Determinants of infant and early childhood mortality in a small urban community of Ethiopia: a hazard model analysis

Abstract: By applying Cox's proportional hazard model regression analysis to data collected using a retrospective survey conducted in Sebeta, a town 25 Km west of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, the paper examines the factors impinging on the survival of infants and children between 1 - 3 years of age. It is shown that for higher order births (more than 5), for births to young women (under 20 years of age), and for those to older women (more than 34 years of age), the risk of dying at infancy is higher. The risk of infant mortality is also high for births with short previous birth intervals. In fact, the length of the previous birth interval is found to be the single most important factor affecting the chances of survival during infancy. It is further shown that education of mother, occupation of father, household income, source of drinking water, availability of latrine, and survival status of older sibling have direct effect on infant mortality. Among these, source of water and availability of latrine are identified as having significant effects on infant mortality even after controlling for the effects of other variables. During early childhood, however, the effects of age at maternity, birth order and preceding birth interval becomes trivial. Following birth interval appears to have a strong effect on the chances of survival during early childhood. Household income, religion and survival status of the previous sibling are found to have significant effects on early childhood mortality. The findings provide solid ground to support strategies to broaden MCH/FP services, environmental health and income generating scheme to reduce the risk of death for infants and children. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1997;11(3):189-200

Influence of Inter-Intra Row Spacing on Yield Losses of Tomato Cultivars

Field experiment was carried out at Melkassa Agricultural Research Center in 2012 and 2013 off-seasons using furrow irrigation with the objectives of evaluating the effect of four inter-row spacings (70, 80, 90, and 100 cm) and three intra-row spacing (20, 30 and 40 cm) on yield losses of tomato growing under open field production with fresh market (Bishola) and processing (Cochoro) type of determinate tomato cultivars. The treatments were arranged in 2x4x3 factorial in a split-split plot design in three eplications. Data on major yield loss agents such as, blossom end rot, decay, insect, disease, sunburn, crack, catface and others minor disorders were collected; as well as total yield, percent of marketable and unmarketable fruit yield parameters were analyzed. Results of the study showed that inter-intra row spacing and cultivar had a significant (

Influence of inter and intra-rows spacing on yield and yield components of tomato cultivars

Tomato is an important cash crop in Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia and currently plant spacing practiced by growers quite different from research recommendation.Field experiment was carried out at Melkassa Agricultural Research Center, in the year 2011/12 and 2012/13 off seasons with the objectives of evaluating the effect of four inter-row spacings (70, 80, 90, and 100 cm) and three intra-row spacing (20, 30 and 40 cm) on yield and yield components of fresh market(Bishola) and processing (Cochoro) tomato cultivars. The treatments were arranged in 2x4x3 factorial in a split-split plot design in three replications. Data were collected on plant canopy width, above ground dry biomass as well total, marketable and unmarketable fruit yield and on quality parameters such as TSS, fruit length and diameter were analyzed. The results indicated that inter and inter-row spacing had a significant effect on plan canopy width, above ground dry biomass, total, marketable, unmarketable fruit yield, TSS, fruit length and diameter. The highest canopy width of Bishola (77.08 cm) was recorded at 40 cm x 100 cm whereas for Cochoro (71.30 cm) at 40 cm x 90 cm. Maximumfruit TSS (3.72) was recorded at 40 cm intra-row spacing and this was not significantly different from 30 cm (3.68). The highest total fruit yield of 100.45 and 92.55 ton/ha were recorded for closer inter and intra-row spacing of 70 and 20 cm, respectively. However, the highest marketable yield was obtained at 90 cm (51.48 ton/ha) inter-row spacing and at 30 cm (45.78 ton/ha) intra row spacing and this was not significantly different from 40 cm. The study suggest that 30 cm x 90 cm or 40 cm x 90 intra-inter row spacingcombination was suitable for obtaining higher marketable yield and good quality fruit around Melkassa and similar conditions in Ethiopia

