nairobi are not only highly contaminated, but also with potentially pathogenic and multi-drug resistant strains of E. coli. It will be important for public health authorities and retail chicken processing outlets to collaborate in ensuring adherence to set out principles of hygienic processing and handling of chicken meats in order to reduce potential risks of infection.