Parasitic, Bacterial Diseases and Other Abnormalities in Abattoirs of Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia

Parasitic, bacterial diseases and other abnormalities are serious impediments to livestock production. A cross sectional active abattoir survey was conducted to identify the parasitic, bacterial diseases and other abnormalities in cattle slaughtered in abattoirs of Tigray region, northern Ethiopia from May, 2014 to January, 2015. A total of 479 cattle were examined through ante mortem and postmortem examinations. Eye discharge (5.43%), localized swelling (3.97%), rough hair (3.34%) and salivation (2.71%) were the major abnormalities encountered during ante mortem inspection. Postmortem examinations revealed that out of the total examined cattle, 228 (47.6%) were found to be infected with different parasitic, bacterial diseases and other abnormalities. Cysticercosis (15.66%) was the most frequently encountered parasitic disease followed by hydatidosis (11.1%) and fasciolosis (6.3%), respectively. Bovine tuberculosis (0.4%) was identified among the bacterial diseases. Emphysema (4.4%), calcification (2.9%), hydronephrosis (2.5%), pneumonia (2.5%), abscess (1.3%) and cirrhosis (0.6%), respectively were the major abnormalities. The prevalence of cysticercosis, hydatidosis and hydronephrosis showed a significance difference between the body condition score of the cattle (p < 0.05) and higher infection was recorded in cattle with poor body condition. Similarly, there was significant difference in prevalence of cystesercosis between sex of cattle (χ2 = 57.5, p = 0.014) and male animals were more infected. The current study revealed that parasitic, bacterial diseases and other abnormalities were the main animal health problems in Tigray region. Therefore, the zoonotic importance of the diseases and abnormalities needs intervention. Keywords: Abattoir, Abnormality, Cattle, Disease, Prevalence, Tigra

HIV-Sero- prevalence trend among blood donors in North East Ethiopia

Background: Although blood transfusion is one of the known therapeutic interventions that cuts across a number of clinical disciplines. It is necessary to test all intending blood donors for HIV infection before donation. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV among blood donors at Dessie Blood Bank, Northeast Ethiopia.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in Dessie Blood Bank through the year 2008- 2012. Sera from blood donors were tested for the detection of Anti HIV by using 4th generation ELISA. Data were abstracted from records and analyzed using Microsoft Excel sheet.Results: From the total of 9384 screened blood samples collected, the prevalence of HIV in blood donors in the blood bank was 5.1% in the five consecutive years but the trend of HIV infection has decreased from 2008(5.2%) to 2012 (2.3%). The age groups 15-24 and 35-44 were the highest prevalence and the age group 45-54 was the lowest prevalence of HIV infection. The prevalence of HIV among female (7.9%) was higher than in male donors (4.4%). The trend of HIV infection was decreasing for both male and female blood donors.Conclusion: The prevalence of HIV infections among blood donors is still high in this study setting, and needs constant monitoring to evaluate prevention and control strategies to reduce the burden of transfusion-transmissible HIV infections.Keywords: Blood donor, HIV, seroprevalence, Ethiopi

Efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Northeast Ethiopia

Background: The impact of resistance to antimalarials is insidious and unless efficacy studies are conducted, resistance may go unrecognized. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of artemether/lumefantrine, for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections in Kemisie Health Center, Northeast Ethiopia.Methods: Artemether/lumefantrine efficacy study was conducted in Kemisie Health Center, Northeast Ethiopia from September, 2012 to May, 2013. The study participants were febrile people above the age of 6 months with confirmed uncomplicated P. falciparum infection. Patients were treated with artemether/lumefantrine. Clinical and parasitological parameters were monitored over a 28 days follow-up period to evaluate drug efficacy. The Kaplan–Meier method was used for statistical analysis of data on drug efficacy.Results: Among the 66 enrolled participants 72.7% were 15 and above years of age while 15.3% were less than 5 years old. Of these study participants, 53% were male. There was 89.4% fever clearance and 84.8% parasite clearance on day 1, whereas, there was 100% fever clearance and 96.8% parasite clearance on day 3 from the 62 participants who carried on the study. Among 66 participants who had started 28 days of follow-up one patient had an early parasitological failure (parasitemia on day 3) and another patient had a late parasitological failure (parasitemia on day 21).Conclusions: In general, this study discovered good clinical and parasitological response of P. falciparum to artemether/lumefantrine. Further polymeric chain reaction and plasma drug concentration based effectiveness study of artemether/lumefantrine should be conducted throughout the country

