Effect of livestock grazing on soil micro-organisms of cracking and self mulching vertisol

The impact of grazing on physical properties of Vertisol was studied from 1996 to 2000 in the Ethiopian highlands. The study was conducted at two sites with 0-4 % and 4-8 % slopes at Tero Jemjem watershed in Ginchi, 80 km west of Addis Ababa. The main objective of this work was to study effect of livestock on soil microorganisms of the cracking and self-mulching Vertisol. The stocking rate was moderate grazing 1.8 animal-unit months per hectare (AUM) ha-1, heavy grazing 3.0 animal-unit months per hectare (AUM) ha-1 (3.0 AUM) ha-1 and a control treatment with no grazing. Soil bacterial content was high in medium grazed treatments at 0-4% slope in alls sampling seasons. In contrast the soil fungal content was high in non-grazed plots. Soil nitrifying bacteria was high in clipping treatments as compared to the rest of the treatments. The soil fungal quantity differed significantly with sampling seasons; highly significant correlation coefficient was observed between soil fungal quantities and sampling seasons. There was also highly significant correlation between soil fungal and soil bacteria quantity

management of Foreign Body Aspiration in Pediatric Patients: An Experience from a Tertiary Hospital in Ethiopia

No Abstract

Prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhea and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among symptomatic women attending gynecology outpatient department in Hawassa Referral Hospital, Hawassa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: gonorrhoeae, a sexually transmitted disease caused by Neisseria gonorrhea for which humans are the only natural host. The causative organism is highly adapted to the genital tract and often causing asymptomatic and undetected infection in females in which Acquisition of gonococcal infection late in pregnancy can adversely affect labor and delivery as well as the well-being of the fetus. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and drug susceptibility pattern of Neisseria gonorrhea among symptomatic women in Hawassa Referral Hospital.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 1 2010 to February 30, 2011 at Hawassa Referral Hospital. All women who visited gynecology outpatient department (OPD) with suspected gonococcal infection were included. Endocervical swab was collected by the attending physician. The presence of gonorrhea was confirmed by culture, gram staining and biochemical tests. Antimicrobial sensitivity test was performed using disc diffusion method and the result was interpreted accordingly. RESULTS: Of the total 215 cases examined, 11 (5.1%) were confirmed to have gonococcal infection. Although not statistically significant, most of the cases 5/11 (45.5%) were in age group of 20-24 years and the identified organism had low level susceptibility to quinolones (ciprofloxacin 55%, ofloxacin 64% & lomefloxacin 64%).CONCLUSION: Despite low rates of gonorrhea infection, it is important to focus on high-risk populations (reproductive age group) because of the great physical and emotional costs of the disease. A high resistance for quinolones, the commonly used antibiotics was observed for this laboratory-based diagnosis is recommended. Keywords: Neisseria gonorrhea, drug susceptibility, symptomatic women, Southern Ethiopi

Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. isolated from ovine carcasses and faeces in Ethiopia

The foodborne thermophilic Campylobacter species are considered to be the leading cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide with emerging antimicrobial resistant strains. Consumption of raw or undercooked meat is an important source for zoonotic infection. A cross-sectional study was conducted on sheep destined for slaughter at a slaughterhouse in Addis Ababa to determine the prevalence of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. A total of 160 carcass swabs and 160 rectal swabs were bacteriologically examined from which 21 (13.1%) and 12 (7.5%) thermophilic Campylobacter spp. were isolated, respectively. Biochemical test results of the carcass isolates indicated 12 (57.1%) to be C. jejuni, 6 (28.6%) C. coli and 3 (14.3%) C. lari. Similar examination of abattoir environment pool samples of eight sampling days revealed 7 (87.5%) to be positive for the thermophilic Campylobacter spp. None of the wash water samples were positive for the bacteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern test towards twelve antimicrobials using standard disc diffusion method revealed higher resistance (38.1%) for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and kanamycin (38.1%) followed by streptomycin, oxytetracycline and compound sulphonamide (33.3% each). Most isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and clindamycin (4.8% each) and to a lesser degree to erythromycin (9.5%). Multidrug resistance was observed in 52.4% of the isolates examined. Isolation of thermophilic Campylobacter spp., with higher isolation rate for C. jejuni, the primary cause of human campylobacteriosis, from sheep meat and the existence of resistant isolates highlight the potential threat to public health. Therefore, implementation of Campylobacter prevention and control strategies from farm production to consumption of sheep meat are crucial

