Applications and Challenges of One Health Approach in Relation to Ethiopian Context

As the human population continues to increase and expand across our world, the interconnection of people, animals and our environment becomes more significant and impactful. On the other hand, issues of global environmental change, global health, antibiotics resistant pathogens, food safety and emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases present some of the most complex challenges to the health of world population. As individual disciplines cannot address these issues in isolation, and the potential economic, health and environmental consequences of inaction are enormous. This review aimed at exploring some of the applications and challenges of one health approach. One Health offers a logical solution by recognizing the interconnected nature of human, animal and ecosystem health in an attempt to improve health and environmental policy, expand scientific knowledge, improve health care training and delivery, identify and address upstream solutions to public health challenges. This concept is founded on an awareness of the major opportunities that exist to protect public health through policies aimed at preventing and controlling pathogens at the interface between humans, animals and the environment. One Health can also enhance strategies for sustainable development, especially in areas, where health issues are relevant to threatened wildlife populations, people, and domestic animals. Despite its role in healthcare, operationalizing the concept of One Health requires overcoming many barriers including; difficulty in changing the mindset of health care providers from one of disease care to one of preventive medicine, general lack of awareness and need of education of physicians about one health. In developing nations, the lack of resources and informed personnel creates difficulty in establishing networks between animal, human and environmental health professionals. Although challenges to realization of one health certainly like financial constraints and lack of easy information exchange exist, it is critically important to develop this collaborative, cross-sectoral approach through focusing on specific investment in governance, particularly with regard to the allocation of public and private resources. Keywords: Challenges, Food safety, One health, Zoonotic diseas

Review on Status and Constraints of Artificial Insemination in Dairy Cattle in Developing Countries: The Case of Ethiopia

Artificial insemination (AI) is the manual placement of semen in the reproductive tract of the female by a method other than natural mating which  is one of a group of technologies commonly known as “assisted reproduction technologies” (ART), whereby offspring are generated by facilitating the meeting of gametes (spermatozoa and oocytes). AI is by far the most common method of breeding of intensively kept dairy cattle. In relation to the status, there is a big gap in biotechnology use in general between developed and developing countries, with Artificial insemination (AI) being the biotechnology most widely applied in developing countries as compared to other biotechnologies. In developed countries, advances in Artificial insemination have already had a major impact on livestock improvement programmes. Similarly, most developing countries express the wish to increase the utilization of Artificial insemination even though in many cases clear plans for incorporating this technology into animal genetic resource management are lacking. AI speeds up genetic progress, reduces the risk of disease transmission and expands the number of animals that can be bred from a superior parent. In Ethiopia, even though this service has been in operation for over 30 years with different levels of intensification, its efficiency has remained at a very low level due to infrastructural, managerial and financial constraints and also due to poor heat detection, improper timing of insemination and embryonic death. Keywords: Artificial insemination, Biotechnology, Constraints, Developing countries, Ethiopi

The importance of chickpea, its farming system and determinant factors on technology adoption, North Shewa, Ethiopia.

Chickpea is one of the major pulse crops produced for home consumption and income sources. Its productivity is low due to low attention on chickpea production improvement technologies. This study examined chickpea farming system and its production status in wheat-based farming system areas. The purposes of the study were to evaluate the farming system of chickpea, to identify the determinant factors on chickpea technology adoption, and to assess the importance of chickpea in the study area. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data were obtained from a total of 230 randomly selected rural farmers in Ensaro district. Descriptive statistics and complementary log-log methods were used to assess the farming system and the adoption status of the improved varieties. Chick pea is one of the major crops produced and farmers allocated their farm for chickpea production and grow both local and improved varieties. Neighbor farmers, the district office of agriculture and Debre Birhan agricultural research center were the main sources of improved seeds. Chickpea producers obtained more grain yield and farm benefits and better position in household income and expenditure than the non-grower farmers. Farmers who used improved chickpea varieties gained more gross margins from chickpea compared with their counterparts. Farmers near to market, better contact with extension and access to agriculture-related trainings used improved chickpea production technologies. Chickpea contributed for availability of food, income and gross field benefits improvement for the grower farmers. The improved varieties provide more grain yield than the local. Strengthen extension farmers linkage and improve market access contribute for the improvements of chickpea production and rural household income in chickpea growing areas. &nbsp

Substance use disorders and adherence to antituberculosis medications in Southwest Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study

Objectives .In Ethiopia, little is known about the association between substance use disorders and adherence to antituberculosis (anti-TB) medications. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effect of substance use disorders on adherence to anti-TB medications in Southwest Ethiopia. Design. Prospective cohort study. Settings. Patients were recruited from 22 health centres and four hospitals in Southwest Ethiopia. Participants. This study was conducted among 268 patients with TB, aged 18–80 in Southwest Ethiopia between October 2017 and October 2018. At baseline, patients who were exposed substance use disorders (134 patients) and unexposed to substance use disorders (134 patients) were recruited. Patients were followed for 6 months, and data were collected on three occasions. Main outcome measure. Adherence to anti-TB medications. Results. Patients with substance use disorders had consistently higher prevalence of non-adherence than those without, 16.4% versus 3.0% at baseline, 41.7% versus 14.4% at 2-month follow-up and 45.7% versus 10.8% at 6-month follow-up assessments. Patients with khat use disorder were 3.8 times more likely to be non-adherent to anti-TB medications than patients without khat use disorder (Adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=3.8, 95% CI 1.8 to 8.0). Patients who had alcohol use disorder (AUD) were also 3.2 times likely to have poor adherence compared with their counterparts (aOR=3.2, 95% CI 1.6 to 6.6). In addition, being educated (aOR=4.4, 95% CI 1.7 to 11.3), and being merchant (aOR=6.1, 95% CI 1.2 to 30.8) were associated with non-adherence to anti-TB medications. Conclusion. Khat and AUDs predict greater likelihood of non-adherence to anti-TB medication. This implies the need to integrate the management for substance use disorders into the existing TB treatment services

