Department of Health and Bio-medical Sciences

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    Development and Comparison of Capture Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Indirect Immunofluorescent Test in Determination of Nairobi Sheep Disease Virus.
    (2016-04-13) Waiganjo, Naomi; Nganga, Zipporah; Binepal, Yatinder
    Abstract The diagnosis of Nairobi Sheep Disease relies on the inoculation of tissue culture, Baby Hamster kidney (BHK-21), with suspensions of infected samples followed by identification of the virus using indirect Immunofluorescent assay. These tests have a number of drawbacks including low specificity; visual reading of results which requires highly skilled expertise and tissue culture facilities therefore development of capture Enzyme linked Immuno Sorbent assay (ELISA) would improve the diagnosis of NSD in infected sheep. Nairobi Sheep Disease Virus (NSDV) was isolated, purified and titrated to determine the best working titer for immunization of animals. The purified virus subjected to IIFA test and fluorescence indicated the presence of NSDV. The animals immunized were rabbits and goat which were used for production of antibodies for C-ELISA test. C-ELISA was set-up using anti-goat sera as the primary antibody, purified NSDV as antigen and anti-rabbit sera as the secondary antibody. A 1:400 dilution was established as best dilution for true positive and negative samples. The diagnostic specificity and specificity of the developed C-ELISA was estimated. False positive samples were picked by IIFA, which was confirmed by tissue culture technique. The level of agreement between developed CELISA and IIFA used as a gold test was 95%, and the Kappa index was 0.86. The perfect agreement indicated by Kappa values is a sign that both tests can be used. However, C-ELISA is a better test in that it is more flexible and less subjective. The sensitivity and specificity of C-ELISA was estimated at 80% and 100% respectively. The results showed high diagnostic specificity of developed C- ELISA which could be adapted to test a large number of samples over short periods of time. The test is useful during outbreaks of NSD without need for tissue culture facilities.
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    Anti-Schistosomal activity of five plant extracts on Swiss white mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni
    (2016-04-13) Waiganjo, Naomi; Yole, Dorcas; Ochanda, Horace
    Abstract : Schistosomiasis in humans is a major public health problem worldwide. Schistosomiasis occurs in 76 tropical countries and it is estimated that 85% of the infections are in Africa. In Kenya, it is estimated that 3 million people are infected. The Conventional drugs are effective in the treatment of the disease but very little progress has been achieved on treatment of Schistosomiasis in Kenya. Any effort towards developing alternative drugs for the disease is worthwhile. Praziquantel is the most effective drug against all adult stages of human Schistosomiasis, being the drug of choice for morbidity control of Schistosomiasis. However it is not a satisfying situation to have one drug used for the treatment. Ideally other drugs should be availed in order to avoid development of drug resistance. The use of plant extracts in treatment of diseases is universal. The results obtained showed that Ocimum americanum and Bridelia micrantha plant extracts had antischistosomal activity as indicated by high worm reduction and reduced gross pathology. Histopathology showed no or few granuloma in the liver tissue. Further work should be done on the efficacious extracts, towards drug development.
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    Phytochemical analysis of the selected five plant extracts
    (2016-04-13) Waiganjo, Naomi; Ochanda, Horace; Yole, Dorcas
    Abstract Herbal medicine is still the mainstay of about 75 - 80% of the whole population, and the major part of traditional therapy involves the use of plant extracts and their active constituents. Plants were collected, identified, dried then extracted using hexane, Dichloromethane/methanol and water. Identification assays to test the presence of various chemical constituents were carried out. The five plants were: Sonchus luxurians, Ocimum americanum, Bridelia micrantha, Croton megalocarpus and Aloe secundiflora. The Phytochemical screening of the compounds present in the plant extracts were; alkaloid, glycosides, Saponins, reducing sugar, Steroid, Flavones and Catecholics. The most common compound in all the plant extracts was Catecholics. Steroids are used in medicine to treat many diseases. The Plant extracts can be possible candidates for drug development.
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    Immunological Responses of Mice After Treatment with Ocimum Americanum Hexane and Bridelia Micrantha Water Plant Extracts
    (2016-04-13) Waiganjo, Naomi; Yole, Dorcas; Ochanda, Horace
    Abstract : Background-The T helper 1 (TH1) and TH2 dichotomy was first shown in murine CD4+ lymphocytes clones and these cells could be differentiated in terms of the cytokines they secrete. The TH1 subsets produce interleukin 2 (IL-2,) interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and lymphotoxin, TH2 subsets produce IL-4, IL-5, IL-6 IL-10 and IL-13. An important function of the TH2 response during infection is to produce cytokines that can prevent or dampen the production or effector functions of potentially dangerous inflammatory mediators. Results The results obtained showed that Ocimum americanum hexane (OAH) and Bridelia micrantha (BMW) water extract had antischistosomal activity. This was indicated by low worm recovery, high worm reduction, and reduced gross pathology with histopathology showing no or few granulomas in the liver tissue, which was similar to Praziquantel (PZQ). The two extracts had both cellular and humoral responses as demonstrated by IFN-γ, IL-5 and IgG responses. OAH and BMW were significantly similar to PZQ; however BMW had higher IgG responses. BMW had higher IFN-γ responses for both spleen and lymph node cells. Conclusion this implied that treatment groups were able to produce the TH-1 response which is important for cell mediated immunity. Although both extracts induced production of IL-5 for both lymph node and spleen cells, OAH generated more IL-5.