CW-Department of Environmental Health

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Browsing CW-Department of Environmental Health by Author "Wamicha, W. N."

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    Bacteriological Quality in Freshwater Reservoirs in Kericho Tea Estates in Kenya: Implications for Environmental Health Education
    (Joypet Sevices & Printers Ltd., 2004) Akunga, D. N.; Wamicha, W. N.
    This study was aimed at assessing the bacteriological quality of the drinking water sources in Tea Plantation Estates of Kericho District with a view to relating the water quality aspects to the frequency of waterborne disease outbreaks among the tea plantation workers. Fieldwork was undertaken at four private reservoirs for five consecutive months starting from November 2001 to March 2002. Standard plate count method was used for the quantification of heterotrophic bacterial density while the analysis of water for the presence of total and faecal coliforms was carried out using the multiple-tube fermentation technique. Data for waterborne diseases outbreaks were obtained from the Brooke Bond company dispensaries while data for household water treatment procedures were obtained by way of questionnaires and interview schedules. The results of microbial levels obtained indicate presence of bacteria of the coliform group in the dams and end user drinking joints, which is an indication that the water might contain microorganisms that cause diseases like typhoid fever or dysentery among others. About 35 percent of the workers seeking medical attention at the dispensaries were suffering from a waterborne related problem. Also observed was the fat that majority of the respondents had no proper information regarding good sanitary practices and or water treatment techniques that reduce the risk of bacterial infection. There is need for a spirited education and awareness campaigns among the workers in the plantation estates on the good sanitary practices.
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    Preventive Health Curricular in Kenya: A Quest for Policy Backup
    (Joypet Sevices & Printers Ltd., 2004) Wamicha, W. N.
    Going by the WHO 1948 Alma Ata declaration, the current decade (2001 to 2010) was envisioned to be "healthy for all". In Kenya, though some diseases like small pox and polio have since in way been controlled, other challenging health aspects have emerged. At the same time the health offering institutions are strained in many aspects. In order to respond to these challenges, there is need to review the health policy/legal framework in Kenya. This is therefore a policy analysis work. During this work, the legal/policy documents were transcribed and commented upon in order to elaborate the legal jargon. The quantitative data from the legal documents was tabulated while the qualitative data was coded and these codes tabulated. Finally selected tabulated data was illustrated in graphs and charts. Population projections indicate that, some of the trends will have a bearing on the health services. For example, HIV/Aids is expected to cause a lag in the population growth due to its major adverse effects on health. Other aspects that are expected to change are densities per given area and female to male ratios. The Public Health Act of 1986 in Kenya laid a lot of emphasis on the clinical aspects of health. However the existing clinical health institutions in the country are now strained in terms of coping with the daily attendances and due to personnel drain. There is therefore the need to develop other aspects of health especially those dealing with disease prevention. At the university level, capability to train such personnel in preventive health fields was also analysed. Three universities namely Kenyatta, Nairobi and Moi do offer high quality programmes in these areas. However in a future health legal/ policy framework, it may be necessary to define more clearly the following; Health Inspection, Community Health, Public Health and Environmental Health.
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    The Role of Alternative Medicine in Kenya: Experiences of a Herbal Practitioner
    (Joypet Sevices & Printers Ltd., 2004) Githae, J. K.; Wamicha, W. N.
    In Kenya there are about 15 medical doctors for every 100,000 persons, a ratio that is quite low. Due to this, people are bound to seek other forms of health care. For this reason, about 80% of people in the developing country do seek alternative treatment in one form or other. Therefore, the development of alternative medicine in a Country would improve and ensure the availability of basic health. This study was therefore aimed at highlighting how herbal medicines are prepared and applied. The legal/policy framework for herbalists in Kenya is also analysed. Methods of policy analysis are used. Herbal medicine extractions from different plant parts are as follows: the stems (43%), whole plant (20%), each of the leaves and roots (J 0), the bark (7%) and flowers (7%). The costs of herbal medicine is distributed as: procurement from forests (30%), processing (52%) and distribution to clinics (12%). About 5% of the costs goes to resource conservation. Of the 6 clinics analysed, Nairobi has the highest number (80) while Nakuru has the lowest (20) patients visiting the clinics daily. In a rank of 10 diseases, headache (J 3%) is the most recurrent complaint in the herbal clinics followed by; abdominal (J 2%) and cardiovascular ailments (7%). Impotence (2%) and cancer (1%) are characterised by the least complaints. Those most affected by headaches are students with 34% of the complaints and business people (32%) which maybe due to studying and business uncertainties respectively. In terms of cardiovascular ailments, employed people (35%) and housewives (30%) are the worst affected. This could be due to their characteristic taking of high-energy diets coupled with lack of exercise. The students (4%) are the least affected by cardiovascular ailments due to rigorous exercises and their youthfulness. Most frequent abdominal ailments occur in Nairobi district (35%) and Kiambu (19%) while Nyandarua and Nyeri areas are characterised by Lessthan 10% of the cases. Bones and joints ailments show similar trends to those of abdominal ailments. Abdominal complaints usually reflect poor quality of water a population is using. Nairobi and Kiambu water sources usually have high contents of fluorine, which can cause brittle bones. Poor joints in adults are usually associated with gout as a result of consuming high amounts of red meat. It is observed that all sorts of diseases are treated in clinics distributed over all the provinces of Kenya except Nairobi. Hence herbal medicine is feasible. However despite this the Ministry of Health has neither a system of registering herbal medicine practitioners nor programmes for training herbalists. Since Kenya is signatory to the WHO Charter, then it is time to take action.