Comparison of different Kato templates for quantitative faecal egg count of intestinal helminth parasites

IntroductionEstimating the intensity of infection is crucial for. estimating morbidity due to intestinal helminth parasites (1) .The intensity of infection of most intestinal helminth parasites is indirectly estimated by quantitative faecal egg count which, in turn, is used for estimating the worm burden (2). Along this line, the quantitative Kato's thick smear method is the most widely used because of its simplicity , low cost, adaptability to the field and adequate sensitivity (3). However , because of the various modifications that are available (50mg, 41.7mg and 20mg templates) comparison of results have been quite difficult. The modifications are based on variations in the thickness and diameter of the template which, in turn, determines the amount of the faecal matter delivered on the slide

Transmission dynamics of Schistosoma mansoni in an irrigation setting in Ethiopia

Summary: The transmission dynamics of S. mansoni was studied in the Metehara Sugar Estate for 12 months. The prevalence of human infection ranged from 7.4% to 71.3% for 6 villages in the Estate. The infection rate was highest in the 10-14 years of age while the intensity reached peak in the 5-9 years. There were significant variations in the focality and seasonality of transmission. Biomphalaria pfeifferi which was persistent year round, was most abundant during the dry season. Absence of potable water supply and sanitary facilities, proximity to irrigation canals, and overcrowding are some of the most important factors influencing transmission of schistosomiasis in Metehara Sugar Estate. Mass chemotherapy and mollusciciding should be launched in Awash and Chore farm villages to control transmission, while treatment of children under 15 years is believed to control morbidity in other villages. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1995 9(3): 146-158

Intestinal helminth infections among the current residents of the future Finchaa Sugar plantation area, Western Ethiopia

Abstract: In a cross-sectional survey of helminth infections made in February 1995 in the future Finchaa Sugar Project area, Finchaa Valley, Western Ethiopia, Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworms were found to be the most prevalent reaching, on average, 28% and 20%, respectively, among the populations living in seven camps. Schistosoma mansoni also reached 22% and 30% in two of the camps. Other parasites which were present at lower prevalences were Trichuris trichiura, Taenia saginata, Entrobius vermicularis, Fasciola hepatica, and Hymenolepis nana. The geometric mean egg counts per gram of faeces (epg) of A. lumbricoides, S. mansoni, hookworms and T. trichiura were 977, 141, 126 and 65 respectively. Both prevalence and intensity of infection of the last four parasites were highest among those below 15 years of age except hookworm which appeared to be more prevalent among the teenagers. All ages combined, only A. lumbricoides was more prevalent among the females (P<0.05). The frequency distribution of A. lumbricoides, S. mansoni, and hookworm egg counts showed that the parasites are highly over-dispersed with the majority of the sample population producing none or few eggs, and a small portion producing relatively high numbers of eggs. Also, the ratios of variance: arithmetic mean egg counts were large for the young age groups indicating a high degree of aggregation of the parasites in the community and adding more evidence to the generally held view about the frequency distribution of helminth parasites in the human population. The possibility of increased transmission of the parasites due to irrigation development and their potential adverse effects on the population is discussed and possible control measures suggested.[Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1997;11(3):219-228

Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Bahir Dar and Risk Factors for Transmission

A study of intestinal parasites and assessment of transmission factors were made in Bahir Dar town, northwestern Ethiopia. Out of 528 children examined by formolether concentration method over 95 % were found to harbour one or more intestinal parasites. Human behaviour and poor sanitary conditions appeared to be responsible for the transmission of geohelminths, faeco-orally transmitted amoebae and water-related schistosome parasites. Health education is suggested to play a vital role in the control of intestinal parasitic infections

Evaluation of NPSZn Blended Fertilizer on Yield and Yield Traits of Bread Wheat (Tritcum aestivum L.) on Cambisols and Vertisols in Southern Tigray, Ethiopia

አህፅሮት  የግብርና ምርትና ምርታማነት ለማሳደግ የተለያዩ ዓይነት ምጥን ማዳበርያዎች፣ ዳፕ እና ዩርያን በመተካት ወደ ሃገራችን  ለሙከራ የገቡት በቅርቡ ነው፤ NPSZn ምጥን ማዳበርያም አንዱ ነው፡፡ የተለያየ መጠን NPSZn (0፣ 50፣ 100፣ 150፣ 200፣ 250፣ 300 ኪ.ግ በሄክታር) እና የተለመደው ዩርያና ዳፕ ማዳበርያ እንደ መወዳደርያነት በማካታት በራንደማይዝድ ኮምፕሊት ብሎክ ዲዛይን (RCBD) በሶስት ድግግሞሽ በ2009ዓ.ም እና 2010ዓ.ም በትግራይ በኦፍላ እና እምባ አላጀ ወረዳዎች ተሞክሯል፡፡ የቅድመ ተከላ የአፈር ናሙና እንደሚያመለክተው የናይትሮጅን መጠን በአብዛኛው የምርምር ሳይቶች ዝቅተኛ ሲሆን የፎስፎረስ መጠን ደግሞ መካከለኛ ነበር፡፡ በተለያየ የምርት መለኪያ መንገዶች እና በኢኮኖሚያዊ አዋጭነት መሰረት 200ኪ.ግ NPSZn ምጥን ማዳበርያ ከ62 ኪ.ግ ዩርያ በኦፍላ እንዲሁም 100ኪ.ግ NPSZn ምጥን ማዳበርያ ከ100ኪ.ግ ዩርያ በእምባ አላጀ ከሌሎች የማዳበርያ መጠኖች በተሻለ በስንዴ ምርት ላይ የተሻሉ እንደሆኑ ተረጋግጧል፡፡   Abstract A field experiment was carried out in 2017 and 2018 main cropping seasons in Ofla and Emba Alaje Woredas in Tigray Regional State, Ethiopia. The experiment has seven levels of NPSZn (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, kg ha-1) adjusted for N from urea to the recommended N level (64 kg N ha-1) and the recommended P fertilizers (46 kg P2O5 ha-1). The treatments were also arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and executed on two farmers' fields. Soil samples were collected before planting and analyzed for selected physicochemical properties. As a result, the application of different rates of NPSZn blended fertilizer significantly influenced the yield and yield components of wheat at both sites. At Ofla, the highest grain and straw yields were obtained from plots that received 200 kg NPSZn ha-1 . At Emba Alaje, the highest grain and straw yields were harvested from the application of 200 kg NPSZn ha-1 and 100 kg NPSZn ha-1, respectively. Application of Zn in the blended fertilizer had no significant effect on grain Zn concentration of bread wheat at both sites. Partial budget analysis revealed that the optimum marginal rate of return was 22.25ETB and 16.06ETB at Emba Alaje and Ofla, respectively. Both biological and economic analysis showed that applications of 200kg NPSZn with 28.6 kg N (62 kg urea) at Ofla and 100 kg NPSZn with 46 kg N (100 kg urea) at Emba Alaje were optimum for wheat production and these rates could be recommended for areas where the rainfall distribution and soil types are similar with the study locations. Further study should be done on the effects of NPSZn on grain quality and a single nutrient-based experiment should be carried out to evaluate the effect of each nutrient in the blended fertilizer for crop production. &nbsp

Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis between Farmers and Cattle in Central Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) complex could be possible between farmers and their cattle in Ethiopia. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A study was conducted in mixed type multi-purposes cattle raising region of Ethiopia on 287 households (146 households with case of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and 141 free of TB) and 287 herds consisting of 2,033 cattle belonging to these households to evaluate transmission of TB between cattle and farmers. Interview, bacteriological examinations and molecular typing were used for human subjects while comparative intradermal tuberculin (CIDT) test, post mortem and bacteriological examinations, and molecular typing were used for animal studies. Herd prevalence of CIDT reactors was 9.4% and was higher (p<0.01) in herds owned by households with TB than in herds owned by TB free households. Animal prevalence was 1.8% and also higher (p<0.01) in cattle owned by households with TB case than in those owned by TB free households. All mycobacteria (141) isolated from farmers were M. tuberculosis, while only five of the 16 isolates from cattle were members of the M. tuberculosis complex (MTC) while the remaining 11 were members of non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM). Further speciation of the five MTC isolates showed that three of the isolates were M. bovis (strain SB1176), while the remaining two were M. tuberculosis strains (SIT149 and SIT53). Pathology scoring method described by “Vordermeier et al. (2002)” was applied and the average severity of pathology in two cattle infected with M. bovis, in 11 infected with NTM and two infected with M. tuberculosis were 5.5, 2.1 and 0.5, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results showed that transmission of TB from farmers to cattle by the airborne route sensitizes the cows but rarely leads to TB. Similarly, low transmission of M. bovis between farmers and their cattle was found, suggesting requirement of ingestion of contaminated milk from cows with tuberculous mastitis

Conceptualising centres of excellence: a scoping review of global evidence

Objective- Globally, interest in excellence has grown exponentially, with public and private institutions shifting their attention from meeting targets to achieving excellence. Centres of Excellence (CoEs) are standing at the forefront of healthcare, research and innovations responding to the world’s most complex problems. However, their potential is hindered by conceptual ambiguity. We conducted a global synthesis of the evidence to conceptualise CoEs. Design- Scoping review, following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and methodological enhancement by Levac et al and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Data sources- PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Google Scholar and the Google engine until 1 January 2021. Eligibility- Articles that describe CoE as the main theme. Results- The search resulted in 52 161 potential publications, with 78 articles met the eligibility criteria. The 78 articles were from 33 countries, of which 35 were from the USA, 3 each from Nigeria, South Africa, Spain and India, and 2 each from Ethiopia, Canada, Russia, Colombia, Sweden, Greece and Peru. The rest 17 were from various countries. The articles involved six thematic areas—healthcare, education, research, industry, information technology and general concepts on CoE. The analysis documented success stories of using the brand ‘CoE’—an influential brand to stimulate best practices. We identified 12 essential foundations of CoE—specialised expertise; infrastructure; innovation; high-impact research; quality service; accreditation or standards; leadership; organisational structure; strategy; collaboration and partnership; sustainable funding or financial mechanisms; and entrepreneurship. Conclusions- CoEs have significant scientific, political, economic and social impacts. However, there are inconsistent use and self-designation of the brand without approval by an independent, external process of evaluation and with high ambiguity between ‘CoEs’ and the ordinary ‘institutions’ or ‘centres’. A comprehensive framework is needed to guide and inspire an institution as a CoE and to help government and funding institutions shape and oversee CoEs

Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction in Ethiopia (SURE) evaluation study: a protocol to evaluate impact, process and context of a large-scale integrated health and agriculture programme to improve complementary feeding in Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Improving complementary feeding in Ethiopia requires special focus on dietary diversity. The Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction in Ethiopia (SURE) programme is a government-led multisectoral intervention that aims to integrate the work of the health and agriculture sectors to deliver a complex multicomponent intervention to improve child feeding and reduce stunting. The Federal Ministries of Health and Agriculture and Natural Resources implement the intervention. The evaluation aims to assess a range of processes, outcomes and impacts. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The SURE evaluation study is a theory-based, mixed methods study comprising impact and process evaluations. We hypothesise that the package of SURE interventions, including integrated health and agriculture behaviour change communication for nutrition, systems strengthening and multisectoral coordination, will result in detectable differences in minimum acceptable diet in children 6-23 months and stunting in children 24-47 months between intervention and comparison groups. Repeated cross-sectional household surveys will be conducted at baseline and endline to assess impact. The process will be assessed using observations, key informant interviews and focus group discussions to investigate the fidelity and dose of programme implementation, behavioural pathways of impact and contextual factors interacting with the intervention. Pathways of impact will also be explored through statistical analyses. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has received ethics approval from the scientific and ethical review committees at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The findings will be disseminated collaboratively with stakeholders at specified time points and through peer-reviewed publications and presentations

Linkages between health and agriculture sectors in Ethiopia: a formative research study exploring barriers, facilitators and opportunities for local level coordination to deliver nutritional programmes and services.

BACKGROUND: In Ethiopia, poor infant and young child feeding practices and low household dietary diversity remain widespread. The Government has adopted the National Nutrition Programme that emphasizes the need for multi-sectoral collaboration to effectively deliver nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions. The Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction in Ethiopia (SURE) programme is one such Government-led initiative that will be implemented jointly by the health and agriculture sectors across 150 districts in Ethiopia. Prior to the design of the SURE programme, this formative research study was conducted to understand how the governance structure and linkages between health and agriculture sectors at local levels can support implementation of programme activities. METHODS: Data were collected from eight districts in Ethiopia using 16 key informant interviews and eight focus group discussions conducted with district and community-level focal persons for nutrition including health and agriculture extension workers. A framework analysis approach was used to analyze data. RESULTS: Few respondents were aware of the National Nutrition Programme or of their own roles within the multi-sectoral coordination mechanism outlined by the government to deliver nutritional programmes and services. Lack of knowledge or commitment to nutrition, lack of resources and presence of competing priorities within individual sectors were identified as barriers to effective coordination between health and agriculture sectors. Strong central commitment to nutrition, increased involvement of other partners in nutrition and the presence of community development workers such as health and agriculture extension workers were identified as facilitators of effective coordination. CONCLUSIONS: Federal guidelines to implement the Ethiopian National Nutrition Programme have yet to be translated to district or community level administrative structures. Sustained political commitment and provision of resources will be necessary to achieve effective inter-sectoral collaboration to deliver nutritional services. The health and agriculture extension platforms may be used to link interventions for sustained nutrition impact

Understanding the key processes of excellence as a prerequisite to establishing academic centres of excellence in Africa

Background: Africa’s economic transformation relies on a radical transformation of its higher education institutions. The establishment of regional higher education Centres of Excellence (CoE) across Africa through a World Bank support aims to stimulate the needed transformation in education and research. However, excellence is a vague, and often indiscriminately used concept in academic circles. More importantly, the manner in which aspiring institutions can achieve academic excellence is described inadequately. The main objective of this paper is to describe the core processes of excellence as a prerequisite to establishing academic CoE in Africa. Methods: The paper relies on our collaborative discussions and real-world insight into the pursuit of academic excellence, a narrative review using Pubmed search for a contextual understanding of CoEs in Africa supplemented by a Google search for definitions of CoEs in academic contexts. Results: We identified three key, synergistic processes of excellence central to institutionalizing academic CoEs: participatory leadership, knowledge management, and inter-disciplinary collaboration. (1) Participatory leadership encourages innovations to originate from the different parts of the organization, and facilitates ownership as well as a culture of excellence. (2) Centers of Excellence are future-oriented in that they are constantly seeking to achieve best practices, informed by the most up-to-date and cutting-edge research and information available. As such, the process by which centres facilitate the flow of knowledge within and outside the organization, or knowledge management, is critical to their success. (3) Such centres also rely on expertise from different disciplines and ‘engaged’ scholarship. This multidisciplinarity leads to improved research productivity and enhances the production of problem-solving innovations. Conclusion: Participatory leadership, knowledge management, and inter-disciplinary collaborations are prerequisites to establishing academic CoEs in Africa. Future studies need to extend our findings to understand the processes key to productivity, competitiveness, institutionalization, and sustainability of academic CoEs in Africa