Drivers of Quality Problems in the Leather Sector Value Chain in Ethiopia

Ethiopia prioritizes the leather sector. However, the sector has underperformed relative to targets and Ethiopia’s potential. It has been long recognized that the major problem is the quality of raw hides and skins in the Ethiopian leather sector value chain. However, there has been little evidence how and why quality leakages happen along the leather sector value chain. Our thorough analysis of the leather sector value chain shows that the quality problems are caused by structural problems (at the breeding and post-breeding stages), disconnect between quality and price (i.e., price does not signal quality), lack of efficient marketing, transportation and storage systems, and lack of better tanning technologies

A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MICROFLORA LEVEL OF SOME FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

ABSTRACT: Samples of 15 different fruit and vegetable types were purchased from five small groceries around Addis Ababa. Enumeration, isolation and identification processes were performed for the microbial flora of each sample before and after 15-30 days of preservation. Both direct and enrichment culture media were used to distinguish these microflora as members of the groups of normal contaminants, indicators, spoilage and foodborne disease causing organisms. The overall result of this work indicates that a total of 25 different organisms, comprising 3 (12%) indicators, 15 (60%) spoilage, 5 (20%) food-borne pathogens and 2 (8%) normal contaminants, were isolated. The predominant isolates of these groups were Escherishia coli type I, among the indicators Bacilli, molds and Enterobacter species among the spoilage and Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus cereus among the pathogens. The direct inoculation method revealed the isolation of more than one indicator organisms from each of 7 (46.7%) fresh or unpreserved fruit and vegetable samples, more than 3 spoilage organisms from each of 8 (53.3%) samples, and, at least, one pathogenic organism from each of another 8 (53.3%) samples. When enrichment culture method was applied, all these results were increased as: >1 indicators in 10 (67%), >3 spoilage organisms in 9 (60%), and pathogens in 9 (60%) of the unpreserved samples. The enumeration values of the indicator/organisms and the spoilage groups of mesophyllic aerobes/anaerobes, molds and/or yeasts were all above the accepted limits for such fruits and vegetable samples. This was shown to be true in 10 (66.7%), 4 (26.7%) and 6 (40%) samples for the indicators, spoilage mesopheles, and mold or yeasts respectively. The preservation processes have proved to be effective in eliminating or reducing the numbers and types of the organisms isolated from each fresh sample. The effectivity of the preservation methods is discussed and its applicability in a simplified and comprehensive manual for a small-scale (household level) preservation of fruits and vegetables has been recommended

Magnitude and determinants of nonadherence and nonreadiness to highly active antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV/AIDS in Northwest Ethiopia: a cross - sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adequate antiretroviral drug potency is essential for obtaining therapeutic benefit, however, the behavioral aspects of proper adherence and readiness to medication, often determine therapeutic outcome. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level and determinants of nonadherence and nonreadiness to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) at Gondar University Teaching Hospital and Felege Hiwot Hospital in Northwest Ethiopia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted between July and September 2008 using structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. All consecutive adult outpatients who were receiving antiretroviral treatment for at least three months, seen at both hospitals during the study period and able to give informed consent were included in the study. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with nonadherence and nonreadiness.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 504 study subjects were included in this study. The prevalence rates of nonadherence and nonreadiness to HAART were 87 (17.3%) and 70 (13.9%) respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that medication adverse effects, nonreadiness to HAART, contact with psychiatric care service and having no goal had statistically significant association with nonadherence. Moreover, unwillingness to disclose HIV status was significantly associated with nonreadiness to HAART.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study the level of nonadherence and nonreadiness to HAART seems to be encouraging. Several factors associated with nonadherance and nonreadiness to HAART were identified. Efforts to minimize nonadherence and nonreadiness to HAART should be integrated in to regular clinical follow up of patients.</p

