Wilkister Moturi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Wilkister Moturi

Environmental geochemistry and health, 2002

This study was carried out to measure the fluoride levels of water consumed in the Njoro division... more This study was carried out to measure the fluoride levels of water consumed in the Njoro division of Nakuru district, Kenya. The sources of drinking water, methods of water storage and utilisation, as well as the perceptions of the local community towards dental fluorosis and the percentage of children with moderate to severe dental fluorosis were also determined. Rainwater had mean fluoride levels of 0.5 mg L −1 , dams 2.4 mg L −1 , wells 4.1 mg L −1 , springs 5.5 mg L −1 , and boreholes 6.6 mg L −1 . Water stored in plastic and cement containers did not show appreciable reduction in fluoride content with storage time; water stored in metal containers reduced fluoride by up to 8.2%; water stored in clay pots had the highest reduction in fluoride content, ranging between 34.3 and 64.7%. Forty eight point three percent of children observed in the area had moderate to severe dental fluorosis, even though most people in the area did not know the cause of the problem. There is need to educate the community on the causes of fluorosis, and to lay strategies for addressing the issue, such as encouraging more rainwater harvesting, treating drinking water with alum, or using clay pots for storage of drinking water.

African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 2008

Moulds probably contaminate and spoil more foods than any other groups of microorganisms. They re... more Moulds probably contaminate and spoil more foods than any other groups of microorganisms. They render contaminated food not only unpalatable, but also unsafe for consumption by producing toxins. In Kenya, several incidences of acute food poisoning due to mycotoxins have occurred, and especially through the staple food, maize. Chronic exposure to mycotoxins has been linked to liver cancer, hepatitis infections, impaired immunity and stunted growth in children. Several factors may enhance the occurrence of mycotoxin in the human diet in Kenya. These include eating habits, existing marketing problems which encourage long storage periods; the pre and post harvest practices that encourage build up of moisture and thus encourage mould growth; lack of preparedness in handling the large quantities of maize produced due to the success of hybrid maize technology, ignorance and poverty. This is aggravated by the fact that there are no strict regulations that impose limits on the concentration of mycotoxins in maize that is marketed in the country as well as lack of relevant technology required in monitoring fungi and mycotoxins in the grains. Mechanisms put in place to deal with such situations can be successful, only if the several factors that contribute towards this situation are well understood. The paper discusses these factors and gives some recommendations for action and further research. The recommendations include coming up with agronomic practices that discourage mould growth; improved pre and post harvest practices; nutritional education and induction of behavioural change as regards food habits; efficient and functioning systems of marketing and pricing of domestically consumed maize, especially within the East African Community; research to identify factors leading to S-strain dominance in semi-arid regions of Kenya; identification of non toxic strains that are highly effective against the S-strain; research on how malnutrition aggravates aflatoxicosis and use of additives and other methods for rendering poor quality grain safe for consumption.

African Journal of Aquatic Science, 2004

... The majority of foodstuffs in Kenya contain less than 1ppm of fluoride, except for lake fish ... more ... The majority of foodstuffs in Kenya contain less than 1ppm of fluoride, except for lake fish which contain about 4ppm (Njenga 1982). ... Government Printer, Nairobi, Kenya. NJENGA LW (1982) Determination of Fluoride in Water using Selective Electrode and Colorimetric Methods. ...

Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 2015

Geophagia is defined as deliberate consumption of earths' materials, e.g. soil, clay and soft sto... more Geophagia is defined as deliberate consumption of earths' materials, e.g. soil, clay and soft stones. The practice is widespread among pregnant women, and there are conflicting views as to whether it is beneficial to health or not. Geophagic materials may be a source of micronutrients though the materials may bind the micronutrients thus reducing or hindering their bioavailability in the body. Geophagia is closely associated with geohelminthic infections among pregnant women and heavy metal poisoning, which constitute significant public health problem in many developing countries such as Kenya. In our research, the geophagic materials consumed by the pregnant women were studied. A total of 38 geophagic materials in the possession by different pregnant women were analysed. The collected samples were subjected to standard digestion procedures and analysed for zinc, lead and iron by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results indicated that the geophagic materials contained elevated levels of Fe at mean concentration value of 80.10 ppm, Pb at 3.28 ppm and Zn 1.81 ppm for a 1.00 g sample. An average of 20 g of the geophagic materials was being consumed per day.

