Browsing by Author "Tumwesigye, Elioda"

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    Household-Based HIV Counseling and Testing as a Platform for Referral to HIV Care and Medical Male Circumcision in Uganda: A Pilot Evaluation
    (PloS one, 2012) Tumwebaze, Henry; Tumwesigye, Elioda; Baeten, Jared M.; Kurth, Ann E.; Revall, Jennifer; Murnane, Pamela M.; Chang, Larry W.; Celum, Connie
    Combination HIV prevention initiatives incorporate evidence-based, biomedical and behavioral interventions appropriate and acceptable to specific populations, aiming to significantly reduce population-level HIV incidence. Knowledge of HIV serostatus is key to linkages to HIV care and prevention. Household-based HIV counseling and testing (HBCT) can achieve high HIV testing rates. We evaluated HBCT as a platform for delivery of combination HIV prevention services in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: We conducted HBCT in a semi-urban area in southwestern Uganda. All adults received standard HIV prevention messaging. Real-time electronic data collection included a brief risk assessment and prevention triage algorithm for referrals of HIV seropositive persons to HIV care and uncircumcised HIV seronegative men with multiple sex partners to male circumcision. Monthly follow-up visits for 3 months were conducted to promote uptake of HIV care and male circumcision. Results: 855 households received HBCT; 1587 of 1941 (81.8%) adults were present at the HBCT visit, 1557 (98.1% of those present) were tested and received HIV results, of whom, 46.5% were men. A total of 152 (9.8%) were HIV seropositive, for whom the median CD4 count was 456 cells/mL, and 50.7% were newly-identified as HIV seropositive. Three months after HBCT, 88.5% of HIV seropositive persons had attended an HIV care clinic; among those with CD4 counts ,250 cells/mL, 71.4% initiated antiretroviral therapy. Among 123 HIV seronegative men with an HIV+ partner or multiple partners, 62.0% were circumcised by month 3. Conclusions: HBCT achieves high levels of knowledge of HIV serostatus and is an effective platform for identifying at-risk persons and achieving higher uptake of HIV prevention and care services through referrals and targeted follow-up than has been accomplished through other single focus strategies.
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    Morphological Evaluation of Mulberry Genotypes across different Agro-ecological Conditions in Uganda
    (World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 2022) Masiga, Clet Wandui; Esimu, Joseph; Ssemugenze, Brian; Walimbwa, Janet Nagasha Emma; Mushikoma, Daniel; Kasiime, Godfrey; Kutosi, Demas Lukoye; Mugisha, Didas; Twikirize, Nipher; Malenje, Solomon; Mwijuka, Eliakim; Akatwijuka, Prima; Kiboma, Michael; Kateme, Colophina; Okoth, Stephen; Ndabagye, John; Baruhagara, Ismail; Sempiri, Geoffrey; Ngambe, Mugume Naboth; Mousavi, Sayed Mohammad Ali; Nguku, Everlyn; Omene, Emmanuel; Tumwesigye, Elioda; Wangoda, Samuel
    Mulberry (Morus spp.) is the chief source of food for the silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) which grows indiverse climatic conditions and is regarded as a unique plant on this earth due to its ability to be cultivated in different forms; multiple uses of leaf foliage and its positive impact in environment, bioremediation of polluted sites, conservation of water, prevention of soil erosion and improvement of air quality by carbon sequestering and pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and health care industries has gained the attention of industrialists. Eight different mulberry genotypes were evaluated using eleven different traits related to agronomic and quality attributes as a feed for silkworm. The experiments were conducted in nine different districts across Uganda using a randomized complete block design. Analysis of variance was performed on quantitative characters to assess the morphological diversity. The results obtained revealed a high significant difference among the genotypes across all the locations. The traits that were significantly different across the mulberry accessions included lamina width and petiole length (P ≤ 0.01), petiole width and growth height (P≤0.05), internodes distance and number of branches (P ≤ 0.001). Mysore Local and Thailand varieties had the highest plant height, Kanva2 had the highest number of branches, the longest bud length was observed in Local variety while the leaf yield was more in Thailand. The correlationcoefficient showed a positive significant association of all the traits with leaf yield. The results obtained indicated that genotypes performed slightly differently in differently locations due to different factors studied. Overall, we therefore recommend farmers in these diverse ecological zones to grow these mulberry varieties, with good agronomic practices such as proper spacing, timely weeding and pest and disease management in order to obtain consistent high yields.