HIV-Sero- prevalence trend among blood donors in North East Ethiopia.

Background: Although blood transfusion is one of the known therapeutic interventions that cuts across a number of clinical disciplines. It is necessary to test all intending blood donors for HIV infection before donation. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV among blood donors at Dessie Blood Bank, Northeast Ethiopia. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in Dessie Blood Bank through the year 2008- 2012. Sera from blood donors were tested for the detection of Anti HIV by using 4th generation ELISA. Data were abstracted from records and analyzed using Microsoft Excel sheet. Results: From the total of 9384 screened blood samples collected, the prevalence of HIV in blood donors in the blood bank was 5.1% in the five consecutive years but the trend of HIV infection has decreased from 2008(5.2%) to 2012 (2.3%). The age groups 15-24 and 35-44 were the highest prevalence and the age group 45-54 was the lowest prevalence of HIV infection. The prevalence of HIV among female (7.9%) was higher than in male donors (4.4%). The trend of HIV infection was decreasing for both male and female blood donors. Conclusion: The prevalence of HIV infections among blood donors is still high in this study setting, and needs constant monitoring to evaluate prevention and control strategies to reduce the burden of transfusion-transmissible HIV infections

Alleviating the Barriers to Domestic Investment in Addis Ababa: Underlying Causes and Proposed Solutions

While Addis Ababa is rapidly urbanizing, productive job creation remains to be a key challenge. The root cause of this has been the lack of structural transformation towards industries with higher potential for growth and job creation. In response, the government of Ethiopia and the Addis Ababa city government in particular through their Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP2) target the industrial sector to enhance structural transformation and create more productive jobs in Ethiopia’s cities. Despite the priority and importance accorded to the industrial sector and efforts to improve the investment environment, quite a few domestic investors go beyond the licensing stage to start production. A recent World Bank report on the investment climate in Addis Ababa shows that only about 5% of domestic firms that receive investment licenses are able to convert from the pre-operational to the operational phase of investment to establish their businesses. This is also consistent with government reports. By any standard, this is one of the lowest investment conversion rates, and hence is quite concerning. So, the key question is: why 95% of investors were not able to move beyond the licensing stage to start operating? We tried to tackle this using qualitative/semi-structured firm level research among the firms who received an investment license but are stuck or discouraged

Alleviating the Barriers to Domestic Investment in Addis Ababa: Underlying Causes and Proposed Solutions

While Addis Ababa is rapidly urbanizing, productive job creation remains to be a key challenge. The root cause of this has been the lack of structural transformation towards industries with higher potential for growth and job creation. In response, the government of Ethiopia and the Addis Ababa city government in particular through their Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP2) target the industrial sector to enhance structural transformation and create more productive jobs in Ethiopia’s cities. Despite the priority and importance accorded to the industrial sector and efforts to improve the investment environment, quite a few domestic investors go beyond the licensing stage to start production. A recent World Bank report on the investment climate in Addis Ababa shows that only about 5% of domestic firms that receive investment licenses are able to convert from the pre-operational to the operational phase of investment to establish their businesses. This is also consistent with government reports. By any standard, this is one of the lowest investment conversion rates, and hence is quite concerning. So, the key question is: why 95% of investors were not able to move beyond the licensing stage to start operating? We tried to tackle this using qualitative/semi-structured firm level research among the firms who received an investment license but are stuck or discouraged

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