Prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis in the community of Alaba District, southern Ethiopia

Background: Until the burden of active trachoma is reduced for a sustained period, trachomatous trichiasis (TT) will remain one of the major causes of blindness in Ethiopia. The magnitude of trichiasis as well as knowledge, attitude and practice of people with this condition in Alaba District is not known. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis in the community and evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of these cases. Design: A community based cross-sectional study. Setting: Alaba District, 365 Km from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Results: Out of 3850 people who were screened, 104 (2.7%, 95% confidence interval (Cl): 2.2- 3.2) cases were found to have trichiasis of which females and males accounted for 79.8% (83/ 104) and 20.2%,(21/104) respectively. While all cases didn't know the cause and risk factors for trichiasis, nearly all of them, 102 (98.1%), knew that surgical treatment could prevent blindness from trichiasis. Previously operated patients were reported to be the most important source of information regarding its management. Eighty two (78.8%) of them epilate the misdirected cilia. The cost of surgery and distance from eye care service were found to be the two main barriers preventing the cases from having surgery. Conclusion: The prevalence of trichiasis greater than 1%, according to WHO, indicated that the community of Alaba District is facing a blinding trachoma. An increased public awareness regarding this common blinding disorder is required through health education. In addition, affordable and accessible surgical facility for trichiasis is needed in the area in order to prevent blindness. East African Medical Journal Vol.80(7) 2003: 365-36

Free conjuctival autograft in the management of advanced primary and recurrent pterygia

Objectives: To evaluate the outcome of free conjuctival autograft in patients with grades III and IV pterygia and to determine the  post-operative recurrence rate.Design: A prospective descriptive study.Setting: Menelik II Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Participants: Thirty four patients, 32 with primary and two with recurrent pterygia.Intervention: A superficial Keratectomy extending beyond the corneal lesion all around and sufficiently deep to Bowman’s layer to produce a perfectly clear cornea in the excised area followed by suture a free conjuctival autograft on the excised area.Main outcome measures: Improvement in visual acuity and  recurrence rate of pterygia at follow up.Results: Of the 32 patients followed up, the visual acuity remained the same on eight and improved in 24 cases. There were no intraoperative complications. Pterygia recurred in two patients between three and four months postoperatively.Conclusion: This study suggests that a free conjuctival autograft in the management of stage III and IV pterygia is a useful operation resulting in a very low recurrence rate of the pathology

Knowledge, attitude and practice towards strabismus in Cheha District, Central Ethiopia

Background: Strabismus is the commonest cause of amblyopia that can be prevented or treated if detected early. Strabismus also causes  psychosocial problems in both children and adults. It is clear that community’s knowledge, attitude and practice dealing with strabismus affect the prevention of strabismic ambylopia and management of strabismus. Knowledge, attitude and practice dealing with strabismus have not been studied previously in Ethiopia.Objectives: To assess knowledge, attitude and practice involving strabismus in Cheha District, Central Ethiopia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 1 to November 28, 2007 in Cheha District in 10 randomly selected kebeles of the district. People aged 18 years and above from randomly selected households were interviewed about their knowledge, attitude and practice in dealing with strabismus.Results: A total of 420 people were interviewed, of whom 198 (47.1%) were males and 222 (52.9%) were females. All participants reported to have seen a case of strabismus or heard about it, the source of  information being family members or neighbors. In assessing their knowledge, 62.8% did not know the causes of strabismus and mentioned only misconceived causes like exposure to bright light. Of the total study population, 225 (53.6%) believed that there is no treatment for  strabismus and 51.4% did not want to marry or allow marriage of relatives to a person with strabismus. When they were asked about what actions they would take if there was a case of strabismus in the family, 173 (41.2%) reported that they would not take any action since it cannot be treated, 134 (31.9%) said they would take to the hospital and 113 (29.9%) reported they would try modern medicine even though it cannot be treated.Conclusion: A large proportion of adult population of Cheha District was found to have poor knowledge, attitude and practice regarding the causes and management of strabismus. Health education by health professionals and mass media is thus recommended.[Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2011;25(3):212-215

