Makerere University

About: Makerere University is a education organization based out in Kampala, Uganda. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The organization has 7220 authors who have published 12405 publications receiving 366520 citations. The organization is also known as: Makerere University Kampala & MUK.

Forest succession in Kibale National Park, Uganda: implications for forest restoration and management

Abstract: Forest succession was studied in four plots in former grasslands at the Ngogo study area in Kibale National Park, Uganda. The plots were located in areas that had been protected from fire for 0.58, 25, 9 and ≈30 years for plots 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Species richness reflected the length of time that the plot had been protected from fire; it was highest in plot 4 and lowest in plot 1. Species density, stem density and basal area were all highest in plot 4 and lowest in plot 1. The species densities of plots 2 and 3 were not different. Similarly, plots 2 and 4 did not differ with regard to stem density or basal area. Animal seed dispersers played a vital role in the colonization of grasslands by forest tree species. Resume On a etudie la succession forestiere dans quatre plots d'anciennes prairies dans la zone de recherche de Ngogo, dans le Parc National de Kibale, en Ouganda. Ces plots etaient situes dans des endroits qui avaient ete proteges du feu pendant 0, 58, 25, 9 et ± 30 ans pour les plots 1, 2, 3 et 4 respectivement. La richesse en especes refletait la duree pendant laquelle le plot avait ete protege du feu ; elle etait maximale dans le plot 4 et minimale dans le plot 1. La densite des especes n'etait pas differente dans les plots 2 et 3. De meme, les plots 2 et 4 ne differaient pas en ce qui concernait la densite des pousses ou la surface basale. Les animaux qui dispersent les semences ont joue un role vital dans la colonisation des prairies par les especes d'arbres de forets.

Mycobacterium africanum Subtype II Is Associated with Two Distinct Genotypes and Is a Major Cause of Human Tuberculosis in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract: The population structure of 234 Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains obtained during 1995 and 1997 from tuberculosis patients living in Kampala, Uganda (East Africa), was analyzed by routine laboratory procedures, spoligotyping, and IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) typing. According to biochemical test results, 157 isolates (67%) were classified as M. africanum subtype II (resistant to thiophen-2-carboxylic acid hydrazide), 76 isolates (32%) were classified as M. tuberculosis, and 1 isolate was classified as classical M. bovis. Spoligotyping did not lead to clear differentiation of M. tuberculosis and M. africanum, but all M. africanum subtype II isolates lacked spacers 33 to 36, differentiating them from M. africanum subtype I. Moreover, spoligotyping was not sufficient for differentiation of isolates on the strain level, since 193 (82%) were grouped into clusters. In contrast, in the IS6110-based dendrogram, M. africanum strains were clustered into two closely related strain families (Uganda I and II) and clearly separated from the M. tuberculosis isolates. A further characteristic of both M. africanum subtype II families was the absence of spoligotype spacer 40. All strains of family I also lacked spacer 43. The clustering rate obtained by the combination of spoligotyping and RFLP IS6110 analysis was similar for M. africanum and M. tuberculosis, as 46% and 49% of the respective isolates were grouped into clusters. The results presented demonstrate that M. africanum subtype II isolates from Kampala, Uganda, belong to two closely related genotypes, which may represent unique phylogenetic branches within the M. tuberculosis complex. We conclude that M. africanum subtype II is the main cause of human tuberculosis in Kampala, Uganda.

Are rapid diagnostic tests more accurate in diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria compared to microscopy at rural health centres

Abstract: Background: Prompt, accurate diagnosis and treatment with artemisinin combination therapy remains vital to current malaria control. Blood film microscopy the current standard test for diagnosis of malaria has several limitations that necessitate field evaluation of alternative diagnostic methods especially in low income countries of sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is endemic. Methods: The accuracy of axillary temperature, health centre (HC) microscopy, expert microscopy and a HRP2based rapid diagnostic test (Paracheck) was compared in predicting malaria infection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as the gold standard. Three hundred patients with a clinical suspicion of malaria based on fever and or history of fever from a low and high transmission setting in Uganda were consecutively enrolled and provided blood samples for all tests. Accuracy of each test was calculated overall with 95% confidence interval and then adjusted for age-groups and level of transmission intensity using a stratified analysis. The endpoints were: sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). This study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00565071. Results: Of the 300 patients, 88(29.3%) had fever, 56(18.7%) were positive by HC microscopy, 47(15.7%) by expert microscopy, 110(36.7%) by Paracheck and 89(29.7%) by PCR. The overall sensitivity >90% was only shown by Paracheck 91.0% [95%CI: 83.1-96.0]. The sensitivity of expert microscopy was 46%, similar to HC microscopy. The superior sensitivity of Paracheck compared to microscopy was maintained when data was stratified for transmission intensity and age. The overall specificity rates were: Paracheck 86.3% [95%CI: 80.9-90.6], HC microscopy 93.4% [95% CI: 89.1-96.3] and expert microscopy 97.2% [95%CI: 93.9-98.9]. The NPV >90% was shown by Paracheck 95.8% [95% CI: 91.9-98.2]. The overall PPV was <88% for all methods. Conclusion: The HRP2-based RDT has shown superior sensitivity compared to microscopy in diagnosis of malaria and may be more suitable for screening of malaria infection.

Domestic animals as reservoirs for sleeping sickness in three endemic foci in south-eastern Uganda.

Abstract: The persistence of sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis) in some areas of south-eastern Uganda has necessitated further investigations, focusing mainly on domestic animals as reservoirs of this disease in three agro-ecological zones. The inter-zone differences in the prevalences of trypanosome infection among cattle (P < 0.001) and pigs (P < 0.001) were significant. Overall, 5.0% of the cattle, 13.9% of the pigs and 0.4% of the small ruminants investigated were found to be infected with parasites of the Trypanosoma brucei subgroup. The results of blood incubation infectivity tests (BIIT) indicated that all of the T. brucei-subgroup isolates from cattle in Kamuli district (zone I) were human-serum-sensitive. Of the zone-I pigs found infected, however, almost all (82.5%) were considered to be infected with T. brucei and many (30.2%) carried human-serum-resistant T. brucei. Pig-tsetse-human appears to be a major transmission cycle in zone I. In Mukono district (zone II), 10.5% and 26.1% of the T. brucei isolates from cattle and pigs, respectively, were human-serum-resistant, indicating that cattle-tsetse-human and pig-tsetse-human are major transmission cycles in zone II. In Tororo district (zone III), 47.3% of the T. brucei isolates from cattle were human-serum-resistant but there were no T. brucei isolates from pigs, indicating that cattle-tsetse-human is the major transmission cycle. Interestingly, as the only T. brucei isolate from sheep in zone III was human-serum-resistant, there may also be a sheep-tsetse-human cycle. In south-eastern Uganda, control efforts must be designed to eliminate the parasites not only from cattle but also from pigs and small ruminants.