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B S Lowe

Publications and source records attributed to B S Lowe.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Antibiotic susceptibility and genotypes of non-typhi Salmonella isolates from children in Kilifi on the Kenya coast.

A 4-year retrospective study was undertaken at the Kilifi District Hospital on the coast of Kenya to determine the antibiotic-susceptibility patterns and genotypes of non-typhi Salmonella (NTS) isolates from children. Overall, during the period 1994-97, positive cultures were obtained from 543 (14%) of 3885 blood samples, 364 (30%) of 1210 stool samples and 143 (11%) of 1283 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. NTS were isolated from 151 (27.8%), 72 (19.8%), and 11 (7.7%) of these positive cultures, respectively. The total 234 NTS isolates were serotyped: the most frequent were Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (41%) and S. enterica serotype Typhimurium (38%). Antibiotic sensitivity testing was done using ampicillin (amp), chloramphenicol (chl), gentamicin (cn), co-trimoxazole (s-t), cefuroxime (cxm), ciprofloxacin (cip), cefotaxime (ctx), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 20 micrograms-10 micrograms (amc), and tobramycin (tob). Of the 234 isolates, 43 were sensitive to all antibiotics tested and 133 were multiple drug resistant (MDR). The most common resistance type seen was amp, cn, cxm, s-t, ctx, amc, tob (36/234). Our results indicate a high proportion of MDR amongst the isolates from Kilifi. We conclude that 2 major serotypes of salmonella, i.e., S. enterica serotype Typhimurium and S. enterica serotype Enteritidis, of micro-epidemic nature that have been previously unrecognized in Kilifi are responsible for infection in Kilifi district on the coast of Kenya and that over half (56.8%) of total NTS isolates are MDR.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Malaria is an important cause of anaemia in primigravidae: evidence from a district hospital in coastal Kenya.

A study was undertaken in order to determine the prevalence and aetiology of anaemia in pregnancy in coastal Kenya, so as to establish locally important causes and enable the development of appropriate intervention strategies. 275 women attending the antenatal clinic at Kilifi district hospital, Kenya, were recruited in November 1993. The prevalence of anaemia (haemoglobin [Hb] < 11 g/dL) was 75.6%, and the prevalence of severe anaemia (Hb < 7g/dL) was 9.8% among all parities; 15.3% of 73 primigravidae were severely anaemic, compared with 7.9% of 202 multigravidae (P = 0.07). In primigravidae, malaria infection (Plasmodium falciparum) was strongly associated with moderate and severe anaemia (chi 2 test for trend, P = 0.003). Severe anaemia was more than twice as common in women with peripheral parasitaemia as in those who were aparasitaemic, and parasitaemia was associated with a 2.2g/dL decrease in mean haemoglobin level (P < 0.001). In multigravidae, iron deficiency and hookworm infection were the dominant risk factors for anaemia. Folate deficiency and human immunodeficiency virus infection were not strongly associated with anaemia. It is suggested that an intervention that can effectively reduce malaria infection in primigravidae could have a major impact on the health of these women and their infants.

Anemia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Acridine orange fluorescence techniques as alternatives to traditional Giemsa staining for the diagnosis of malaria in developing countries.

Traditional Giemsa-stained thick blood films were compared with 2 fluorescence microscopy techniques, acridine orange (AO) staining of thin blood films and the quantitative buffy coat (QBC) method, for the microscopical diagnosis of malaria. Of 200 samples examined, 141 were positive by Giemsa staining, 146 by AO and 137 by QBC. Overall sensitivities for the 2 fluorescence techniques compared to Giemsa staining were good: AO 97.9% and QBC 93.6%. However, with parasitaemias < 100/microL the QBC sensitivity fell to 41.7% whereas that of AO was 83.3%. Both AO and QBC were unable to differentiate accurately between individual malaria species. We conclude that the QBC technique alone cannot replace Giemsa-stained thick blood films for most purposes in an African setting. However, apart from species differentiation, the AO method is an appropriate technique for the laboratory diagnosis of malaria in developing countries.

Acridine Orange↗