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis among primary school students in Butajira Town

Background: In Ethiopia, there is no epidemiological data on the magnitude of vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) in the community.Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify the magnitude, types, related family allergy and complications of VKC among school children of Butajira town.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January 1st and February 28th 2008 to clinically evaluate students of Butajira primary school for the presence of VKC. Stratified random sampling of all grades was used to identify the study population. An operational definition was set to classify the types of VKC and hand held slit lamp microscope was used to examine all study subjects.Results: A total of 792 students, 348 (43.9%) males and 444 (56.1%) females, were screened. VKC was diagnosed in 41 (5.2%) of the cases. Out of the cases, 26 (63.4%) were males and 15 (36.6%) were females, making a male to female ratio of 1.7:1. The majority of VKC patients, 23 (56.2%) were between 11 and 15 years of age. Limbal, mixed and palpebral types of VKC were seen in 24 (58.5%), 12 (29.3%) and 5 (12.2%) cases, respectively. Related family allergy was obtained in 5 (12.2%) cases. Keratoconus and corneal ulceration were not foundConclusion: The finding of 5.2% VKC cases indicates that the disease is one of the common causes of ocular morbidity among the study population. As VKC is a chronic, recurrent condition, school health education about its supportive and symptomatic management need to be given to teachers and students

Impact of grasspea genotypes and sowing dates on seed &#946-ODAP concentration and agronomic traits.

Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus) is an important food legume crop in Ethiopia. However, its nutritional value ishindered by β-ODAP that causes lathyrism in humans. The extent of toxicity is influenced by genetic andagronomic factors.We conducted an experiment to determine the effect of varieties and sowing dates on the β-ODAP content of the seeds and other yield components. Two varieties, Bio-520 and landrace, were planted onJuly 24, August 7 and 21, and September 4 in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 cropping seasons. Grasspea variety andseason, significantly influenced β-ODAP content of the seeds.The highly significant variety x season interactionssuggests that varieties behave differently in different seasons for their β-ODAP content. The main effects andinteractions were highly significant for days-to-flowering and plant height. Although β-ODAP content of thevarieties varied with season, the improved genotype always contained less β-ODAP concentration.Thus, whilethe development of low-toxin grasspea lines is the primary goal, modifying agronomic practices is also importantto mitigate lathyrism.Key Words: Ethiopia, Lathyrus sativus, Lathyrism, neurotoxi

Relationships among the F2 to F6 generations in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

An experiment was conducted to determine the relationships among the F2 to F6 generations of 9 chickpea crosses (Cicer arietinum L.). The F2 yields had a significant and positive correlation with those of the F3. The mean yields of the F2 and F3 were not associated with the mean seed yield of the F4, F5 and F6. Significant associations among the F2 to F6 were found for days to 50% flowering, days to maturity and individual seed mass. From the results, it is concluded that selection based on early generation bulk yield tests may not be effective. The observed inconsistency in performance of different generations may have been caused by genetic shift and breaking of gene linkage

Correlations Between Yield And Its Components In Segregating Populations Of Different Generations Of Chickpea ( Cicer Arietinum L )

Information is presented on yield correlations from a study of 9 characters in the F2 to F8 generations of 9 crosses. Correlations varied among generations

