Surgical conditions and requested procedures for ruminants and small animals handled at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture clinic, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia: A retrospective study 1999-2007

The surgical conditions and requested procedures encountered in ruminants and small animals were surveyed using the available clinical records of the veterinary clinic of the college and personal record book from December 1999 to December 2007 in order to document and compare their prevalence’s. Of the total 689 surgical conditions and requested procedures cattle, sheep, goat, dog and cat, accounted for 368 (53.48%), 148 (21.51%), 16 (2.32%), 133 (19.33%), and 23 (3.34%), respectively. The distribution of the surgical cases based on sex indicated that male cases predominate in cattle 278 (75.54%) and sheep 86 (58.10%). On the other hand, in dogs, cats and goats female cases predominate with 78 (58.64%), 16 (69.56%) and 10 (62.5%), respectively. The frequent surgical condition of male cattle according to their frequency of occurrence were abscess 64 (23.02%), wound 53 (19.06%), urethral obstruction 45 (16.18%), horn fracture 40 (14.38%) and penile and/preputial injuries 34 (12.23%). In female cattle, the common surgical conditions were wound 25 (27.77%), local abscess 17 (18.88 %), horn fracture 12 (13.33%) and hoof overgrowth 12 (13.33%). In male sheep urethral obstruction accounted for 28 (32.55%) of the cases followed by penile and or preputial injuries 15 (17.4430), wound 13 (15.11%) and traumatic hernia 10 (10.41%). Cases of dystocia were recorded in 33 (20.12%) and 5 (50%) of the female sheep and goats, respectively. The common reasons for male dog to be brought to the clinic were for sterilization 12 (21.81%), wound treatment 10 (18.18%) and aural hematoma 8 (14.54%). On the other hand, request for sterilization 45 (57.69%) and difficulty of parturition 16 (20.51%) were common reason for bitch to be brought to the clinic. The two main reasons for female cats to be presented to the clinic were difficulty of parturition 10 (62.5%) and request for sterilization 5 (31.25%). A concise description of intervention procedures is provided on the two common surgical problems of cattle (wound, urethral obstruction) and sheep (urethral obstruction).Keywords: Abscess, dystocia, surgical conditions, urethral obstruction, Veterinary Teaching Clini

Gossypiboma: A Case Series and Literature Review

BACKGROUND: Gossypiboma (retained surgical sponge) is a rare medical event. It could cause a serious complication that can threaten patients’ life. Its diagnosis is usually difficult because the clinical symptoms are nonspecific and the imaging findings are often inconclusive.CASE PRESENTATIONS: We present two cases, a 32 years old woman who passed a retained surgical sponge via rectum 5 months after cesarean section and a 30 years old lady presented with an acute abdomen that later found to have localized right lower quadrant abscess with a retained surgical sponge.CONCLUSION: The most important approach to reduce the incidence of gossypiboma is prevention. At the end of the surgery, a correct count is always the gold standard safeguard against it. Although errors are not to be completely avoided, continuous CPD and strict adherence to rules of the operating room will reduce its incidence to a minimum

Determinants of hypertension among adults living in Bole Sub-city, Addis Ababa

Complications of hypertension account for 9.4 million deaths world wide every year. Evidences indicated that hypertension and elevated blood pressure are increasing partly due to increase in determinants. In Addis Ababa, there is limited information on determinants of hypertension among adults. Hence, this study aimed to assess determinants of hypertension among adults living in Bole Sub-city, Addis Ababa. Community based unmatched case-control study was conducted. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 122 cases and 244 controls. Data were collected using interviewer administered structured questionnaire and measurement of blood pressure, weight and height. Binary logistic regression model was used for data analysis. A total of 348 adults were included in the study with 95% response rate. The study showed that age (AOR=7.68, 95% CI: 2.31–25.48), average family monthly in come (AOR=6.39, CI: 1.60-25.55), family history of hypertension (AOR=4.50, CI: 1.14-17.62), body mass index (AOR=3.76, CI: 1.49-9.48), physical activity (AOR=3.66, CI: 1.21–11.07), tobacco use (AOR=8.99,CI:2.02-39.86), salt consumption (AOR=5.22, CI: 1.47-18.48), stress (AOR=5.18, CI:2.42–11.09), knowledge (AOR=8.82, CI: 3.14-24.72) and diabetic mellitus (AOR=8.42, CI: 1.44-48.97) were significantly associated with hypertension. Cases had higher exposure to risk factors of hypertension than controls. Age, average family monthly income, physical activity, saltcon sumption, diabetic mellitus, stress, tobacco use, body mass index, family history of hypertension and knowledge were associated with hypertension. There is a need to health education to prevent tobacco use, regular exercise, reduce salt consumption and other life style modifications to reduce hypertension

Undernutrition among Ethiopian adults living with HIV: a meta-analysis.

