Knowledge and perceptions of antenatal women towards prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS in Blantyre, Malawi

A CAJM medical article.Objectives: To determine antenatal attendees’ knowledge and perceptions towards selected aspects of prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. Setting: Five rural and six urban public health centers in Blantyre District, Malawi. Subjects: 126 consecutive pregnant women attending antenatal clinics. Design: Cross sectional qualitative study utilizing focus group discussions (FGDs). Analysis was based on content analysis. Results: Knowledge about HIV/AIDS especially regarding causative agents of AIDS, transmission and prevention was generally high in all FGDs. One individual though, suggested that HIV was transmitted by mosquito bites and another that HIV was transmitted by being exposed to persistent coughing. The majority of 126 women identified HIV testing of pregnant women as of potential benefit and necessary for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. In most cases, the benefit mentioned for HIV testing was that it was good to know about one ’ s HIV status rather than being ignorant. Other suggested benefits of HIV testing of pregnant women were: future family planning, as an incentive to reduce the number of sexual partners and to know the cause of the problem in case a child is failing to thrive rather than blame witchcraft. Male spouses were identified as both potential supporters and limiting agents towards pregnant women’s acceptability of HIV testing. Conclusion: HIV testing among pregnant women to ensure prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV is a complex issue. Women consider various factors before making decisions. Programme planners and implementing agencies need to be aware of these issues and work together with women and other stakeholders in order to overcome such limitations

Quantification of the Impact of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Measures on Groundwater Availability in Mendae Catchment, Abraha We-Atsebaha, eastern Tigray, Ethiopia

The paper tries to evaluate the impact of integrated soil and water conservation measures on water availability in Mendae catchment (10.37 km2), which is located in the northeastern Tigray. Historical background of the catchment with respect to its land use was obtained from the local Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development office. The hydrology of the area was characterized based on its land use, soil, slope, rainfall,  temperature, evapotranspiration, and runoff. Thornthwaite method and Thornthwaite soil-water balance model were used to determine potential and actual evapotranspiration, respectively. The mean annual runoff from the catchment was computed using runoff coefficient method. Before the intervention, the area was severely degraded and known with scarcity of water. Integrated soil and water conservation (physical and biological measures) was introduced to the area since 1993. The catchment is characterized by two rainy season and three dry seasons during the year. The rainy seasons in total have four months whereas the dry seasons comprises of eight months. The mean annual rainfall of the catchment is 565.8 mm, out of which rainy season accounts for 86.13% and the dry season for 13.87%. The rain that occurs with a very high concentration accounts 73.20 % of the mean annual rainfall of the catchment and this occur only in two months (July and August).The mean annual potential and actual evapotranspiration was found to be 832.67 mm and 405.61mm, respectively. The volume of runoff before and after the intervention was found to be 26.88 % and 17.19 % of the mean annual rainfall of the catchment, respectively. The groundwater recharge before and after the intervention was found to be 1.43 % and 19.04% of the mean annual rainfall of the catchment, respectively. The availability of groundwater has increased more than 10 times since 1993. Though the groundwater is being used for both complimentary and supplementary irrigation during the dry and rainy season, respectively, construction of additional physical conservation structures is suggested to further improve the groundwater availability in the area.Keywords: Groundwater, Mendae catchment, Surface runoff, Water balance, Tigray, Ethiopia

Physiochemical characteristics of honey obtained from traditional and modern hive production systems in Tigray region, northern Ethiopia

This study was conducted with the objective to determine the  physiochemical characteristics of Tigray honey (n= 38) and to compare the quality honey of Tigray with those described in the Quality Standard Authority of Ethiopia, Codex Standard and European Honey Directive. Honey samples were collected from traditional hives (n =19) and modern hives (n=19) production systems. Physiochemical characteristics evaluated were: color, moisture, reducing sugar, sucrose, acidity, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), mineral content, pH, water insoluble solids and specific gravity. All parameters were analyzed following the techniques proposed by the Codex Standard for Honey. A statistical analysis using GMP5 soft ware was utilized to determine the differences in quality between honey from traditional and modern hive production systems. The average content of mineral, moisture, acidity, invert sugar, pH, sucrose, specific gravity and water insoluble solids in traditional hive honey samples were 22%, 18.25%, 29.89 meq kg-1, 70.95%, 4.13, 2.37%, 1.41 and 0.07%, respectively. On the other hand, the corresponding values for honey samples from modern hive production system were 0.18%, 18.60%, 29.12meqkg-1, 71.42 %, 4.04, 2.71%, 1.40, and 0.03%, respectively. Consequently, no significant differences (p> 0.05) were found in all the quality parameters except for water insoluble solids. The mean value for HMF was 11.18 mgkg-1 for the processed honey and the color of the honey varied from white to amber with light amber (55.26%) being the predominant color of the honey in Tigray. All the honey samples met the Codex Standard, QSAE and EU physiochemical quality Standard limits for honey except water insoluble solids in traditional hive production system. Water insoluble solids were found in 26.32% of the samples examined which will have to be improved through intensive training and experience sharing.Key word: Honey, Quality, Physiochemical characteristics, Tigra

