Successes, lessons and challenges from grain legume sourcing, processing and marketing: Experiences from Guts Agro Industry

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatio

Community awareness about malaria, its treatment and mosquito vector in rural highlands of central Ethiopia

Background: Despite the rapid expansion of malaria into highland areas of Ethiopia and the movement of malaria inexperienced people to endemic areas, there is no enough information about how highland communities perceive malaria.Objective: To assess communities’ awareness of malaria and its mosquito vector in highland rural communities of central Ethiopia.Methods: A community-based cross–sectional survey involved 770 heads of household was conducted during September 2005 to February 2006 in nine peasant associations of five purposely selected districts in highland areas where malaria has been recently introduced, or currently free from the disease.Results: The majority of the study participants knew that malaria is a serious disease that can attack all age groups of a population (81.0%). A considerable number of individuals, 357 (47.5%) responded that they visited malarious area and about 50% of these individuals reported that they or their families had got the disease. A large proportion ofparticipants (81.6%) mentioned that mosquito transmits malaria through biting (91.6%), while 176 (42.6%) individuals are aware that mosquitoes bite during night. Participants from Sheno, Muka Turi and Sululita areas were found to better in associating the cause of malaria with mosquito bites than those participants from Ginchi and Holeta areas (

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

Status of onchocerciasis in Teppi area, Southwestern Ethiopia, after four years of annual community-directed treatment with ivermectin

Background: Information on the impact of annual community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI) on the prevalence and intensity of onchocerciasis as well as its transmission following years of repeated ivermectin distribution is vital to monitor the impact of the control efforts.Objective: To determine the status of the prevalence and intensity of onchocerciasis after four years of ivermectin distribution in Teppi area.Methods: Skin snips were obtained from 390 study participants and kept in physiological saline at room temperature for 24 hours. The emerged microfilariae were counted under 10x microscope objective. The skin snips were weighed and the microfilarial load was expressed as the arithmetic mean of two skin snips per mg of skin snip.Results: Out of the total 390 examined subjects, 87 (22.3%) were found to be positive for microfilaridermia. Significant differences in the prevalence and microfilarial load of the disease were not found among untreated and treated subjects (p > 0.05). Significant reductions of the prevalence (25.5%) and intensity of infection (0.08 – 8mf, mean 1.3) were found compared to prevalence (81%) and intensity of infection ( 0-855, mean 33 ± 5.6) reported before the initiation of the CDTI programme in the study area.Conclusion: The overall results of the study showed a high reduction both in the prevalence and intensity of infection compared to prevalence and intensity of the disease before the initiation of the CDTI programme in the study area. Nevertheless, continued assessment of the long-term impact of repeated annual CDTI programme on onchocerciasis and identification of factors that could affect the sustainability of the programme in various CDTI areas of Ethiopia, could contribute towards the effective control of the programme. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2010;24(1):51-56

Performance of CareStart™ Malaria Pf/Pv Combo test for the diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections in the Afar Region, North East Ethiopia

Background: CareStart™ Malaria Pf/Pv Combo test has shown encouraging results for the diagnosis of P. falciparum and P. vivax infections in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, the performance of the test could be affected by different factors like gene polymorphisms, excess heat and humidity. Hence, evaluation of the performance of the test in different settings in Ethiopia is vital for the routine diagnosis of malaria.Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of CareStartTM Malaria Pf/Pv Combo test for the diagnosis of P. falciparum and P. vivax infections in the Afar Region, Northeast Ethiopia.Methods: Finger prick blood samples were collected from a total of 1092 patients who had malaria symptoms and visited three different health facilities in the Afar Region. Giemsa-stained thin and thick blood smears were prepared and microscopically examined under 100 × magnifications for Plasmodium species identification and determination of parasitaemia. CareStart Malaria Pf/Pv Combo test was also performed as per the manufacturer's instructions. The sensitivity and the specificity of the test was determined using microscopy as gold standard.Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the test were 98.5% and 98.0% respectively, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 91.7% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 99.7% for the diagnosis of P. falciparum infection. The corresponding sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of P. vivax infection were 100% and 99.6% respectively, with PPV and NPV of 86.2% and 100%, respectively.Conclusion: The results of this study revealed high sensitivity and specificity of CareStartTM Malaria Pf/Pv Combo test for the diagnosis of both P. falciparum and P. vivax infections in the study area, though additional study may be needed in the most peripheral hottest areas of the region. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2011;25(3):206-211

Transmission of Schistosoma mansoni in Tikur Wuha area, Southern Ethiopia

Background: Although the epidemiology of schistosomiasis is well established and the disease distribution has also been mapped in Ethiopia, discovery of new foci has continuously been reported.Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the establishment of transmission of schistosomiasis mansoni in Tikur Wuha area, southern Ethiopia.Methods: A cross-sectional epidemiological study involving 375 school children in Tikur Wuha Elementary School was conducted in December 2007 and January 2008. Stool specimens were collected and microscopically examined using Kato-Katz method. Snail survey was also conducted using scoop in Tikur Wuha River and littoral zone of Lake Awassa on the side of Tikur Wuha Kebele (administrative unit). The snails collected were checked for trematode infection by shedding. Laboratory-bred mice were exposed to schistosome cercariae and definite identification of the schistosome was made using eggs and adult worm morphology.Results: The prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis mansoni was 12% and 69 eggs per gram (epg) of stool, respectively. Biomphalaria sudanica collected in Tikur Wuha River shed schistosome cercariae. Adult S. mansoni worms were harvested from laboratory-bred mice after 6 weeks of laboratory maintenance.Conclusion: The prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis mansoni among school children was low and the area represents low-risk community. The finding of S. mansoni infected young children, the collection of B. sudanica infected with schistosome cercariae, and the establishment of infection in lab-bred mice all confirmed the transmissionof schistosomiasis mansoni in Tikur Wuha area. Appropriate intervention measures need to be in place to reduce morbidity and transmission of intestinal schistosomiasis in the area

Global Epidemiology of Tuberculosis: Past, Present and Future

No9 abstract

A- and D-optimal row-column designs for two-colour cDNA microarray experiments using linear mixed effects models

Microarray experiments help scientists to study the expression level of thousands of genes simultaneously. These experiments have many design challenges, such as, for example, whichmRNA samples should be co-hybridized together and which treatments should be labelled with which fluorescent dye. Therefore a carefully designed microarray experiment to obtain efficient and reliable data so as to ensure the precise estimate of comparisons of interest is required. The present paper is concerned with A- and D-optimal row-column designs for two-colour microarray experiments, with the array and dye effects treated as the column and row effects, respectively. Linear mixed effects models were used to describe experiments for which a comparison of all possible pairs of treatments is of particular interest by taking the arrays as random column effects. The results of this study show that the optimal row-column designs under the linear fixed effects model are not necessarily optimal under the linear mixed effects model setting