BackgroundMalnutrition and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are interlaced in a vicious cycle and worsened in low and middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, even though individuals are dually affected by both malnutrition and HIV, there is no a nationwide study showing the proportion of malnutrition among HIV-positive adults. Consequently, this review addressed the pooled burden of undernutrition among HIV-positive adults in Ethiopia.MethodsWe searched for potentially relevant studies through manual and electronic searches. An electronic search was carried out using the database of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google for gray literature and reference lists of previous studies. A standardized data extraction checklist was used to extract the data from each original study. STATA Version 13 statistical software was used for our analysis. Descriptive summaries were presented in tables, and the quantitative result was presented in a forest plot. Heterogeneity within the included studies was examined using the Cochrane Q test statistics and I 2 test. Finally, a random-effects meta-analysis model was computed to estimate the pooled proportion of undernutrition among HIV-positive adults.ResultsAfter reviewing 418 studies, 15 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Findings from 15 studies revealed that the pooled percentage of undernutrition among HIV-positive adults in Ethiopia was 26% (95% CI: 22, 30%). The highest percentage of undernutrition (46.8%) was reported from Jimma University specialized hospital, whereas the lowest proportion of undernutrition (12.3%) was reported from Dilla Hospital. The subgroup analyses of this study also indicated that the percentage of undernourishment among HIV-positive adults is slightly higher in the Northern and Central parts of Ethiopia (27.5%) as compared to the Southern parts of Ethiopia (25%).ConclusionThis study noted that undernutrition among HIV-positive adults in Ethiopia was quite common. This study also revealed that undernutrition is more common among HIV-positive adults with advanced disease stage, anemia, diarrhea, CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm3, and living in rural areas. Based on our findings, we suggested that all HIV-positive adults should be assessed for nutritional status at the time of ART commencement

Biopsychosocial risk factors and knowledge of cervical cancer among young women: A case study from Kenya to inform HPV prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common female reproductive cancer after breast cancer with 84% of the cases in developing countries. A high uptake of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination and screening, and early diagnosis leads to a reduction of incidence and mortality rates. Yet uptake of screening is low in Sub-Saharan Africa and there is an increasing number of women presenting for treatment with advanced disease. Nine women in their twenties die from cervical cancer in Kenya every day. This paper presents the biopsychosocial risk factors that impact on cervical cancer knowledge among Kenyan women aged 15 to 24 years. The findings will highlight opportunities for early interventions to prevent the worrying prediction of an exponential increase by 50% of cervical cancer incidences in the younger age group by 2034. Methods: Data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) was analysed using complex sample logistic regression to assess biopsychosocial risk factors of knowledge of cervical cancer among young women aged 15 to 24 years (n = 5398). Findings: Close to one third of the participants were unaware of cervical cancer with no difference between participants aged 15–19 years (n = 2716) and those aged 20–24 years (n = 2691) (OR = 1; CI = 0.69–1.45). Social predisposing factors, such as lack of education; poverty; living further from a health facility; or never having taken a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test, were significantly associated with lack of awareness of cervical cancer (p<0.001). Young women who did not know where to obtain condoms had an OR of 2.12 (CI 1.72–2.61) for being unaware of cervical cancer. Psychological risk factors, such as low self-efficacy about seeking medical help, and an inability to refuse unsafe sex with husband or partner, perpetuated the low level of awareness about cervical cancer (p<0.001). Conclusions: A considerable proportion of young women in Kenya are unaware of cervical cancer which is associated with a variety of social and psychological factors. We argue that the high prevalence of cervical cancer and poor screening rates will continue to prevail among older women if issues that affect young women’s awareness of cervical cancer are not addressed. Given that the Kenyan youth are exposed to HPV due to early sexual encounters and a high prevalence of HIV, targeted interventions are urgently needed to increase the uptake of HPV vaccination and screening