Study on the prevalence of ectoparasite infestation of ruminanats in and around Kombolcha and damage to fresh goat pelts and wet blue (pickled) skin at Kombolch Tannary, Northestern Ethiopia

An attempt was made to study the prevalence of ectoparasite damage on live cattle, sheep and goats in and around Kombolcha town and on raw goat skin to assess their skin defect on processed wet-blue (pickled) skins at Kombolcha tannery, south wollo zone, North-Eastern Ethiopia. A total of 240 cattle, 175 sheep, 66 goats, were used to study the prevalence of ectoprasites on live animals as well as 344 fresh goat pelts and pickled (wet-blue) goat skins were used to assess skin defects. The result obtained from live cattle demonstrated a high prevalence of Amblyomma (28.33%) followed by Sarcoptes scabiei (23.75%), Boophilus (11.25%) Demodex (9.58%), Psoroptes (0.4 %), respevtively. The prevalence of ectoprasite infestation of live sheep revealed Mellophagus ovinus (sheep ked) (32.57%), Bovicola ovis (22.28%), Amblyomma spp (12.57%), Sarcoptes scabiei (14.28 %), Ctenocephaliedes spp (8.57%), Demodex (6.85%), Linognathus africanus (6.28%) and Boophilus spp (4%). The result from goats demonstrates a high prevalence of Sarcoptes scabiei (30.3%) followed by Linognathus stenopsis (9.09%), Amblyomma (4.54%), Ctenocephalides spp (3.03%), Bovicola caprea (1.51%) and Demodex (1.51%) in that order. Result obtained from fresh goats pelts revealed an over all high prevalence of Sacoptes scabie (53.29%) followed by Linognathus stenopsis (9.88%), Bovicola caprae (2.08%) and Demodex (2.08%). Examination of pickled (wet-blue) skins from follow-up skins show a high prevalence of scratch (74.25%) followed by “Ekek” (68.56%), scar (67.06%), processing defect (28.44%). “Ekek” (Typical scatter type cockle) was found to show a significant (

Pattern of Fatal Injuries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A One-year Audit

Background: Injury continues to account for a large number of clients attending emergency department in Addis Ababa. Reliable information on causes of death is essential to the development of health policies for prevention and control. The aim of this atudy was to identify the pattern and common causes of fatal injuriesMethods: This is prospective study analyses autopsy data related to fatal injuries handled by Menilik II Hospital between July1, 2006 –June 30, 2007. (Sene 24, 1998 - Sene 23, 1999)Results: A total of 2107 cases were analyzed. The victims were mostly male and the most vulnerable age group was found to be 15-44 years. Accidents versus homicide and accident versus suicide ratio was 1.8:1 and 5:1 respectively. Road traffic accidents were the most frequent causes of accident related death. Main means of homicide was hit by blunt or sharp object or firearm. More than 90% of victims who committed suicide use hanging or poisoning.Ninety percent of deaths occur with in 24 hours of the injury and only 105 (5%) died from the second day on wards. Eighty one percents of this patients had never received any medical care (either pre-hospital or hospital level).Conclusion: Road traffic accidents accounted for most causes of injury related deaths. Significant proportion of patients had no access to emergency medical care. The findings strongly suggest that more aggressive, regulatory, educational, and rapid emergency treatment is necessary to address the large number of injury related death

Comparison of multidrug resistant Salmonella between intensively - and extensively-reared antimicrobial - free (ABF) swine herds

This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella species in swine reared in the intensive (indoor) and extensive (outdoor) ABF production systems at farm and slaughter in North Carolina, U.S.A. We sampled a total of 279 pigs at farm (Extensive 107; Intensive 172) and collected 274 carcass swabs (Extensive 124; Intensive 150) at slaughter. Salmonella species were tested for their susceptibility against 12 antimicrobial agents using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Serogrouping was done using polyvalent and group specific antisera. A total of 400 salmonellae were isolated in this study with a significantly higher Salmonella prevalence from the Intensive (30%) than the extensive farms (0.9%) (P \u3c 0.001 ). At slaughter, significantly higher Salmonella was isolated at the pre and post-evisceration stages from extensively (29 % pre-evisceration and 33.3 % post-evisceration) than the intensively (2 % pre-ev1sceration and 6 % post-evisceration) reared swine (P \u3c 0.001 ). The isolates were clustered in six serogroups including B, C, E1, E4, G and R. Highest frequency of antimicrobial resistance was observed against tetracycline (78.5%) and streptomycin (31 .5%). A total of 13 antimicrobial resistance patterns were observed including the pentaresistant strains with ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline resistance pattern observed only among isolates from the intensive farms (n=28) and all belonged to serogroup B. This study shows that multidrug resistant Salmonella are prevalent in ABF production systems despite the absence of antimicrobial selection pressure