Prevalence of Equine Lung Worm (Dictyocaulus Arnfieldi) and Its Associated Risk Factors in Jimma Town, South West Ethiopia

This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of equine lung worm (Dictyocaulus arnifieldi) and its associated risk factors in Jimma town. The cross sectional study was conducted from November, 2014 to April, 2015 in Jimma town, Southwestern Ethiopia. Faecal samples were collected from 384 randomly selected equines (51 donkeys, 295 horses and 38 mules) and examined using modified Baermann technique to determine first stage larvae (L1) of Dictyocaulus arnfieldi. The overall prevalence of lung worm in Jimma town was found as 11.2% (43/384). At animal species level the prevalence of lung worm infection in donkeys, mules and horses were 35.29% (18/51), 21.1% (8/38) and 5.8% (17/295), respectively with higher statistical significant difference (P=0.000). Higher prevalence of infection was recorded in equines with ≥10 years of age (20.6% (21/102)) followed by age groups ≤3 years and 4-10 years with prevalence of 12.6% (11/87) and 5.6% (11/195), respectively. In this study, equines with poor body condition were found highly infested (31.5%) compared to good (3.1%) and medium (10.8%) body condition with P value of 0.000. Sex of the animals was found to have no significant association with lung worm infestation with prevalence of 13% in females and 9.9% in males (P > 0.05). This result indicated that equine lungworm was found important disease condition in the area. Hence, regular deworming and pasture management are recommended to reduce the worm burden in the equine. Keywords: Dictyocaulus arnfieldi, Equines, Jimma, Prevalence, Risk factor

Isoenzyme analysis of five endemic and one widespread Kniphofia species (Asphodelaceae) of Ethiopia

There are seven species of genus Kniphofia in Ethiopian flora. K. foliosa, K. hildebrandtii, K. insignis, K. isoetifolia, and K. schimperiare endemic. Kniphofia pumila and K. thomsonii are widespread from West Africa to Eastern and Central Africa. In this study the genetic diversity and the relationships between five endemic and one widespread Kniphofia species in Ethiopia was conducted based on isoenzymes systems. The electrophoretic analyses of four enzymes systems in the species from ten experimental sites in ten locations revealed seven putative loci, of which PGM-1, PGM-2, AAT-2 and GPI-2 were polymorphic. The species have displayed higher genetic diversity parameters than other endemic plants. The over all mean inbreeding coefficient (F) was positive indicating slight deficiency in the number of heterozygotes. The total genetic diversity varies from 0.5 in K. schimperito 1.11 in K. isoetifolia indicating very low diversification between the populations with in a species. At the generic level HT ranges from 0.034 to 0.470 with a mean of 0.247. The genetic variation among the species (GST) is 6.6%. Over all mean of genetic distance (0.011) and genetic similarity (0.938) indicated high similarity among the populations. Despite morphological variation particularly in floral morphology and inflorescence architecture, the over all mean of unbiased genetic identity of the species (0.989) is much higher than described for congeneric species (I = 0.64). The results, therefore, indicate that the Ethiopian Kniphofia species share a fairly recent common ancestor, but have differentiated in floral and inflorescence character through rapid evolution. This hypothesis needs, however, further testing.Key words/phrases: Endemism, genetic diversity, isoenzyme, kniphofia, inbreeding coefficient SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science Vol. 27 (2) 2004:143–15

Phenotypic Characterization of Camels and their Production System in Yabello and Melka Soda Districts,

