Background: Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) resistance to antimalarial drugs is a major impediment to malaria control. The Pf.Kelch 13 (PfK13) gene has been largely reported to be associated with artemisinin resistance. However, recent studies have shown artemisinin resistance without Kech13 mutations suggesting the implication of others genes in artemisinin resistance. In this current study, we focused on mutations in Pf.actin-binding protein coronin, Pf.cysteine desulfurase and Pf.plasmepsin 2 gene, three putative candidates recently were reported to be involved in artemisinin, lumefantrine and piperaquine resistance respectively. Method: Archived blood samples previously collected from asymptomatic school children from December 2016 to October 2018 were used in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted using ISOLATE II Genomic DNA kit. After PCR amplification, amplicons were purified and sequenced by capillary sequencing. Reads were analyzed for the identification of point mutations previously reported to be involved in drug selection. Results: Mutations R100K, and G50E involved in reduced artemisinin susceptibility were detected in Pfcoronin.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) affects up to half a million people every year in sub-Saharan Africa. Interruption of transmission of the disease by early diagnosis and treatment is core to the control and eventual elimination of HAT. The routine diagnostic method for HAT is light microscopy of blood samples. The present study sought to evaluate the potential of TbgI 2 and TbgI 17 tandem repeat antigens as candidates for the diagnosis of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. The expressed proteins were purified and the antigenic reactivity evaluation was done using multiplex assay using sera obtained from HAT patients. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that recombinant antigen, TbgI 2 had high sensitivity for sera from patients infected with T. b. rhodesiense with the area under the curve being 0.577 and a sensitivity of 0.641 and specificity 0.650. The results suggest that TbgI 2 is a potential biomarker for T. b. rhodesiense HAT serodiagnostic tests.

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infections affect about 400 million people globally and cause about 1.4 million deaths annually. The virus displays high levels of genetic variations/mutations, some of which are immune escape mutants. The prevalence of HBV infection in Kenya is high at about 8%. This study aimed at identifying and characterizing HBV immune escape mutants in Kenya. From 547 HBV sequences available in Kenya in NCBI, and HBVdb databases in July 2021, 120 full sequences were retrieved. The S gene sequences at position 1-225, which included the "a" determinant region of the gene were analyzed using various bioinformatics tools such as Bioedit software, and Emboss Cons. The clinical significance was flagged from the search of peer-reviewed journals. Forty-six HBV-positive blood donor samples were obtained from the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services without personal identifiers, DNA extracted, and sequenced targeting positions 1 to 520 of S genes. Mutations were similarly identified from seventeen sequences after cleaning and analysis. Out of 120 sequences that were extracted from databases and analyzed, 79 different mutations were identified. Fifteen of them were of clinical importance with an occurrence frequency of at least 5% were obtained. The majority (64.6%, n = 51), with S207N and A194V being most dominant, could result in immune escape and reduced HBsAg detection signals while 24.1% (n = 19) could result in immune escape/reduced HBsAg detection signals and high probability of hepatocellular carcinoma. Most likely to occur on the amino acids Alanine, Lysine, Serine, Asparagine, and Valine in decreasing order. The most dominant genotype was found to be Genotype A (N = 10), while four sequences were Genotype D.

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Mycoplasma genitalium is one of the smallest self-replicating organisms. It is an obligate parasite found in the human genital tract. In men, the bacteria cause both acute and chronic non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU). In women, it has been associated with pelvic inflammatory disease and cervicitis among other related infections. Treatment of M. genitalium related infections has been effective using antibiotics such as the macrolides (e.g. azithromycin) and fluoroquinolones. However, there have been recorded cases of resistance to these antibiotics in various parts of the world as a result of a mutation in the 23SrRNA gene, although the antibiotic resistance has not been well established. The aim of this study was to detect M. genitalium in 352 swab samples collected from a clinic for sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya. DNA was extracted from the swabs and stored as a crude extract at -31°C. The swab lysates were subjected to direct polymerase chain reaction using primers that specifically target the 16S rRNA gene for M. genitalium. A total of 29 samples tested positive for M. genitalium. The data results showed a M. genitalium prevalence of 8.24% among sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya.