Patients-to-healthcare workers HIV transmission risk from sharp injuries, Southern Ethiopia

Background: Accidental needlestick injury rate among healthcare workers in Hawassa is extremely high. Epidemiological findings proved the infectious potential of this injury contaminated with a Human  Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected patient’s blood.Objective: This study aimed at estimating the risk of HIV transmission from patients to healthcare workers in Hawassa City, Ethiopia.Method: A probabilistic risk model was employed. Scenario-based assumptions were made for the values of parameters following areview of published reports between 2007 and 2010.Parameters: HIV prevalence, needlestick injury rate, exposure rate, sero-conversion rate, risk of HIV transmission and cumulative risk of HIV transmission.Finding: Generally, healthcare workers in Hawassa are considered to be at a relatively low (0.0035%) occupational risk of contracting HIV – less than 4 in 100,000 of healthcare workers in the town (1 in 28,751 workers a year). The 30 years’ maximum cumulative risk estimate is approximately five healthcare workers per 1000 workers in the study area. Still, this small number should be considered a serious matter requiring post-exposure prophylaxis following exposure to unsafe medical practice leading to HIV infection

Transcriptome analysis in switchgrass discloses ecotype difference in photosynthetic efficiency

Citation: Serba, D. D., Uppalapati, S. R., Krom, N., Mukherjee, S., Tang, Y. H., Mysore, K. S., & Saha, M. C. (2016). Transcriptome analysis in switchgrass discloses ecotype difference in photosynthetic efficiency. Bmc Genomics, 17, 14. doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3377-8Background: Switchgrass, a warm-season perennial grass studied as a potential dedicated biofuel feedstock, is classified into two main taxa - lowland and upland ecotypes - that differ in morphology and habitat of adaptation. But there is limited information on their inherent molecular variations. Results: Transcriptome analysis by RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) was conducted for lowland and upland ecotypes to document their gene expression variations. Mapping of transcriptome to the reference genome (Panicum virgatum v1. 1) revealed that the lowland and upland ecotypes differ substantially in sets of genes transcribed as well as levels of expression. Differential gene expression analysis exhibited that transcripts related to photosynthesis efficiency and development and photosystem reaction center subunits were upregulated in lowlands compared to upland genotype. On the other hand, catalase isozymes, helix-loop-helix, late embryogenesis abundant group I, photosulfokinases, and S-adenosyl methionine synthase gene transcripts were upregulated in the upland compared to the lowlands. At >= 100x coverage and >= 5% minor allele frequency, a total of 25,894 and 16,979 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were discovered for VS16 (upland ecotype) and K5 (lowland ecotype) against the reference genome. The allele combination of the SNPs revealed that the transition mutations are more prevalent than the transversion mutations. Conclusions: The gene ontology (GO) analysis of the transcriptome indicated lowland ecotype had significantly higher representation for cellular components associated with photosynthesis machinery controlling carbon fixation. In addition, using the transcriptome data, SNP markers were detected, which were distributed throughout the genome. The differentially expressed genes and SNP markers detected in this study would be useful resources for traits mapping and gene transfer across ecotypes in switchgrass breeding for increased biomass yield for biofuel conversion

Client preferences and acceptability for medical abortion and MVA as early pregnancy termination method in Northwest Ethiopia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing access to safe abortion services is the most effective way of preventing the burden of unsafe abortion, which is achieved by increasing safe choices for pregnancy termination. Medical abortion for termination of early abortion is said to safe, effective, and acceptable to women in several countries. In Ethiopia, however, medical methods have, until recently, never been used. For this reason it is important to assess women's preferences and the acceptability of medical abortion and manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) in the early first trimester pregnancy termination and factors affecting acceptability of medical and MVA abortion services.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective study was conducted in two hospitals and two clinics from March 2009 to November 2009. The study population consisted of 414 subjects over the age of 18 with intrauterine pregnancies of up to 63 days' estimated gestation. Of these 251 subjects received mifepristone and misoprostol and 159 subjects received MVA. Questionnaires regarding expectations and experiences were administered before the abortion and at the 2-week follow-up visit.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study groups were similar with respect to age, marital status, educational status, religion and ethnicity. Their mean age was about 23, majority in both group completed secondary education and about half were married. Place of residence and duration of pregnancy were associated with method choice. Subjects undergoing medical abortions reported significantly greater satisfaction than those undergoing surgical abortions (91.2% vs 82.4%; <it>P </it>< .001). Of those women who had medical abortion, (83.3%) would choose the method again if needed, and (77.4%) of those who had MVA would also choose the method again. Ninety four percent of women who had medical abortion and 86.8% of those who had MVA would recommend the method to their friends.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Women receiving medical abortion were more satisfied with their method and more likely to choose the same method again than were subjects undergoing surgical abortion. We conclude that medical abortion can be used widely as an alternative method for early pregnancy termination.</p

The synergy between TB and HIV co-infection on perceived stigma in Ethiopia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The synergy between tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection on perceived stigma is not well studied. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of TB/HIV co-infection on perceived stigma in selected hospitals of Oromiya region, Ethiopia. A cross sectional study was conducted from February to April, 2009 in Adama, Nekemet and Jimma Specialized hospitals. Data were collected by trained HIV counselors. A structured questionnaire which consisted of socio-demographic variables, clinical information, perceived stigma, and depression was used to collect the data</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>A total of 591 participants were included in the study of whom 124 (20.9%) were co-infected with TB/HIV. The stigma items were highly reliable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93) and had strong inter dimension correlation. Respondents who were co-infected with TB and HIV were more likely to have perceived stigma compared to non-co-infected HIV patients, [OR = 1.4, (95% CI: 1.2, 2.0)]. Non-literate individuals [OR = 1.9, (95% CI: 1.2, 3.0)] and females [OR = 1.6, (95% CI: 1.2, 2.3)] had also more perceived stigma.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>TB/HIV co-infected patients, non-literate individuals and females were more likely to have high perceived stigma. Behavioral Change Communication should focus on these segments of the population to rectify the high perceived stigma.</p

Mortality and Disability-adjusted Life-years (DALYs) for common neglected tropical Diseases in Ethiopia, 1990 to 2015: evidence from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Introduction: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are important public health problems in Ethiopia. In 2013, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has launched a national NTD master plan to eliminate major NTDs of public health importance by 2020. Benchmarking the current status of NTDs in the country is important to monitor and evaluate the progress in the implementation of interventions and their impacts. Therefore, this study aims to assess the trends of mortality and Disability-adjusted Life-Years (DALY) for the priority NTDs over the last 25 years. Methods: We used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 estimates for this study. The GBD 2015 data source for cause of death and DALY estimation included verbal autopsy (VA), Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), malaria indicator surveys (MICS) and other disease specific surveys, Ministry of Health reports submitted to United Nations (UN) agencies and published scientific articles. Cause of Death Ensemble modeling (CODEm) and/or natural history models were used to estimate malaria and NTDs mortality rates. DALY were estimated as the sum of Years of Life Lost (YLL) due to premature mortality and Years Lived with Disability (YLD). Results: All NTDs caused an estimated of 6,293 deaths (95% uncertainty interval (UI): 3699 – 10,080) in 1990 and 3,593 deaths (95% UI: 2051 – 6178) in 2015, a 70% reduction over the 25 years. Age-standardised mortality rates due to schistosomiasis, STH and leshmaniasis have declined by 91.3%, 73.5% and 21.6% respectively between 1990 to 2015. The number of DALYs due to all NTDs has declined from 814.4 thousand (95% UI: 548 thousand–1.2 million) in 1990 to 579.5 thousand (95%UI: 309.4 thousand – 1.3 million) in 2015. Age-standardised DALY rates due to all NTDs declined by 30.4%, from 17.6 per 1000(95%UI: 12.5-26.5) in 1990 to 12.2 per 1000(95%UI: 6.5 – 27.4) in 2015. Age-standardised DALY rate for trachoma declined from 92.7 per 100,000(95% UI: 63.2 – 128.4) in 1990 to 41.2 per 100,000(95%UI: 27.4 – 59.2) in 2015, a 55.6% reduction between 1990 and 2015. Age-standardised DALY rates for onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis and lymphiatic filariasis decreased by 66.2%, 29.4% and 12.5% respectively between 1990 and 2015. DALY rate for ascariasis fell by 56.8% over the past 25 years. Conclusions: Ethiopia has made a remarkable progress in reducing the DALY rates for most of the NTDs over the last 25 years. The rapid scale of interventions and broader system strengthening may have a lasting impact on achieving the 2020 goal of elimination of most of NTDs. Ethiopia should strengthen the coverage of integrated interventions of NTD through proper coordination with other health programs and sectors and community participation to eliminate NTDs by 2020