 አህፅሮት የዚህ ጥናት ዋና ዓሊማ በያቤልና መሌካሶዳ ወረዳዎች በሚገኙ ግመልች ውጪያዊ ባህሪያቸውን በመጠንና በብዛት መሇየት መሠረት ያደረገ ነበር፡፡ በዚህም መሠረት ከሁሇቱ ወረዳዎች ከሚኖሩት አርብቶ አደሮች ሇውጫዊ ባህርይ ትንተና ጥናት 192 አባወራዎችና 3ዏዏ ግመልች በነሲብ ተመርጠዋሌ፡፡ በመሌካሶዳ የሚገኙ ግመልች ከፍተኛና ጉሌህ የሆነ ሌዩነት ከያቤል ግመልች ማሇትም ደረት ዙር፣ በደረት ስፋት፣ በሰውነት ክብደት፣ በሸንጥ/ዳላ ስፋት፣ በደረት ጥሌቀት፣ በጉብሌ ዙሮሽ እንደሚበሌጡ ጥናቱ አመሌክቷሌ፡፡ የግመልች ፆታ ሌዩነት (ወንድና ሴት ግመሌ) በተመሇከተ የፊት እግር ርዝመት፣ የኃሊ እግር ርዝመት፣ የጫንቃ ከፍታ፣ የደረት ዙር፣ የሆድ ስፋት ዙር፣ የሰውነት ክብደት፣ የደረት ስፋት፣ ሻኛ/ጉበሌ ዙሮሽ፣ ሻኛ/ጉበሌ ርዝመት፣ የፊት ሾከና ዙር/ስፋት፣ የኋሊ ሾከና ዙር/ስፋት ሌዩነት እንዳሊቸው ከጥናቱ ሇመረዳት ተችሎሌ፡፡ በጥናቱ የግመልች ዕድሜ መጠን ከሁለም የሰውነት ክብደት ሌኬቶች ጋር ጉሌህ የሆነ ሌዩነት እዳሇው ሇመገንዘብ ተችሎሌ፡፡ በተጨማሪ የደረት ስፋትና የደረት ጥሌቀት ተሇዋዋጭ ሌኬት ሇሰውነት ክብደት ውጫዊ ገጽታ መሇኪያነት ሉያገሇግለ ይችሊለ፡፡ የወንድ ግመልች እክብ ናሙና በቀጥታ ሇሰውነት መሇኪያዎች ማሇትም የደረት ዙርና ሆድ ዙር/ስፋት ጠንካራ አዎንታዊ ዝምድና (r=0.03) ከሰውነት ክብደት ጋር አሊቸው፡፡ የሴት ግመልች ክብደት ጠንካራ አዎንታዊና (P<0.05) ጉሌህ ዝምድና ከደረት ዙር (r=0.95) ጋር አሇው፡፡ የዚህ የግመልች ውጪአዊ እይታ መረጃ በዋነኛነት ሇግመልች ዝርያ ጥበቃ ሇድቀሊና ሇመረጣ በሥነ-ባህርይ ትንተና በተደገፇ እስትራተጂ ሉያገሇግሌ ይችሊሌ፡፡ በተጨማሪ በቦረናና አካባቢ እንዲሁም በላልች የሀገሪቱ ክፍልች የሚኙትን ማህበረሰብ የግመልችን የምርት ውጤት ፍሊጐት ሇሟሟሊት ከፍተኛ ትኩረት በመስጠት በግመልች ሊይ ብዙ መሠረት እንዳሇበት ይጠቁማሌ፡፡ ይህ ጥናት በያቤልና በመሌካ ሶዳ አካባቢ የሚገኙትን የግመሌ ሀብት ሇወደፊት ዝርያቸውን ሇማሻሻሌና ሇመጠበቅ በሚደረገው እንቅስቃሴ በዋነኛነት እንደ መረጃ ሉያገሇግሌ ይችሊሌ፡፡AbstractThe objectives of the study were to characterize the production system of camel in Yabello and Melka Soda districts and to characterize phenotypically camel based on quantitative and qualitative traits. A total of 192 households were selected for characterization of the production system and 300 camels were sampled randomly for characterization of phenotypic traits. Camels of Melka Soda had significantly higher in heart girth, barrel girth, body weight, hip width, chest depth and hump circumference (P<0.05) than Yabello camels. Sex of the camels had significant (P<0.05) effect on forelimb length, hind limb length, wither height, heart girth, barrel girth, body weight, chest width, hump circumference, hump length, fore hoof circumference and hind hoof circumference. Body weight and all the body measurements were significantly (P<0.05) affected by age. Heart girth and barrel girth were found to be the most important variables for estimation of body weight in camels. In male sample populations of linear body measurements, heart girth and barrel girth had strong positive correlation (r=0.93) with body weight. In female sample camels body weight had strong positive and significant (P<0.05) correlation with heart girth (r=0.95). This phenotypic information can serve as a basis for designing appropriate conservation, breeding and selection strategies for camels in the study area and could be complemented with genetic analyses. Thus attention should be given to exploit the performance of camels based on their specialization to fulfill the current demand of camel and camel by-products in the Borena and also in different parts of the country. The present study can be used to understand the camel resources of the study sites for future genetic improvement and conservation actions