Energy, Ecology and Environment, 2016

Journal of Natural Sciences Research, 2014

Dilemma exists in Kenya among various urban dwellers and policy makers on whether to promote or p... more Dilemma exists in Kenya among various urban dwellers and policy makers on whether to promote or prohibit urban cattle keeping. This is due to the intricate nature of the tradeoffs between its benefits and associated environmental hazards. The current study, therefore, sought to assess environmental effects of urban cattle keeping in Nakuru Municipality in Nakuru County of Kenya. Through a cross-sectional survey, primary data was collected using sets of structured and semi-structured questionnaires, and focused group discussions. Stratified sampling was used, with simple random sampling within the strata applied. Fishers Exact Formula was then used to select the 186 cattle keepers that were interviewed. Chi-square and paired t-tests were performed to determine the existence of significant differences between observations. Results indicate that majority (90.

Lancet (London, England), Jan 10, 2015

The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor study 2013 (GBD 2013) is the first of a s... more The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor study 2013 (GBD 2013) is the first of a series of annual updates of the GBD. Risk factor quantification, particularly of modifiable risk factors, can help to identify emerging threats to population health and opportunities for prevention. The GBD 2013 provides a timely opportunity to update the comparative risk assessment with new data for exposure, relative risks, and evidence on the appropriate counterfactual risk distribution. Attributable deaths, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) have been estimated for 79 risks or clusters of risks using the GBD 2010 methods. Risk-outcome pairs meeting explicit evidence criteria were assessed for 188 countries for the period 1990-2013 by age and sex using three inputs: risk exposure, relative risks, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL). Risks are organised into a hierarchy with blocks of behavioural, environmental...

The Lancet, 2015

Background The Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013) aims to bring together all availabl... more Background The Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013) aims to bring together all available epidemiological data using a coherent measurement framework, standardised estimation methods, and transparent data sources to enable comparisons of health loss over time and across causes, age-sex groups, and countries. The GBD can be used to generate summary measures such as disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and healthy life expectancy (HALE) that make possible comparative assessments of broad epidemiological patterns across countries and time. These summary measures can also be used to quantify the component of variation in epidemiology that is related to sociodemographic development.

African health sciences

Exposure to indoor air pollution may be responsible for nearly 2 million per year deaths in devel... more Exposure to indoor air pollution may be responsible for nearly 2 million per year deaths in developing countries. In Kenya, it is among the factors linked to high morbidity, especially in children aged below five years. The survey was conducted in 2005 in 350 rural households to identify household factors that are likely to enhance indoor air pollution. Questionnaire, continuous and spot observations were used to collect data on household characteristics, type of primary building in homestead, number of rooms, type of ventilation present and type of fuel used by the household. State of housing and type of fuel used were found to be likely risk factors for indoor air pollution. Fifty two point six percent of those interviewed live in mud walled houses with iron sheet roofs. Ninety one percent live in either single or two roomed houses. Ventilation is provided both by small windows and a space left in between the wall and roof. Thirty seven percent of observed houses have no windows. ...

The major causes of morbidity and mortality in children in Kenya are due to diseases that are pre... more The major causes of morbidity and mortality in children in Kenya are due to diseases that are preventable through immunization, proper environmental management or observing basic hygiene. A case study was conducted in 2005-2006 in 350 rural households in upper River Njoro watershed to determine selected environmental health risks to children aged 1-4 years in the home environment. These risks included food handling practices, handwashing at critical times and faecal disposal practices. Data was collected using information from key informants, questionnaires, continuous and spot observations. Results indicate that about 41% of study households did not have toilets and faecal disposal for children was suboptimal, implying poor faecal disposal methods. This could explain the reason why in 69.4% of households, faecal matter was spotted in the compound at least once during the visits made to the homesteads. This predisposes the children, who play around the compound, to faecal-oral infec...

Approximately 2.2 million diarrheal disease deaths occur annually, predominantly in children in d... more Approximately 2.2 million diarrheal disease deaths occur annually, predominantly in children in developing countries due to inadequate access to clean drinking water. A large part of the populace in Nyanza lack clean drinking water yet the region hosts Lake Victoria. Konyango Jieri residents continue to suffer from waterborne diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the level of faecal contamination in source and household water. Water samples were drawn from eight draw-off points along River Awach which the households use for drinking. Simple random sampling was used to select households where water was drawn for microbial analysis using petrifilm and colilert tests. Analysis of Variance was used to tests for the difference in their means. Significant differences (p<0.05) existed between E.coli densities in different source points along the river and in the household water samples. The water at source and households was found to be contaminated with bacteria of fae...