Iron deficiency anemia is not a rare problem among women of reproductive ages in Ethiopia: a community based cross sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Ethiopia, the existence of iron deficiency anemia is controversial despite the fact that Ethiopia is one of the least developed in Africa with a high burden of nutrient deficiencies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The first large nutrition study of a representative sample of women in Ethiopia was conducted from June to July 2005 and a systematically selected sub-sample of 970 of these subjects, 15 to 49 years old, were used in this analysis of nutritional anemia. Hemoglobin was measured from capillary blood using a portable HemoCue photometer. For serum ferritin, venous blood from antecubital veins was measured by an automated Elecsys 1020 using commercial kits. Diets were assessed via simplified food frequency questionnaire. The association of anemia to demographic and health variables was tested by chi-square and a stepwise backward logistic regression model was applied to test the significant associations observed in chi square tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean hemoglobin ± SD was 11.5 ± 2.1 g/dL with a 29.4% prevalence of anemia. Mean serum ferritin was 58 ± 41.1 ug/L with a 32.1% prevalence of iron deficiency. The overall prevalence rate of iron deficiency anemia was 18.0%. Prevalence of anemia, iron deficiency, and iron deficiency anemia was highest among those 31-49 years old (p < 0.05). Intake of vegetables less than once a day and meat less than once a week was common and was associated with increased anemia (p = 0.001). Although the prevalence of anemia was slightly higher among women with parasitic infestation the difference was not significant (p = 0.9). Nonetheless, anemia was significantly higher in women with history of illness and the association was retained even when the variable was adjusted for its confounding effect in the logistic regression models (AOR = 0.3; 95%CI = 0.17 to 0.5) signifying that the most probable causes of anemia is nutrition related and to some extent chronic illnesses.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Moderate nutritional anemia in the form of iron deficiency anemia is a problem in Ethiopia and therefore, the need for improved supplementation to vulnerable groups is warranted to achieve the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. Chronic illnesses are another important cause of anemia.</p

Age at menarche and the menstrual pattern of secondary school adolescents in northwest Ethiopia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Population studies on normal and dysfunctional characteristics of menstrual cycles are scarce in Ethiopia. In addition variability in menarcheal age and menstrual characteristics are common. Knowledge on this variability is necessary for patient education and to guide clinical evaluation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross sectional study was conducted in two small towns called Dabat and Kola Diba, northwest Ethiopia between April and May 2007. Systematic sampling method was used to select 622 school girls from two secondary schools. A pretested questionnaire prepared in Amharic was used to gather data. Selected girls cooperated in answering the questionnaire in their classrooms under the supervision of the research team. Only 612 of the adolescent females were included in the final analysis, of which 305 were from Koladiba High School and 307 from Dabat.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The age of the study subjects ranges between 14 and 19 with a mean (standard deviation) of 16.9 ± 1 years. About 92.2% had attained menarche by the time the survey was conducted. The probit analysis of the <it>status quo </it>data yielded a median (CI) age at menarche of 14.8 (13.9-15.3) years. The average age at menarche by recall method was 15.8 ± 1 years. The mean age at menarche was 0.3 years younger for urban females compared with rural ones (p < 0.001). A cycle length between 21 and 35 days was observed in 70.3% of the girls. The mean duration of flow was 4 ± 1.3 days with a range of 2-7 days. The menstrual cycles were irregular in 42.8% of the subjects. The overall prevalence of dysmenorrhoea was 72% among these subjects. Premenstrual symptoms were present in 435 of the females (75.4%). The leading sources of menarcheal information to the adolescents were mothers (39.7%), followed by their friends (26.6%) and teachers (21.8%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study age of menarche was found to be delayed which is even higher than the findings indicated similar studies conducted in Ethiopia and other African countries. A significant number of students complain of abnormal menstrual cycle, dysmenorrhoea and premenstrual symptoms which call for appropriate counselling and management.</p

Enhanced multifunctionality of CuO nanoparticles synthesized using aqueous leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina plant

We report the synthesis of medicinal plant, Vernonia amygdalina Del. mediated green copper oxide nanoparticles (VeA-CuO NPs). The presence of two absorbance maxima, λmax 1 and λmax 2 at 436 nm and 452 nm, respectively confirms a mixture of biomolecules surface amalgamated CuO NPs with different morphological features. The FT-IR spectra of the plant leaf extract and VeA-CuO confirmed the efficient role of biomolecules as capping and stabilising agents. The XRD patterns of NPs approved high crystallinity of CuO. The purity of the NPs was corroborated by SEM-EDAX analysis. The average particle size of the NPs was found to be 19.68 nm. In addition, the combined TEM, HRTEM and SAED analysis substantiated the presence of CuO with a d-spacing value of 0.2854 nm, which conformed to CuO (1 1 1). The antibacterial assay revealed that VeA-CuO NPs were synergistic in their influence versus bacterial strains, S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and E. aerogenes. The uppermost zone of inhibition of 15 mm was observed for E. aerogenes. The bioactive compounds capped around the CuO NPs served the effective role in disrupting the cell wall of bacterial strains. The degradation efficiencies for Indigo carmine (IC) and Malachite green (MG) dyes by NPs were found to be 95% and 91%, respectively. The lowest degradation half-life was recorded to be 16.55 min for MG dye. In addition, the better electrode stability revealed by CV and EIS studies, confirms the multi-functional nature of VeA-CuO NPs, these CuO NPs exhibited multifunctional applications