Rickets and the knowledge and practice of exposure to sunlight in Jimma town

Abstract: Six hundred and twenty eight randomly selected children between six and 59 months of age were examined for signs of rickets in Jimma town. Twenty five (4%) children were found to have rickets. The highest rate (11%) occurred in infants. The male to female ratio was 1.27:1. Infants were more likely to have rickets than older children. Rickets was also significantly associated with increased frequency of respiratory infections. There were no significant differences between rachitic and non-rachitic children when they were compared in terms of the maternal or caregivers knowledge and the practice of exposure to sunlight. The possible explanations for such a paradoxical findings are discussed. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1998;12(1):29-32

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

Implications of changes in land use for ecosystem service values of two highly eroded watersheds in Lake Abaya Chamo sub-basin, Ethiopia

This work is part of the RALENTIR (Reducing land degradation and carbon loss from Ethiopia’s soils to strengthen livelihoods and resilience) project, funded by UK Research and Innovation GCRF (Global Challenges Research Fund, project reference ES/T003073/1) and the University of Aberdeen.Peer reviewedPostprin

Management of Cabbage Aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L. (Homoptera: Aphididae)) on Ethiopian Mustard (Brassica carinata Braun) using Entomopathogenic Fungi and Selected Insecticides

Cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.) is an important sucking insect pest of cabbage and other vegetables. It can be controlled using continuous chemical insecticides that cause human health and environmental problems. The present study was, therefore, designed to evaluate antagonistic activities of indigenous entomopathogenic fungi together with selective insecticides within the context of integrated pest management (ipm). To this effect, four strains of entomopathogenic fungi from Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae were tested for their antagonistic activities against the cabbage aphid. The result showed that microbial inoculums of 1×107 and 1×108 conidia mL-1 showed high mortality (66.7-100%) of aphids after 6 days of incubation under laboratory condition. Among them, bei1 (B. bassiana) isolate was the most virulent strain on adult aphids and nymphs showing 67 to 100% and 39-72% mortality after 4th-5th days of treatments. The data also indicated that the fungal isolates were compatible to the three insecticides with 70% - 91% conidial germination by M. anisopliae and 68%-98% conidial germination by B. bassiana after 24 hours of treatment of which Karate was the most compatible insecticide to the isolates. The single treatment with the entomopathogens gave a substantial percentage mortality of insect pests after 11 days compared to (80-100%) mortality obtained from a combined treatment with half recommended dose of Karate in seven days, which was similar to the treatment with full dose of the insecticide control. The treatments were slightly more effective on adults than they were on aphid larvae.  It is interesting to note that the combination of bei1 + Ka induced 100% mortality of adult aphids after seven days of incubation compared to the 11 day incubation required to kill the nymphs. Given that the full dose of karate killed the adult aphids in five days, the 100% mortality of the half dose of karate with bei1 within seven days was a good indication that the ipm could reduce pollution problem. Thus, B. bassiana and M. anisopliae with Karate could be further tested in the field to realize their potential as bioinsecticides for integrated pest management to control mustard aphids

Pests of Belg and Irrigated Tef (Eragrostis tef) in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia

አህፅሮትበበልግ ዝናብ እና በመስኖ የሚመረት ጤፍን ሰለሚያጠቁ ፀረ-ሰብሎች ማንነት መሠረታዊ መረጃ ለማመንጨት በ 2008 እና በ 2009 ዓም በአምስት ዞኖች ቅኝት ተካሄደ፡፡ የአረም ናሙና የተወሰደው 50 ሳሜ በ 50 ሳሜ በሆኑ አራት ካሬዎች ሲሆን በእያንዳንዱ ካሬ ውስጥ የነበሩ የአረም ተክሎች ብዛት እና የዝርያ ማንነት በመመዝገብ ነበር፡፡ የተባይ እና የበሽታ ናሙና የተወሰደው ደግሞ ሙሉውን ማሳ በዓይን በመመልከት እና የተባዩን እና የበሽታውን ምልክት በመለየት የጉዳቱን መጠን በመገመት ነበር፡፡ የጤፍ ግንጫፍ ዝንብ ፣ የበቆሎ ክሽክሽ እና ማንነቱ ያልተለየ ግንድ ቦርቧሪ ተባይ በበልግ ዝናብ እና በመስኖ የሚለማ ጤፍን ያጠቃሉ፡፡ እነዚህ ተባዮች የጤፍ ተክል ላይ የሚያደርሱት የጉዳት መጠን ዝቅተኛ ሲሆን እስከ 10 በመቶ ሊደርስ ይችላል፡፡ ሁለት የጤፍ በሽታዎች ማለትም የጤፍ ዋግ  እና ገሳሽ በተወሰኑ የጤፍ ማሳዎች ብቻ ተገኝተዋል፡፡ የተለያዩ የወፍ ዝርያዎች ጤፍን ያጠቃሉ፡፡ በ 14 ቤተሰብ ውስጥ የሚመደቡ ከ 22 የሚበልጡ የአረም ዝርያዎች በሁለቱም ዓመት ተመዝግበዋል፡፡ በ 2008 ዓም እንግጫ፣ የጥጃ ሥጋ፣ ቅንጨ አረም፣ የውሻ ጎመን እና የሞኝ ፍቅር በብዛት የተገኙ የአረም ዝርያዎች ሲሆኑ፤ በ 2009 ዓም ደግሞ የውሻ ስንደዶ፣ ቅንጨ አረም እና ነጭ ለባሽ በብዛት የተገኙ የአረም ዝርያዎች ነበሩ፡፡ ስርጭቱ በምስራቅ፣ ደቡብ  ምዕራብ እና ምዕራብ ሸዋ ዞኖች ብቻ የተወሰነው ጋሻ ነቃይ አረም ቁንጮ በተዘራ አንድ ማሳ ውስጥ ብቻ ተመዝግቧል፡፡   AbstractField surveys were conducted in 2016 and 2017 belg season to generate baseline information on the type of pests prevailing in Belg and irrigated tef. The survey was conducted in five zones. Weeds were sampled in four 50 cm x 50 cm quadrats and the number of individual weed plants were counted and identified to species level in situ. Insect pests and diseases were determined by visual search for damages done by insects or symptoms of diseases throughout the field. Tef shoot flies (Atherigona spp.), maize aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) and unidentified stalk borer infested tef. But the severity of damage caused by these insect pests was trace to 10%. Tef rust (Uromyces eragrostidis) and Sclerotium sp. were prevalent in limited tef fields. Tef is also attacked by different bird species. More than 22 weed species in more than 14 families were recorded throughout the surveyed areas. The two families Poaceae and Compositae accounted for the larger proportion of weed species. In the 2016 season Cyperus spp., Portulaca oleracea, Parthenium hysterophorus, Amaranthus hybridus and Xanthium strumarium, in decreasing order, were the most abundant weed species, whereas in the 2017 season  Setaria pumila, Eragrostis cilianensis, P.  hysterophorus and Argemone ochroleuca, in decreasing order, were abundant weed species. Field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis, which is found only in East, Southwest, and West Shewa Zones, was found in one field sown to Quncho

Agro-Morphological Traits Diversity in Tef [Eragrostis Tef (Zucc.) Trotter] Genotypes from Various Sources

