The GP(1,2) envelope glycoproteins (GP) of filoviruses (marburg- and ebolaviruses) mediate cell-surface attachment, membrane fusion, and entry into permissive cells. Here we show that a 151-amino acid fragment of the Lake Victoria marburgvirus GP1 subunit bound filovirus-permissive cell lines more efficiently than full-length GP1. An homologous 148-amino acid fragment of the Zaire ebolavirus GP...

Lake Victoria provides important ecosystem services including transport, water for domestic and industrial uses and fisheries to about 33 million inhabitants in three East African countries. The lake plays an important role in modulating regional climate. Its thermodynamics and hydrodynamics are also influenced by prevailing climatic and weather conditions on diel, seasonal and annual scales. H...

The objectives of this study was to conduct a survey on schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections in order to come up with feasible control strategies in Lake Victoria basin, Tanzania. Depending on the size of the school, 150-200 schoolchildren were recruited for the study. Duplicate Kato-Katz stool smears were prepared from each child and microscopically examined for Schis...

Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria is considered to be contaminated with toxic chemicals emanating from anthropogenic activities, especially near large industrial towns such as Kisumu. This has recently caused concerns about its water quality and impact on aquatic organisms and human beings. This study was justified by the need to generate baseline concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (...

The presence of many metals at trace or ultra-trace levels in the human environment has received increased global attention (WHO 1977; Hutton 1982; IRPTC 1984). Surveillance of concentrations of heavy metals in the environment is of global interest since elements like cadmium, lead and mercury are listed as environmenta]ly dangerous chemical substances. Sediments as a sink for pollutants are wi...

Current earth observation models do not take into account the influence of water salinity on the evaporation rate, even though the salinity influences the evaporation rate by affecting the density and latent heat of vaporization. In this paper, we adapt the SEBS (Surface Energy Balance System) model for large water bodies and add the effect of water salinity to the evaporation rate. Firstly, SE...

Lake Victoria, East Africa, has been the site of many recent studies measuring mercury (Hg) concentrations in water, fish, sediment, soil, and humans. Most of these studies were motivated by concerns about Hg contamination from processing of gold ore on the southern shores. Total Hg (THg) concentrations in fish were usually below permissible World Health Organization (WHO) concentrations and in...

The Lake Baringo and Lake Victoria regions of Kenya are associated with high seroprevalence of mosquito-transmitted arboviruses. However, molecular identification of potential mosquito vector species, including morphologically identified ones, remains scarce. To estimate the diversity, abundance, and distribution of mosquito vectors on the mainland shores and adjacent inhabited islands in these...

We looked for mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum K13 propeller gene of an artemisinin-resistant parasite on islands in Lake Victoria, Kenya, where transmission in 2012-2013 was high. The 4 new types of nonsynonymous, and 5 of synonymous, mutations we detected among 539 samples analyzed provide clues to understanding artemisinin-resistant parasites.