Intestinal parasitosis and shigellosis among diarrheal patients in Gondar teaching hospital, northwest Ethiopia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diarrheal diseases are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in developing world. Understanding the etiologic agents of diarrheal diseases and their association with socio-demographic characteristics of patients would help to design better preventive measures. Thus, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and enteropathogenic bacteria in diarrheic patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study involving 384 consecutive diarrheal patients who visited Gondar teaching hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia from October 2006 to March 2007 was conducted. Stool specimens were collected and examined for intestinal parasites and enteropathogenic bacteria following standard parasitological and microbiological procedures.</p> <p><b><it>Results</it></b></p> <p>Intestinal parasites were diagnosed in 36.5% of the patients. The most frequently encountered protozoan parasite was <it>Entamoeba histolytica/dispar </it>(7.3%) followed by <it>Giardia lamblia </it>(5.0%), C<it>ryptosporidium parvum </it>(1.8%) and <it>Isospora belli </it>(1.3%). The dominant helminthic parasite identified was <it>Ascaris lumbricoides </it>(5.5%) followed by <it>Strongyloides stercoralis </it>and <it>Schistosoma mansoni </it>(3.1% each), hookworm infection (1.8%), and <it>Hymenolepis </it>species (1.3%). Multiple infections of intestinal parasites were also observed in 6.3% of the patients. Among the enteropathogenic bacteria <it>Shigella </it>and <it>Salmonella </it>species were isolated from 15.6% and 1.6%, respectively, of the patients. <it>Escherichia coli O57:H7 </it>was not found in any of the stool samples tested. Eighty eight percent and 83.3% of the <it>Shigella </it>and <it>Salmonella </it>isolates were resistant to one or more commonly used antibiotics, respectively.</p> <p>Intestinal parasitosis was higher in patients who live in rural area, in patients who were washing their hands after visiting toilet either irregularly with soap and without soap or not at all, in patients who used well and spring water for household consumption, and in patients who had nausea (<it>P </it>< 0.05). Statistically significant associations were also observed between Shigella infections and patients who were using well and spring water for household consumption, and patients who had dysentery and mucoid stool (<it>P </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The high prevalence of intestinal parasites and <it>Shigella </it>species in diarrheic patients calls for institution of appropriate public health intervention measures to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases. The rational use of antibiotics should also be practiced.</p

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections in The Gambia: an analysis of routinely collected surveillance data between March, 2020, and January, 2022

Background: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is one of the deadliest pandemics of the past 100 years. Genomic sequencing has an important role in monitoring of the evolution of the virus, including the detection of new viral variants. We aimed to describe the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections in The Gambia. Methods: Nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs collected from people with suspected cases of COVID-19 and international travellers were tested for SARS-CoV-2 with standard RT-PCR methods. SARS-CoV-2-positive samples were sequenced according to standard library preparation and sequencing protocols. Bioinformatic analysis was done using ARTIC pipelines and Pangolin was used to assign lineages. To construct phylogenetic trees, sequences were first stratified into different COVID-19 waves (waves 1–4) and aligned. Clustering analysis was done and phylogenetic trees constructed. Findings: Between March, 2020, and January, 2022, 11 911 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded in The Gambia, and 1638 SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced. Cases were broadly distributed into four waves, with more cases during the waves that coincided with the rainy season (July–October). Each wave occurred after the introduction of new viral variants or lineages, or both, generally those already established in Europe or in other African countries. Local transmission was higher during the first and third waves (ie, those that corresponded with the rainy season), in which the B.1.416 lineage and delta (AY.34.1) were dominant, respectively. The second wave was driven by the alpha and eta variants and the B.1.1.420 lineage. The fourth wave was driven by the omicron variant and was predominantly associated with the BA.1.1 lineage. Interpretation: More cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were recorded in The Gambia during peaks of the pandemic that coincided with the rainy season, in line with transmission patterns for other respiratory viruses. The introduction of new lineages or variants preceded epidemic waves, highlighting the importance of implementing well structured genomic surveillance at a national level to detect and monitor emerging and circulating variants. Funding: Medical Research Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK Research and Innovation, WHO