አህፅሮትጤፍ መገኛው በኢትዮጵያ የሆነ ፈርጀ-ብዙ የአመራረት፣ የአመጋገብና የጤና ጠቀሜታ ያለው ሰብል ቢሆንም ምርታማነቱ በተለያዩ ማነቆዎች የተነሳ በሰፊው ከሚመረቱት የብርዕና አገዳ ሰብሎች አንፃር እጅግ ዝቅ ያለ ነው፡፡ ያለንን የጤፍ ዝርያ ብዝሃነት ማጥናት ግን እነኚህን የምርት ማነቆዎች ተቋቁመው የተሻለ ምርት ሊሰጡ የሚችሉ ዝርያዎችን ለመለየት ዕድል ይፈጠራል፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ዓላማ ከተለያዩ ምንጮች የተገኙ 188 የጤፍ ብዝሃ-ዘሮችን በሆለታና በደብረ ዘይት ምርምር ማዕከል ውስጥ በኮምፕሊቲሊ ረንዶማይዝድ ብሎክ ዲዛይን ዘርቶ በመገምገም ያላቸውን የዝርያ ተለያይነት፣ ብዝሃነትና ስብጥር ምን እንደሚመስል ለማወቅ ነበር፡፡ በዚህ ጥናት መረጃዎችን ለመተንተን የቫሪያንስ፣ የክላስተር እና የፕሪንሲፓል ኮምፖንነት ትንተና ዘዴዎች ሥራ ላይ ውለዋል፡፡ የዚህ ትንተና ውጤት በስብስቦቹ መካከል ከፍተኛ የሆነ የመድረሻ ጊዜ (ፌኖሎጂ)፣ የምርታማነትና የምርት ኮምፖነንት፣ የግሽበት እና የሞርፎሎጂ ባህሪያት ተለያይነት እንዳለ ይጠቁማሉ፡፡ በተጨማሪ የክላስተር ትንተና በጥናቱ ውስጥ የተካተቱ 188 ብዝሃ-ዘሮችን ወደ ስድስት ቦታ ሲመድባቸው፤ 14 ፖፑለሽኖች ደግሞ ወደ አራት ምድብ ከፍሏቿዋል፡፡ እነዚህ ቡድኖች ግን በማህበረሰብ ከቦታ ቦታ ዝውውር የተነሳ የግድ የዘረ-መል ዝምድናንና የአካባቢ ቅርበትን መሰረት ያደረጉ ብቻ ሆነው አልተገኙም፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ውጤት በአጠቃላይ ወደፊት በጤፍ ምርምር ማሻሻያ ውስጥ ልንጠቀምባቸው የምንችላቸው የብዝሃ-ዘር ተለያይነት እንዳለ ይጠቁማል፡፡ AbstractA total of 188 tef genotypes including 144 pure lines selected from germplasm collection, 35 released varieties, eight breeding lines and their parents were evaluated in three replications at two locations in Ethiopia. The objectives were to assess the magnitude and pattern of phenotypic diversity in tef genotypes obtained from various sources in Ethiopia. Combined analysis of variance revealed highly significant (P < 0.01) differences among genotypes, locations and genotype by environment interaction for all studied traits. Thus, wide ranges of variations were observed for days to heading (40.3 to 60.8 days) and maturity (101 to 122.5 days), plant height (60.7 to 107.1 cm), panicle length (19.5 to 39.5 cm), number of fertile tillers per plant (2.1 to 5.5) and spikelet per panicle (156.7 to 441.7), 1000 kernel weights (20.7 to 33.0 mg), grain yield (3.7 to 7.3 t/ha) and lodging index (44.7 to 79.3%). Cluster analysis revealed six distinct clusters of 188 individual tef genotypes while the 14 populations were grouped into four distinct clusters. In general, existence of sufficient level of genetic variation was revealed for future use in tef improvement

Maize-common bean/lupine intercrop productivity and profitability in maize-based cropping system of Northwestern Ethiopia

Cereal-legume intercropping is common in Ethiopia but intercropping of common bean and lupine with maize is a recent practice in maize based cropping system of Northwestern Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to determine the appropriate legume species and planting arrangement for higher productivity and profitability of the cropping system. Field experiments were conducted at two sites in Northwestern Ethiopia during the 2012 and 2013 main cropping seasons. Intercropping of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), narrow-leaf lupine (Lupinus angustifolius L.), and white lupine (Lupinus albus L.) with maize (Zea mays L.) were conducted under two intercrop planting arrangements (IPA), single row of legume in between maize rows and paired rows of legume in between paired rows of maize and sole cropping of maize as check treatment in randomized complete block design with three replications. Results indicated that maize grain yield was 16% and 13% more on maize-narrow leaf lupine intercropping with paired and single row IPA, respectively, relative to sole crop maize. Maize equivalent yield and land equivalent ratio were on average 18% and 42%, respectively, higher with intercropping compared to sole cropping. Maize-bean with single and paired row IPA, and the maize-narrow leaf lupine with the paired row IPA produced 28%, 23%, and 20% more maize equivalent yield compared to sole crop maize, respectively. The associated increases in net return were 22%, 17%, and 15%. The results indicated enhanced productivity and economic return of maize-common bean intercropping, which could be scaled up for increasing household food security.Keywords: Cropping system, Economic return, Maize equivalent yield, Land equivalent ratio, Paired row, Single row