Risk Factors for Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Illness in Rural Town Isiolo, Kenya

Abstract

This study assesses risk factors for food-borne gastrointestinal illness indicated by diarrhoea and/or vomiting using 14-day recalls among children and young adults. The study was set in Isiolo, a rural town of Kenya, inhabited mainly by pastoralists of different ethnic groups. The preparation methods of milk at the household level were also investigated. The study was cross-sectional and involved 900 participants from randomly selected households. They were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. An unmatched nested case-control study was constructed by randomly selecting three controls for each case. Potential risk factors for gastrointestinal illness were analysed using both univariate and multivariate logistic regression models with random effect on ethnic groups. The study results showed that consumption of mutton, carrots, Irish potatoes, raw camel milk, boiled camel milk and fermented camel milk were important risk factors for diarrhoea and/or vomiting, whereas the consumption of boiled goat milk, boiled cow milk, spinach, washing of hands with soap and the presence of proper drainage system had protective effects (odds ratio < 1). We conclude that in this setting, primarily vegetables and the camel milk market chain pose the greatest risks for symptoms of food-borne gastrointestinal illness.

Diarrhoeal diseases among adult population in an agricultural community Hanam province, Vietnam, with high wastewater and excreta re-use

“…The diarrhoea odds ratio was higher in people who ate raw vegetables the day before. This is consistent with observations made by Kaindi and colleagues [ 51 ], who found that consumption of vegetables poses a greater risk for food-borne gastrointestinal diseases, whereas, the consumption of boiled milk, washing of hands with soap and presence of proper drainage system had protective effects. It may be interpreted that the vegetables grown in fields irrigated with wastewater were contaminated with faeces, as indicated by high concentrations of thermo tolerant coliform and the presence of protozoan parasites [ 52 ].…”

Serosurvey ofCoxiella burnetii(Q fever) in Dromedary Camels(Camelus dromedarius)in Laikipia County, Kenya

“…Understanding which diseases are present in camels in Kenya is crucial for mitigating the impacts of these diseases on camel productivity and public health. For example, Kaindi () estimated that 10% of Kenya's 40 million people drink unpasteurized camel milk, and since raw milk is a possible transmission route for C. burnetii , the consumption of unpasteurized camel milk in Kenya may pose a high public health cost in country (Cerf and Condron, ; Rahimi et al., ; Kaindi et al., ; Hussein et al., ; Osoro et al., ).…”

Detection of Brucella abortus and Brucellla melitensis in cattle and sheep from southern Cameroon

“…In fact, cattle remain in the herd for many years and therefore, are more exposed to Brucella infections than sheep. This hypothesis is strengthened by observations reporting that as long as infected animals remain in contact with the rest of the herd, the number of infected animals will increase [13,46,47,48].…”