IMPACT OF GRASSPEA GENOTYPES AND SOWING DATES ON SEED \u3b2-ODAP CONCENTRATION AND AGRONOMIC TRAITS

Grasspea ( Lathyrus sativus ) is an important food legume crop in Ethiopia. However, its nutritional value is hindered by \u3b2-ODAP that causes lathyrism in humans. The extent of toxicity is influenced by genetic and agronomic factors.We conducted an experiment to determine the effect of varieties and sowing dates on the \u3b2- ODAP content of the seeds and other yield components.Two varieties, Bio-520 and landrace, were planted on July 24, August 7 and 21, and September 4 in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 cropping seasons. Grasspea variety and season, significantly influenced \u3b2-ODAP content of the seeds.The highly significant variety x season interactions suggests that varieties behave differently in different seasons for their \u3b2-ODAP content. The main effects and interactions were highly significant for days-to-flowering and plant height. Although \u3b2-ODAP content of the varieties varied with season, the improved genotype always contained less \u3b2-ODAP concentration.Thus, while the development of low-toxin grasspea lines is the primary goal, modifying agronomic practices is also important to mitigate lathyrism.Le pois carr\ue9 ( Lathyrus sativus ) est une importante l\ue9gumineuse pour l\u2019alimentation humaine en Ethiopie. Cependant, sa valeur nutritionnelle est handicap\ue9e par le \u3b2-ODAP qui cause le lathyrisme chez les humains. Le degr\ue9 de toxicit\ue9 est influenc\ue9 par des facteurs g\ue9n\ue9tiques et agronomiques. Un essai \ue9tait conduit pour d\ue9terminer l\u2019effet de vari\ue9t\ue9s et de dates de plantation sur la teneur en \u3b2-ODAP dans les graines et autres composantes du rendement. Deux vari\ue9t\ue9s notamment la Bio-520 et le landrace, \ue9taient plant\ue9es pendant les saisons culturales 2001-02 et 2002-03 en Juillet 24, le 7 et le 21 Ao\ufbt ainsi que le 4 Septembre. Les vari\ue9t\ue9s du pois carr\ue9 et la saison ont significativement influenc\ue9 la teneur du \u3b2-ODAP dans les graines. Les interactions hautement significatives entre vari\ue9t\ue9 x saison sugg\ue8rent que les vari\ue9t\ue9s se comportent diff\ue9remment pendant des saisons diff\ue9rentes en termes de la teneur en \u3b2-ODAP. Les effets principaux et interactions \ue9taient hautement significatifs \ue0 la floraison et en fonction de la hauteur des plants. Bien que la teneur en \u3b2-ODAP variait avec la saison, les g\ue9notypes am\ue9lior\ue9s contenaient une basse concentration en \u3b2-ODAP. Ainsi, pendant que le d\ue9veloppement du pois carr\ue9 est un objectif prioritaire, la modification des pratiques agronomiques est aussi importante pour la mitigation du lathyrisme

Access to Water Source, Latrine Facilities and Other Risk Factors of Active Trachoma in Ankober, Ethiopia

Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence and correlates of active trachoma in Ankober, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted during July 2007. A total of 507 children (ages 1–9 years), from 232 households were included in the study. All children were examined for trachoma by ophthalmic nurses using the WHO simplified clinical grading system. Interviews and observations were used to assess risk factors. Logistic regression procedures were used to determine associations between potential risk factors and signs of active trachoma. Results: Overall, the prevalence of active trachoma was found to be 53.9 % (95%CI 49.6%–58.2%). Presence of fly-eye (fly contact with the eyelid margin during eye examination) (Odds Ratio (OR) = 4.03 95 % CI 1.40–11.59), absence of facial cleanliness (OR = 7.59; 95%CI 4.60–12.52), an illiterate mother (OR = 5.88; 95%CI 2.10–15.95), lack of access to piped water (OR = 2.19; 95%CI 1.14–6.08), and lack of access to latrine facilities (OR = 4.36; 95%CI 1.49–12.74) were statistically significantly associated with increased risk of active trachoma. Conclusion: Active trachoma among children 1–9 years of age in Ankober is highly prevalent and significantly associated with a number of risk factors including access to water and latrine facilities. Trachoma prevention programs that include improved access to water and sanitation, active fly control, and hygiene education are recommended to lower the burde

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI