Comparative efficacy of albendazole and three brands of mebendazole in the treatment of ascariasis and trichuriasis

Objective: To evaluate the comparative efficacy of 400 mg albendazole (Smith Kline Beecham) as a single dose and three brands of mebendazole (Janssen, Unibios and East African Pharmaceuticals) at doses of 100 mg twice a day for three consecutive days in the treatment of single or mixed infections with Ascaris lumbricoides and or Trichuris trichiura in four treatment groups of school children. Design: Randomized trial. Setting: Wondo-Genet, southern Ethiopia. Subjects: School children, aged six to nineteen years. Results: The percentage cure rate and egg reduction rate obtained with albendazole and mebendazole from the three brands were not significantly different in the treatment of ascariasis. However, significant differences were found among the percentage cure rates and egg reduction rates of the four treatment groups in the treatment of trichuriasis. Comparatively, high cure rate (89.8%) and egg reduction rate (99.1%) were observed in vermox (Janssen) treated group followed by Unibios (India) treated group (53.3% and 96.53% cure and egg reduction rates, respectively), whereas low cure rate (17.1%) and egg reduction rate (69.8%) were seen in the albendazole treated group. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that in areas of single or mixed infections with Trichuris trichiura and/or Ascaris lumbricoides are common public health problems and where laboratory facilities are not available to make parasite identification, mebendazole (particularly vermox, a product of Janssen laboratory) would be the drug of choice to treat trichuriasis and ascariasis. However, either mebendazole from the different brands or albendazole is effective in the treatment of ascariasis in areas where trichuriasis is not prevalent. East African Medical Journal Vol. 81 No. 3 March 2004: 134-13

Global Epidemiology of Tuberculosis: Past, Present and Future

No9 abstract

Epidemiology and economic importance of fasciolosis of domestic ruminants in selected districts of Tigray Region, Ethiopia

An epidemiological study on fasciolosis of domestic ruminants was conducted in four Districts of Tigray Regional State to determine prevalence, identify Fasciola species, assess risk factors and evaluate economic loss. A total of 1708 domestic ruminants were sampled for coprological investigation; in addition 236  slaughtered ruminants were examined at post mortem. The overall prevalence of  fasciolosis in domestic ruminants was 21.2% (95% CI: 15.8-26.9%) and 32.6% (95% CI: 29.7–35.6%) based on coprology and post mortem examinations, respectively. The prevalence in cattle, sheep and goats was 25.3%, 35.7% and 11.4% respectively, based on coprology. The highest prevalence was recorded in Ofla District (41.9%) and the lowest in Alamata District (10.8%). The prevalence was higher in the highland (67.9%) than the midland (17.4%) and the lowland (14.4%); aged animals, and in poor than good body condition in all species. The  prevalence of F. hepatica was 73.1% and 62.7%, and F. gigantica 26.9% and 37.3% by egg and fluke examination, respectively. Statistically significant difference was observed in prevalence among districts, animal agro-ecology, age, and Fasciola species (p<0.05); while no significant association was observed between sexes in animal species (p>0.05). The odd of having fasciolosis in the highland than the lowland was more than 4 times higher (OR= 4.77), similarly the risk in sheep compared with goats was higher by more than 4 times (OR=4.33). During the five years period, out of 11,966 inspected livers, 22.62% were condemned due to fasciolosis. The annual direct and indirect economic loss incurred due to fasciolosis in the study area was estimated to be 286,536.21 Ethiopian Birr (31837.36 USD). Out of the total losses 80.9% was from cattle. The present study revealed a high infection of domestic ruminants by Fasciola species especially in the highland resulting in huge economic losses, hence, intervention to mitigate fasciolosis is required.Keywords: Coprology, Fasciola spp, Risk factors, Post-mortem, Prevalence, Tigray Regio

Response to Soil Acidity of Common Bean Genotypes (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Under Field Conditions at Nedjo, Western Ethiopia

Soil acidity has become a serious threat to crop production in most  highlands of Ethiopia in general and in the western part of the country in particular. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate soil acidity tolerant on 25 genotypes of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) on lime treated and untreated acid soils. The genotypes were evaluated based on morpho-agronomic parameters. Soil acidity had an effect on maturity, growth and yield of the tested genotypes. High significant(P<0.01) differences were observed among genotypes for days to maturity, leaf area index, plant height, number of pods per plant, pod length, hundred seed weight, grain yield, pod harvest index and harvest index in lime treated and untreated soils. Considerable variability exists among the genotypes tested based on the growth, and yield components measured for soil acidity tolerance. The genotypes gave higher yield and yield components when grown in lime treated soil than lime untreated with average yield reduction of 26% due to soil acidity effect. Relative grain yield was calculated as the ratio of grain yield in lime untreated to lime treated soil also showed higher significant differences among the tested genotypes. Genotypes such as Dimtu, new BILFA 58, Beshbesh, SER176, new BILFA51 and new BILFA 61 gave higher absolute and relative yield, whereas Dinknesh, Chore, Nasser and new BILFA 60 gave lower absolute grain and relative yield. Moreover, the great variability of 25 commonbean genotypes exhibited a good potential to screening large germplasm of common bean for soil acidity tolerance and develop a cultivar that are tolerant to soil acidity in the country. Keywords: Common bean, Genotypes, Lime, Soil acidity, Relative yiel

Clinics register based HIV prevalence in Jimma zone, Ethiopia: applications of likelihood and Bayesian approaches

Abstract Background The distribution of HIV is not uniform in Ethiopia with some regions recording higher prevalence than others. However, reported regional HIV prevalence estimates mask the heterogeneity of the epidemic within regions. The main purpose of this study was to assess the district differences in HIV prevalence and other factors that affect the prevalence of HIV infection in Jimma zone, Oromia region of Ethiopia. We aimed to identify districts which had higher or lower than zone average HIV prevalence. Such in-depth analysis of HIV data at district level may help to develop effective strategies to reduce the HIV transmission rate. Methods Data collected from 8440 patients who were tested for HIV status in government clinics at the 22 Districts between September 2018 to August 2019 in Jimma zone were used for the analyses. A generalized linear mixed effects model with district random effects was applied to assess the factors associated with HIV infection and the best linear unbiased prediction was used to identify districts that had higher or lower HIV infection. Both likelihood and Bayesian methods were considered. Results The statistical test on district random effects variance suggested the need for district random effects in all the models. The results from applying both methods on full data show that the odds of HIV infection are significantly associated with covariates considered in this study. Disaggregation of prevalence by gender also highlighted the persistent features of the HIV epidemic in Jimma zone. After controlling for covariates effects, the results from both techniques revealed that there was heterogeneity in HIV infection prevalence among districts within Jimma zone, where some of them had higher and some had lower HIV infection prevalence compared to the zone average HIV infection prevalence. Conclusions The study recommends government to give attention to those districts which had higher HIV infection and to conduct further research to improve their intervention strategies. Further, related to those districts which had lower infection, it would be advantageous to identify reasons for their performance and may apply them to overcome HIV infection among residents in those districts which had higher HIV infection. The approach used in this study can also help to assess the effect of interventions introduced by the authorities to control the epidemic and it can easily be extended to assess the regions HIV infection rate relative to the rate at the national level, or zones HIV infection rate relative to the rate at a region level

Landscape positions dictating crop fertilizer responses in wheat-based farming systems of East African Highlands

Improving fertilizer use efficiency has remained a challenge, particularly for small-scale farming in undulating ‘abnormal’ landscapes of East Africa. Milne's 1930s concept on ‘Catena’ was considered as a breakthrough in understanding soil variability and its implication on productivity in East African highlands. However, there is limited information on how the ‘Catena’ features could be used for fine tuning fertilizer recommendations. We initiated multiple on-farm replicated experiments in three wheat-growing districts (Endamohoni, Lemo and Worreilu) in the Ethiopian highlands in 2014, 2015 and 2016 to assess landscape positions affecting crop-nutrient responses, identify yield limiting nutrients across the ‘Catena’ (N, P, K, S and Zn) and quantify effects of landscape positions on resources use efficiency. We clustered farmlands across the ‘Catena’ (Hillslopes, Midslopes and Footslopes) based on land scape positions in the respective locations. Wheat yield was more strongly and significantly affected by landscape positions (P N92 P46) while differences between landscape positions diminish at lower rates. Yield benefits due to application of K was significant only in the dry years (P < 0.05), while there was hardly any yield benefit from the application of zinc and sulfur. The crop nitrogen recovery fraction and crop water productivity decreased with an increasing slope regardless of nutrient combinations. The results indicated that the landscape position could be considered as a proxy indicator for targeted fertilizer application, particularly in farms with undulating topographic features. Hillslopes are better served by the application of organic fertilizers along with conservation measures as applying higher rates of mineral fertilizer in hillslopes would rather increase the risk of downstream nutrient movement

Land use and land cover changes and Soil erosion in Yezat Watershed, North Western Ethiopia

Soil erosion affects land qualities and water resources. This problem is severe in Ethiopia due to its topographic features. The present research was aimed to estimate spatiotemporal changes in land-use/land-cover pattern and soil erosion in the Yezat watershed in Ethiopia. This study was carried out by using landsat imageries of 2001, 2010 and 2015. Images were classified into categories using supervised classification by maximum likelihood algorithm. They were also classified into different biomass levels by using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis. Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation modeling was applied in a GIS environment to quantify the potential soil erosion risk. The area under grassland, woodland and homesteads have increased by 610.69 (4%), 101.69 (0.67%) and 126.6 ha (0.83%) during 2001–2015. The extent of cultivated land and shrub/bushland was reduced by 323.43(0.02%) and 515.44 ha (3.41%), respectively, during the same period. The vegetation cover in the watershed decreased by 91% during 2001–2010, and increased by 88% during 2010–2015. Increase of NDVI values indicates better ground cover due to implementation of integrated watershed development program in the region. The estimated annual soil losses were 7.2 t ha−1 yr−1 in 2001, 7.7 t ha−1 yr−1in 2010 and 4.8 t ha−1 yr−1in 2015. Management interventions are necessary to improve the status and utilization of watershed resources in response to sustainable land management practices for sustainable livelihood of the local people

Can integration of legume trees increase yield stability in rain-fed maize cropping systems in Southern Africa?

Growing maize (Zea mays) in association with legume tree in agroforestry arrangements has been shown to increase yields in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the stability of crop yields has not been critically analyzed in the various cropping systems that integrate leguminous trees. The objective of this analysis was to compare yield stability in improved cropping systems, namely maize-Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) intercropping and fertilized monoculture maize, with the de facto practice of resource-poor farmers who grow maize continuously without any external input. Yield stability was determined for three long-term field trials (12-13 consecutive years) conducted at Makoka Research Station in southern Malawi and Msekera Research Station in eastern Zambia. At Makoka, the most stable yield was recorded in maize-Gliricidia intercrops. Average yield was highest in maize-Gliricidia intercropping amended with 50% of the recommended N and P fertilizer, and this was comparable with yield recorded in monoculture maize that received inorganic fertilizer. On the two sites at Msekera, the highest yield was recorded in fertilized monoculture maize followed by maize-Gliricidia intercrops. However, yields were more stable in maize- Gliricidia intercropping compared to fertilized maize on both sites at Msekera. It is concluded that maize yields remain more stable in maize-Gliricidia intercropping than in fertilized maize monoculture in the longterm although average yields may be higher with full fertilization.The government of Ireland through the Irish Aid and Irish Embassy in Malawi to the World Agroforestry Centre.https://www.agronomy.org/publications/a

Feeding your soil-nurturing the people

United States Agency for International Developmen