A retrospective study on prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bacterial isolates from urinary tract infections in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Teaching Hospital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2011

Introduction: Urinary tract infection is an inflammation of the urinary tract that occurs when micro organisms, usually bacteria from digestive tract or  vagina cling to the opening of the urethra and begin to multiply. An estimated 150 million urinary tract infections occur annually worldwide. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics has resulted in the emergence of drug resistant pathogens now.Objective: To determine the prevalence and drug susceptibility patterns of bacterial pathogens involved in urinary tract infections within the last three years, January 1st 2008 to December 30th 2010 in Tikur Anbesa Specialized Teaching Hospital of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Method: An institution-based retrospective cross sectional population survey was conducted in the clinical laboratory for diagnosis of patients visiting Tikur Anbessa Specialized Teaching Hospital. Collected secondary data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 17 computer software package. Percentages and ratios were calculated in tables. P-value was used to see statistical significance (p<0.05).Results: Out of 3254 recorded patient’s data 3182 results were taken and analyzed. The overall prevalence of urinary tract infection was 23.32 % and the highest prevalence was obtained among age groups 21-30 years (27.16%). The bacterial pathogens isolated were predominantly, Escherchia coli: 361 (44.62%), followed by Klebsella Spp: 136 (16.81%), Coaggulase negative Staphylococci Spp: 49 (6.06%) and Entrococci Spp: 41 (5.06%). The invitro drug sensitivity testing showed that both gram negative and gram-positive organisms were extremely resistant to Ampiciline: (83.93%), Amoxicillin: (78.87%) and Tetracycline: (77.75%).Conclusion: the prevalence of urinary tract infection was high, and the drug resistance rate was extremely high. For this reason, it is necessary to minimize the rate of urinary tract infections, and to constantly monitor susceptibility patterns of specific pathogens to commonly used antimicrobial agents before antibiotic therapy initiation

Evaluation of the diagnostic performance of PanbioTM Abbott SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test for the detection of COVID-19 from suspects attending ALERT center

BACKGROUND: The emergence and rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a potentially lethal disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is causing public health issues around the world. In resource-constrained nations, rapid Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antigen test kits are critical for addressing diagnostic gaps in health institutions and community screening. However, there is no evidence or proof of diagnostic performance in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of PanbioTM Abbott SARS-CoV-2antigen rapid test kit to the gold standard, RT-PCR, in COVID-19 patients with clinical symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. METHOD: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2021 and April 2022, on 120 suspected patients recruited from outpatient, emergency, and intensive care units in one of the tertiary hospitals in Ethiopia. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from suspected cases and were tested using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 kit, a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and compared to the reference standard RT-PCR. RESULT: The sensitivity and specificity of the RDT were 74.2% and 100%, respectively. A total of 62 samples (51.6%) were RT-PCR positive. Of these, 46 were Ag-RDT positive. Sensitivity among symptomatic patients was 79.4% (95% CI 68.3-90). The Abbot RDT and RT-PCR had a Kappa value of agreement of 0.735 (p < 0.001). These values were acceptable when compared to the WHO's suggested thresholds. CONCLUSION: The finding from this study support the use of the Abbot RDT as a diagnostic tool in COVID-19 suspects, mainly in those with higher viral loads

Towards a definition for returnees' reintegration processes in the context of rural Ethiopia

Although there is a substantial and growing volume of research on the return and reintegration processes of migrants, insufficient attention has been paid to the contextual meaning of reintegration, in particular for those returning to rural areas. Accordingly, based on an extensive literature review complemented with insights from forced returnees and stakeholders working with this population in rural Ethiopia, the current article disentangles the contextual meaning returnees give to reintegration, its dimensions and the indicators determining success. By doing this, we highlight crucial environmental and social factors within these reintegration processes that have been omitted in previous operationalizations. We conclude with a concrete operationalization of reintegration in the context of rural Ethiopia and reflect on the implication of these findings for theory contextualization and for policymakers and people who implement reintegration support