Study on the Suitability of Soils in Ilu Aba Bora Zone for Hydraform Block Production for Low Cost Construction

Due to a high construction material cost in Ethiopia, it is difficult to afford a shelter by most our peoples. The Hydra form block (HFB) has been identified as low-cost building material with its potential and possibility to reverse the housing problem. Laboratory tests were conducted on Mettu, Nopa, Gore, and Hurumu areas soil. Using hydra form machine with average mold size of 29*14*10cm, hydra form blocks were casted with the three percentages increment of cement. Compressive strength and water absorption tests were conducted at 28 days. The investigation has revealed that all the soil sample except Gore soil have significant characteristics that make it suitable for stabilization with recommended soil properties. From the experimental study, all the blocks except blocks produced with Gore soil have 28th day compressive strength values well above most of the recommended minimum values. Water absorption was less than the maximum limit of 15%. But, for control block and for stabilized with 3% cement, water absorption result is out of the recommended values (0-15) %. The cost comparison of Hydra form blocks with hollow concrete block and fired clay brick shows that the Hydra form block is cheapest walling material in terms of production cost and a typical hydra form block production center can create a job for more than 50 peoples

Types and Indications of Colostomy and Determinants of Outcomes of Patients After Surgery

Background: Colostomy is one of the commonest life saving procedures done worldwide with an intention of either decompression of an obstructed colon or diversion of stool. Indications may vary from region to region. Attending morbidity and mortality is significant. the objective of this study was to Determine the common indications and types of colostomy, and outcomes of patients operated at SPHMMCMethods: A retrospective medical records of patients, operation log book and nursing records review was done in a two-year period between January 2011 and December 2013 at the College Teaching Hospital, St Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical, Addis Ababa.Results: During the two years, 253 colostomies were done and 219(86.6%) cases used for analysis. Of these, 151(68.9%) were males. Age ranged from 15 to 85 years with a mean of 50.8. Most of the surgeries, 196(89.5%), were done for emergency conditions. The three most common indications were gangrenous sigmoid volvulus, 102(46.6%), colorectal cancers, 46(21.0%, and abdominal injuries, 28(12.8%). The commonest type of colostomy done was Hartman’s colostomy, 179(81.7.1%), gangrenous sigmoid volvulus being the predominant indication, 102(57%). Loop colostomy constituted 35(16%) of all the colostomies. Penetrating abdominal injuries was the main indication 15(42.9%). Overall, 157 complications were seen on 106(48.4%) patients. The most common complications were surgical site infection, 51(23.3%), hospital acquired pneumonia, (10.5%), and wound dehiscence, 17(7.8%). The mortality rate was 9.6% (21).Conclusion: Gangrenous sigmoid volvulus is the leading indication for colostomy. Mortality and morbidity rates are high. Aggressive resuscitation, early prompt operation and post op close follow-up should be emphasized.Keywords: Colostomy, Indication, Complication

Leveraging maternity waiting homes to increase the uptake of immediate postpartum family planning in primary health care facilities in Ethiopia

