Comparison of Partec Rapid Malaria Test with Conventional Light Microscopy for Diagnosis of Malaria in Northwest Ethiopia

Background. Laboratory diagnosis of malaria is the key for effective disease management. Diagnosis of malaria infection requires rapid, sensitive, and specific test methods with an affordable cost. This study was aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of Partec rapid malaria test with reference to light microscopy for the diagnosis of malaria in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A total of 180 febrile patients were tested for malaria using Giemsa stain microscopy and Partec rapid malaria test from June to July 2013 at Gendewuha health centers, Metema district. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical software. Odds ratio with 95% CI was calculated. Result. The sensitivity and specificity of Partec rapid malaria test were 93.8% (95% CI = 87.1%–100%) and 87.9% (95% CI = 79.7%–96.1%), respectively, while the positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 6.4% (95% CI = 77.2%–95.5%) and 94.6% (95% CI = 88.7%–100%), respectively. There was also an excellent agreement between two tests with Kappa value of 0.811 (95% CI = 0.625–0.996). Conclusion. Partec rapid malaria test showed good sensitivity and specificity with an excellent agreement to the reference light microscopy. Therefore PT can be considered as alternative diagnostic tools in malaria endemic areas

Rubella virus infections and immune status among pregnant women before the introduction of rubella vaccine in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Background: Rubella and its associated congenital anomalies have been greatly reduced in most developed countries through use of the rubella vaccine. However, the magnitude of the problem is underestimated and there are no well-established rubella/congenital rubella syndrome prevention and control strategies in many developing countries, including Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of rubella virus infections among pregnant women and their immune status before the introduction of rubella vaccine in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women in Dessie, Felege-Hiwot, and University of Gondar referral hospitals, from December 2015 to February 2017. After obtaining written informed consent, socio-demographic data, reproductive history, clinical manifestations, and the possible risk factors for rubella virus infections were collected using a structured questionnaire. The laboratory analysis of rubella-specific antibodies was done using an enzyme-linked immunoassay method on venous blood samples. Data were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the strength of association between the dependent variables and covariates. Results: A total of 600 pregnant women were included in the study. Their mean age was 26.4 ± 5 years (range 16–40 years). The overall seroprevalence of rubella infection was 89%. Of the total study participants, 9.5% were positive for rubella-specific IgM antibody, which indicates acute/recent rubella virus infection. In contrast, 79.5% of them had protective levels of rubella-specific IgG antibody and were immune as a result of previous wild-type rubella infection. However, 11% of the pregnant women were negative for both rubella-specific antibodies; these women represent the susceptible group. Conclusions: A large number of pregnant women had acute/recent rubella virus infections at the time of data collection, indicating that the virus is endemic in the study area. More than a tenth of pregnant women were found to be susceptible to acquiring the infection in future pregnancies, with the possible risk of rubella-associated congenital anomalies. Hence screening of all women of child-bearing age before conception and during pregnancy might reduce the devastating effects of the virus on the developing fetus. Keywords: Rubella virus, Pregnant women, Immune statu

Evaluation of Hookworm Diagnosis Techniques from Patients in Debre Elias and Sanja Districts of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Background. Inappropriate diagnosis could intimidate the prevention and control of hookworm infection. Thus, this study was aimed at evaluating the performance of hookworm diagnosis methods. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from patients in Debre Elias and Sanja districts of the Amhara region, Ethiopia, from November 2019 to January 2020. The study subjects were selected conveniently. After the data was entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, test accuracy, and agreement of the different hookworm diagnosis methods, namely, test tube flotation technique (TFT), McMaster (MM), formol-ether concentration (FEC), Kato-Katz (KK), and direct wet mount microscopy (DWMM), were calculated by using SPSS software. The composite reference standard (CRS) was used as the gold standard method. The kappa (κ) test was used to measure the level of agreement between diagnosis tests. Result. A total of 389 stool samples were collected from patients in the study. The overall prevalence of hookworm was 63.24%. The test tube flotation technique (TFT) was found to be the highest both in terms of sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy (100%). McMaster (MM) was the second most sensitive test (68.7%), followed by FEC (44.3%) and KK (38.2%). On the other hand, DWMM had the lowest sensitivity (37.4%), and its diagnostic accuracy was also the least (60%). Only TFT had a perfect agreement (agreement=100%, kappa=1) with the CRS. The sensitivity of DWMM, KK, and FEC showed a kind of linear function with the intensity of infection, but TFT and MM methods were not affected by the infection intensity. Conclusion. Hookworm is still a public health problem in the study area. TFT is by far more sensitive than MM, FEC, KK, and DWMM techniques