Browsing by Author "Kariuki, Samuel"

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    Epidemiology of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli among Children under Five Years in Kenya’s Urban Informal Settlement
    (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2025-08) Njuguna, Amos; Maingi, John M.; Mbae, Cecilia; Otieno, Phelgona; Kering, Kelvin; Mbithi, Winfred; Kioko, Christine; Osman, Rahma; Kibet, Evans; Kariuki, Samuel
    Introduction: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a significant cause of diarrheal morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years, particularly in low and middle-income countries. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ETEC and associated risk factors among children under five presenting with diarrhea in health facilities in Mukuru slums of Nairobi, Kenya, where poor sanitation and hygiene practices are prevalent. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, we recruited 387 children under five years of age with acute diarrhea. Total nucleic acid (TNA) was extracted from stool samples and analyzed using a PCR-based customized TaqMan Array Card (TAC), which included three ETEC toxin genes (LT, STh, and STp) and six ETEC colonization factors (CFs). A structured questionnaire was employed to collect participants information. Findings: ETEC was detected in 148/387 samples, yielding a prevalence of 38.2% (95% CI: 34.2–42.2%). Both heat-labile and heat-stable (LT/ST) enterotoxin genes were the most common (43%) followed by heat-labile (30%), and heatstable (27%). Colonization factors (CF) were present in 52% (77/148) of ETECpositive samples with CS6 being the most frequently detected CF at 36.3% (28/77). Children aged 13–24 months had significantly elevated odds of infection (aOR = 2.48; 95% CI: 1.36–4.52, p = 0.003), as well as those aged 25–36 month (aOR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.10–4.10, p = 0.025), 37–48 months (aOR = 2.45; 95% CI: 1.21–4.97, p = 0.013), and 49–59 months (aOR = 2.59; 95% CI: 1.12–6.01, p = 0.027). Households lacking access to private flush toilets exhibited a tripled risk (aOR = 3.04; 95% CI: 1.38–6.71, p = 0.006) of ETEC positivity. Conclusion: These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted public health interventions, including improved sanitation and hygiene practices and vaccine introduction, to mitigate the burden of ETEC-related diarrhea among high-risk populations in disease endemic settings.
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    Product Innovations and Financial Performance of Savings and Credit Co-Operatives Societies in Kirinyaga County, Kenya
    (International Academic Journals, 2017) Ngure, Francis Kimani; Maina, Kimani E.; Kariuki, Samuel
    Product innovations are crucial to sustain organizations’ financial performance and raise their competitive strengths. SACCOS are the main drivers of economic and social development in rural areas of developing countries. In Kenya 81% of the population rely on the SACCOs to access financial services. However the use of SACCOs by Kenyans as a financial service provider has been declining. The SACCOs are faced with challenges of survival due to decline of members. The decline is attributed to the competition from banks which have embraced financial innovations. The study therefore investigated the effect of product innovations on financial performance of SACCOs in Kenya. The study adopted cross sectional descriptive survey research design. The target population was 60 SACCOs registered by SASRA to operate in Kirinyaga County. Stratified simple random sampling technique was used to obtain the sample size of fifty two SACCOs for the study. Primary data was collected using self-administered questionnaires while secondary data was obtained from audited financial statements. Primary and secondary data was analyzed using SPSS. The findings of the study revealed that product innovations were positively correlated to financial performance. The study will be of great importance to Policy maker in developing SACCO’s financial innovations regulatory framework. SACCO Managers will be able to adopt the product innovations that will improve financial performance of the SACCOs and their competitiveness. The study will further enlighten researchers with relevant information regarding product innovations. The study recommends that SACCOs should embrace product innovations in order to improve their financial performance. SACCOs should therefore introduce new deposit accounts in order to increase the amount of deposits. The SACCOs should also introduce credit cards and debit cards in order to increase their revenue. Similarly, the SACCOs should introduce electronic fund transfer since they have a positive effect of increasing commission fee based income
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    Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Virulence Potentials of Helicobacter pylori Strain KE21 Isolated from a Kenyan Patient with Gastric Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma
    (MPDI, 2020) Mwangi, Catherine; Njoroge, Stephen; Tshibangu-Kabamba, Evariste; Moloo, Zahir; Rajula, Allan; Devani, Smita; Matsumoto, Takashi; Nyerere, Kimang’a; Kariuki, Samuel; Revathi, Gunturu; Yamaoka, Yoshio
    Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori) infection is etiologically associated with severe diseases including gastric cancer; but its pathogenicity is deeply shaped by the exceptional genomic diversification and geographic variation of the species. The clinical relevance of strains colonizing Africa is still debated. This study aimed to explore genomic features and virulence potentials of H. pylori KE21, a typical African strain isolated from a native Kenyan patient diagnosed with a gastric cancer. A high-quality circular genome assembly of 1,648,327 bp (1590 genes) obtained as a hybrid of Illumina Miseq short reads and Oxford Nanopore MinION long reads, clustered within hpAfrica1 population. This genome revealed a virulome and a mobilome encoding more than hundred features potentiating a successful colonization, persistent infection, and enhanced disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, through an experimental infection of gastric epithelial cell lines, strain KE21 showed the ability to promote interleukin-8 production and to induce cellular alterations resulting from the injection of a functional CagA oncogene protein into the cells. This study shows that strain KE21 is potentially virulent and can trigger oncogenic pathways in gastric epithelial cells. Expended genomic and clinical explorations are required to evaluate the epidemiological importance of H. pylori infection and its putative complications in the study population.