AbstractBackground: Maternity waiting homes within primary health care facilities are ideal platforms to reach women with family planning education and counselling. Maternity waiting home users interact with health care providers on a regular basis throughout their waiting period and can prepare to initiate the family planning method of their choice immediately after childbirth. To date, there has been no clear evidence about the use of maternity waiting homes to increase the uptake of immediate postpartum family planning. The aim of this study is to assess the contribution of maternity waiting homes to increase the uptake of immediate postpartum family planning among women who deliver in primary health care facilities in Ethiopia. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study design was conducted to collect quantitative data from women who gave birth within 12 months prior to the study. Multi-stage random sampling procedures were employed to select 884 women. Descriptive summaries and logistic regressions with 95% confidence intervals were conducted using Stata version14 to analyze the data. Results: The prevalence of immediate postpartum family planning use among women who used maternity waiting homes was 44%, while among those who did not use maternity waiting homes it was 36%. The use of maternity waiting homes significantly contributed to an increase in the immediate uptake of postpartum family planning (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.51-0.95, p<0.022). Conclusions and recommendations: This study showed that maternity waiting homes significantly contributed to improved uptake of immediate postpartum family planning within 10 minute or 48 hours after delivery. Developing a comprehensive package of maternal care services in maternity waiting homes has the potential to improve the uptake of family planning among postpartum women. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(1):9-17] Key words: Ethiopia, family planning, immediate postpartum, maternity waiting home, primary health care facilitie

Thyroid Hormone Tests Ordering Practice and Cost-Effectiveness in Samples Referred to International Clinical Laboratories from Addis Ababa Health Facilities

BACKGROUND: Thyroid dysfunction accounts for majority of endocrine disorders. In sub-Saharan Africa Graves’ disease and hypothyroidism have accounted for 13.1% and 8.8% while the burden of thyroid disorder has ranged from 6.18 to47.34% among countries in the Arab world. The cost for a primary thyroid test done to evaluate the gland function constituted a large proportion of the public health budget. For instance, 10 million thyroid functions have been done each year by laboratories which cost 30 million UK pounds, and they represent 8% of laboratory charge in the US. When a TSH-only protocol (guideline) was used, 95% of the requests were sufficient for diagnosis without requiring further tests, thereby resulting in 50% savings on FT4 reagent and reducing the annual TFT reagent cost by 25%. This is an original study, and its objective was to assess the ordering pattern of TSH tests and their cost-effectiveness in patients’ samples referred to ICL from Addis Ababa health facilities between July2015 to June 2016METHOD: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was utilized to study the ordering pattern of thyroid function tests using one-year retrospective data from ICL.RESULTS: Thyroid profiles were ordered more frequently (49.5%) compared to TSH only (24.3%). An additional 2625.70 USD was paid by patients for individual components in the profile tests that turned out normal.CONCLUSION: Guidelines advocate TSH as the initial test for thyroid dysfunction, but the use of a combination of tests is more common

Rotavirus-associated acute diarrhea outbreak in West Shewa Zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia, 2017

Introduction: rotavirus causes severe-diarrheal diseases in infants. An estimation of 138 million rotavirus-associated diarrheal cases and 215,000 deaths occur every year globally. In December 2016, West-Shewa zone in Ethiopia reported unidentified gastrointestinal diarrhea outbreak. We investigated to identify the causative agent of the outbreak to support response operations. Methods: medical records were reviewed, and the daily line list was collected from health facilities. Descriptive data analysis was done by time, person and place. Stool specimens were first tested by antigen capture enzyme immunoassay (EIA) technique and further confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as a gold standard. The product of RT-PCR was genotyped for each gene using G1-G4, G8-G9 and G12 primers for VP7 gene and P(4), P(6), P(8) and P(14) primers for VP4 gene. Results: a total of 1,987 diarrheal cases (5.7 per 1000) and five deaths (case-fatality rate 0.25%) were identified and epidemiologically-linked to confirmed rotavirus from December 2016 to February 2017. Among the cases, 1,946 (98%) were < 5 children. Fourteen (74%) of the 19 tested stool specimens were positive for rotavirus by EIA and RT-PCR. Majority of strains detected were G12P(6) (25%) and G-negative P(8) (25%) followed by G9P(8) (19%), G1P(8) (13%) and G3/G2 P(8), G12P(8), and G-negative P(6) (6% each). Conclusion: diarrheal outbreak which occurred in West-Shewa zone of Ethiopia was associated with rotavirus and relatively more affected districts with low vaccination coverage. Routine rotavirus vaccination quality and coverage should be evaluated and the surveillance system needs to be strengthened to detect, prevent and control a similar outbreak