Prevalence, Reasons, and Perceived Effects of Khat Chewing Among Students of a College in Gondar Town, Northwestern Ethiopia: A Cross‑sectional Study

Background: The estimate of the number of people chewing Khat globally ranges from 5 to 10 million people. Its use may result in a variety of effects due to the different compounds in it with effects on the gastro‑intestinal system and nervous system being the principal ones. Aim: To assess the prevalence, factors, and effects of Khat chewing among students of a college in Gondar town, northwestern Ethiopia. Subjects and Methods: An institution‑based cross‑sectional study was conducted from 15th to 20th of April 2009 on a total sample of 424 students who were selected using stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected by three of the principal investigators using a structured pretested data collection instrument and analyzed by Epi Info version 3.5.2. Results: The lifetime and current prevalence of Khat chewing among the respondents were 42% (168/400) and 32.5% (130/400), respectively. Sex (P < 0.01), religion (P < 0.001), and income (P < 0.01) showed statistically significant variation in Khat chewing. The commonest frequency of Khat chewing was once a day 33.1% (43/130) while alcohol (40.8% [53/130]) and cigarette (40.0% [52/130]) were the mostly used substances with Khat. More than half of the chewers (53.85% [70/130]) reported spending 1–4 h for one Khat chewing ceremony. Financially majority of the chewers reported spending up to 10 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (1.13 United States Dollar) on Khat ( 54.6% [71/130]) and other substances (64.6% [84/130]). Nearly two‑thirds (62.3% [81/130]) of the chewers mentioned seeking concentration during study as their main reason for chewing. Among chewers, 83.1% (108/130) reported they faced problem associated to sleep disturbance, 82.3% (107/130) loss of appetite, and 80.8% (105/130) constipation. Conclusion: The prevalence of Khat chewing was fairly high among the students and the majority among them used other substances together with Khat. Spending of a significant amount of money and facing health problems were reported to be consequences of the habit. The college should take steps to make students aware of the ills of Khat chewing and associated habits.Keywords: College, Effects, Gondar, Khat, Prevalence, Reason

Report on Training of Trainers (TOT) in Tigray Region on Africa RISING Project Validated Technologies/Innovations in the Ethiopian Highland

United States Agency for International Developmen

Summary of research for development ‘best practice’ technologies validated in the Africa RISING Endamehoni site in Ethiopia, 2013-2016

United States Agency for International Developmen

Proximate determinants of fertility in Ethiopia: comparative analysis of the 2005 and 2011 DHS

Fertility is one of the elements in population dynamics that makes a significant contribution towards changing population size and structure over time. In Ethiopia, for the last 10 years the total fertility rate (TFR) has declined slightly from 5.5 to 4.8 children in 2011. But, the TFR in urban areas has increased from 2.4 to 2.6 per 1000 live births. The Bongaarts model was applied to estimate the indices of the four main proximate determinants of fertility. Bongaarts defines the TFR of a population as a function of the total fecundity rate (TF), index of marriage (Cm), index of contraception (Cc), index of postpartum infecundability (Ci), and index of abortion (Ca); this can be written as TFR = Cm × Cc × Ci × Ca × TF. In 2005, the index of married women in urban areas was lower than rural, but it was unfortunately the same in urban and rural areas in 2011. For the last decade, the index of postpartum infecundability had a great fertility reduction effect compared with the contraception index and marriage index in rural Ethiopia. The lower the four indices of proximate determinants, the more fertility will be reduced. As such, the Ethiopian government, international non-governmental organizations and policy-makers must pay attention to increase the prevalence of contraceptive use and educate society to fight against child marriage. Permanent contraceptive use, such as female sterilization, should be promoted; moreover, legal organizations and the community must work together to raise the legal age of marriage to 18 years.IS