Browsing by Author "Makingi, G."

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Pouched rats’ detection of tuberculosis in human sputum: Comparison to culturing and polymerase chain reaction
(Tuberculosis Research and Treatment, 2012) Mahoney, A.; Weetjens, B. J.; Cox, C.; Beyene, N.; Reither, K.; Makingi, G.; Jubitana, M.; Kazwala, R. R.; Mfinanga, G. S.; Kahwa, A.; Durgin, A.; Poling, A.
Setting. Tanzania. Objective. To compare microscopy as conducted in direct observation of treatment, short course centers to pouched rats as detectors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Design. Ten pouched rats were trained to detect tuberculosis in sputum using operant conditioning techniques. The rats evaluated 910 samples previously evaluated by smear microscopy. All samples were also evaluated through culturing and multiplex polymerase chain reaction was performed on culture growths to classify the bacteria. Results. The patientwise sensitivity of microscopy was 58.0%, and the patient-wise specificity was 97.3%. Used as a group of 10 with a cutoff (defined as the number of rat indications to classify a sample as positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis) of 1, the rats increased new case detection by 46.8% relative to microscopy alone. The average samplewise sensitivity of the individual rats was 68.4% (range 61.1–73.8%), and the mean specificity was 87.3% (range 84.7–90.3%). Conclusion. These results suggest that pouched rats are a valuable adjunct to, and may be a viable substitute for, sputum smear microscopy as a tuberculosis diagnostic in resource-poor countries.
Socio-economic factors influencing use of improved technologies by smallholder paddy farmers in Kilombero District, Tanzania
(2017) Makingi, G.; Urassa, J. K.
The study on which the paper is based was carried out in Kilombero district, Morogoro Region. Specifically it aimed at; identifying smallholder paddy farmers use of improved technologies (i.e. improved seeds and fertilizers) in their production; determining socio-economic factors influencing their use or none-use of the above, and identifying inputs access challenges faced by the farmers. To address the above a cross–sectional research design was adopted whereby data were collected only once. Simple random sampling was used to obtain 120 respondents, 40 from each of the selected villages. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Collected primary data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), whereby descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were determined. In addition, a binary logistic regression model was used to determine association of some key socio-economic factors and farmers use of improved technologies. Generally, results from the logistic regression show that, availability of extension officers, involvement in other income generating activities, access to credit, household size, annual income, education level and farm size were significantly associated with the use of improved seeds and fertilizers. Results further show that, major technology use challenges faced by farmers were high inputs prices, poor availability of inputs, long distance to agro–input shops, lack of adequate input use knowledge and low quality inputs. Therefore, the paper recommends that, the Ministry of Agriculture, Local Government and other stakeholders work on ways to increase smallholder farmers’ access and use of improved technologies hence improvement of their paddy productivity. Key Words: Smallholder farmers, paddy, improved seeds, fertilizer
Studies of brucellosis in lactating cows in Babati district, Tanzania
(Tanzania Veterinary Association, 2017-12-07) Kayombo, G.; Makingi, G.; Nonga, H. E.; Misinzo, G.; Kazwala, R. R.
The present cross-sectional study was carried out to determine prevalence and risk factors for transmission of brucellosis in lactating cows in Babati district. Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT), buffered acidified plate test (BAPA), competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were used in this study to determine the presence of antibodies against Brucella and Brucella genome. Milk and blood samples from 192 randomly selected lactating cows were collected. Furthermore, questionnaires were administered to 66 milk producers to determine the risk factors for the transmission of brucellosis in between animal populations. The RBPT and BAPA results showed 4.7% (nine cows) and 5.2% (10 cows) seroprevalence, respectively. When RBPT and BAPA positive samples were tested using c-ELISA for serologic confirmation, only eight cows (4.2%) turned out to be positive. The milk samples from eight cows that were positive for Brucella antibodies using c-ELISA were tested for the presence of Brucella DNA using PCR. Three out of the eight milk samples were positive for Brucella abortus indicating shedding of Brucella in milk. Analysis of risk factors for transmission of brucellosis by Fisher‘s exact test or Chi-square showed that livestock mixing with different herds (P=0.0097, OR=11.3333), farming system of cattle (P=0.0400, OR=3.9474), breed of cattle (P=0.0284, OR=1.9860), herd size of cattle (P=0.0030, OR=1.9537) and movement of animals through selling and purchasing (P=0.0500, OR=5.0588) were statistically associated with Brucella positivity. This study provides evidence of brucellosis in lactating cows of Babati district and shedding of Brucella in milk. Institution of appropriate control measures including public health education, surveillance of animals accompanied with removal of positive cases according to laws and immunisations of cattle are highly recommended.