The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 2009

Background: Many children under the age of five are exposed to environmental health risks in the ... more Background: Many children under the age of five are exposed to environmental health risks in the home environment. These lead to diseases such as diarrhoea, which along with acute respiratory infections, malaria and intestinal worms, account for 70% of the total health burden to children under five in Kenya. The aim of this study was to investigate whether earth eating within the home environment by children is a risk factor for diarrhoeal disease. Methodology: A longitudinal study was conducted in 350 households having children aged below five years between April and October, 2005. Questionnaire and observation were used to collect data on participant demographics, earth eating practices in children, incidence of diarrhoea, structure of the home, sanitary facilities available, and presence of faecal matter in the yard. Results: Thirty-seven percent of index children ingest earth occasionally (less than a handful) and 12% ingest a lot (a handful or more). Diarrhoea is positively correlated with earth eating (r = 0.306), presence of human faeces in the yard (r = 0.587), presence of animal faeces in the yard (r = 0.225) and the index child not wearing loincloth (r = 0.471). Chi-square test of independence also indicates that earth eating is significantly related to diarrhoea (p < 0.005). Conclusion: Earth eating is a risk factor for diarrhoea in the home environment in this region of Kenya.

The Lancet, 2014

The Millennium Declaration in 2000 brought special global attention to HIV, tuberculosis, and mal... more The Millennium Declaration in 2000 brought special global attention to HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria through the formulation of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6. The Global Burden of Disease 2013 study provides a consistent and comprehensive approach to disease estimation for between 1990 and 2013, and an opportunity to assess whether accelerated progress has occured since the Millennium Declaration. To estimate incidence and mortality for HIV, we used the UNAIDS Spectrum model appropriately modified based on a systematic review of available studies of mortality with and without antiretroviral therapy (ART). For concentrated epidemics, we calibrated Spectrum models to fit vital registration data corrected for misclassification of HIV deaths. In generalised epidemics, we minimised a loss function to select epidemic curves most consistent with prevalence data and demographic data for all-cause mortality. We analysed counterfactual scenarios for HIV to assess years of life saved through prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and ART. For tuberculosis, we analysed vital registration and verbal autopsy data to estimate mortality using cause of death ensemble modelling. We analysed data for corrected case-notifications, expert opinions on the case-detection rate, prevalence surveys, and estimated cause-specific mortality using Bayesian meta-regression to generate consistent trends in all parameters. We analysed malaria mortality and incidence using an updated cause of death database, a systematic analysis of verbal autopsy validation studies for malaria, and recent studies (2010-13) of incidence, drug resistance, and coverage of insecticide-treated bednets. Globally in 2013, there were 1·8 million new HIV infections (95% uncertainty interval 1·7 million to 2·1 million), 29·2 million prevalent HIV cases (28·1 to 31·7), and 1·3 million HIV deaths (1·3 to 1·5). At the peak of the epidemic in 2005, HIV caused 1·7 million deaths (1·6 million to 1·9 million). Concentrated epidemics in Latin America and eastern Europe are substantially smaller than previously estimated. Through interventions including PMTCT and ART, 19·1 million life-years (16·6 million to 21·5 million) have been saved, 70·3% (65·4 to 76·1) in developing countries. From 2000 to 2011, the ratio of development assistance for health for HIV to years of life saved through intervention was US$4498 in developing countries. Including in HIV-positive individuals, all-form tuberculosis incidence was 7·5 million (7·4 million to 7·7 million), prevalence was 11·9 million (11·6 million to 12·2 million), and number of deaths was 1·4 million (1·3 million to 1·5 million) in 2013. In the same year and in only individuals who were HIV-negative, all-form tuberculosis incidence was 7·1 million (6·9 million to 7·3 million), prevalence was 11·2 million (10·8 million to 11·6 million), and number of deaths was 1·3 million (1·2 million to 1·4 million). Annualised rates of change (ARC) for incidence, prevalence, and death became negative after 2000. Tuberculosis in HIV-negative individuals disproportionately occurs in men and boys (versus women and girls); 64·0% of cases (63·6 to 64·3) and 64·7% of deaths (60·8 to 70·3). Globally, malaria cases and deaths grew rapidly from 1990 reaching a peak of 232 million cases (143 million to 387 million) in 2003 and 1·2 million deaths (1·1 million to 1·4 million) in 2004. Since 2004, child deaths from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa have decreased by 31·5% (15·7 to 44·1). Outside of Africa, malaria mortality has been steadily decreasing since 1990. Our estimates of the number of people living with HIV are 18·7% smaller than…

Environmental Earth Sciences, 2012

Journal of Urban Health, 2014

Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine, 2015