Magnitude and predictors of khat use among patients with tuberculosis in Southwest Ethiopia: A longitudinal study

INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low and middle-income countries. Substance use negatively affects TB treatment outcomes. Our recent study has found that khat use predicted poorer adherence to anti-TB medications. However, there is scarce longitudinal study on predictors of khat use among outpatients with TB, and this study aimed at addressing this research gap. METHODS From October 2017 to October 2018, 268 outpatients with tuberculosis on DOTs were enrolled in a longitudinal study from 26 health institutions in Southwest Ethiopia. Structured questionnaires translated into local languages (Afaan Oromoo and Amharic) were used to assess khat use. Patients were followed for six months, and data were collected on three occasions during the follow-up. A generalized linear mixed model was used to identify the relation between khat use and predictors. Model fitness was checked using the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). Odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI were used to describe the strength of association between the outcome variable and predictors. RESULTS The overall prevalence of khat use at baseline and first follow up was 39.2% while it was 37.3% at second follow up. Of this, 77.1% and 96.2% of them believed that khat use reduces the side effects of anti-TB medications and symptoms of tuberculosis respectively. In the final model, being male (aOR = 7.0, p-value = 0.001), being government employee (aOR = 0.03, p-value≤0.001) and presence of alcohol use disorders (AUD) (aOR = 2.0, p-value≤0.001) predicted khat use among outpatients with tuberculosis. CONCLUSION A considerable proportion of patients with TB used khat throughout DOTs and wrongly perceived that it had health benefits. The finding implies that all patients diagnosed with TB should be screened for khat use, and a particular emphasis should be given to males and individuals with a history of alcohol use. Moreover, further studies are needed to assess patients' beliefs regarding the benefits of khat use so that interventions can be developed

Substance use disorder and associated factors among prisoners in a correctional institution in Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Background: Substance use disorder is an important public health problem and one of the major causes of disability worldwide. Substance use and criminal behavior are closely related and there is a significant association between substance misuse and crime, but little is known about substance use disorder among prisoners, in particular in low-income countries. Therefore, we investigated substance use disorder and associated factors in inmates of a correctional institution in Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods: We used a cross-sectional study design to collect data from 336 prisoners from June 5 to July 5, 2017. Study participants were selected from the total of 1460 prisoners eligible for the study by a systematic random sampling technique, i.e., one participant was randomly selected from every four consecutive admissions in the registration book. Alcohol use disorder, nicotine dependence, khat abuse, cannabis use disorder, psychopathy, adverse traumatic life events, and social support were assessed. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed in bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models with the Statistical Package for Social Science version 21. Variables with a P value < 0.05 in the final fitting model were declared to be associated with the outcome variable. Results: The overall prevalence of substance use disorder was 55.9%. The prevalence of khat abuse was 41.9%;alcohol use disorder, 36.2%;nicotine dependence, 19.8%;and cannabis use disorder, 3.6%. Poor social support, living in urban areas, psychopathy, and a family history of substance use were positively associated with substance use disorder. Conclusions: Substance use disorder is prevalent among prisoners. The increased morbidity and unpleasant psychosocial consequences associated with substance use disorder, together with our finding that 66.3% of prisoners with substance use disorder were interested in obtaining treatment, suggest a need to establish prison-based treatment in this correctional institution in Jimma

Management pattern and medication-related harms and its predictors in colorectal cancer patients: an institutional-based retrospective study

IntroductionData on colorectal cancer (CRC) patients’ thorough management practices and medication-related harms (MRH) are scarce. This study’s aim was to investigate the MRHs in patients receiving CRC chemotherapy at the comprehensive specialized hospital of the University of Gondar (UoGCSH).MethodsA registry-based retrospective cohort study was conducted on CRC patients at the UoGCSH during 2017–2021. From February to May 2022, medical records were reviewed using a pretested data collection tool to collect socio-demographic and disease-related characteristics, MRHs, and medication regimens. MRHs occurrence and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) severity were assessed using standard guidelines and protocols. Version 16/MP of STATA for Windows was used for the analysis. Independent predictors of MRHs were investigated using logistic regression analysis. A p-value ≤0.05 was used to determine an independent variable’s statistical significance.ResultsOne hundred forty three CRC patients were included, with a mean age of 49.9 ± 14.5 years. About 32.9% and 33.6% had stage II and III cancer, respectively. Significant patients had co-morbidities (15.4%) and complications (13.3%). Fluorouracil (5-FU)-based regimens were given to more than half (56%) of the patients. MRHs were found in 53.1% of the patients, with a mean of 2.45 ± 1.37 MRHs. The most common MRHs were the need for additional drug therapy, sub-therapeutic dose, DDIs, and ADRs. Being on stage IV (AOR = 27.7, 95% CI = 3.85–199.38, p = 0.001), having co-morbidity (AOR = 7.42, 95% CI = 1.80–30.59, p = 0.018) and having complication (AOR = 11.04, 95% CI = 1.72–70.95, p = 0.011) and treated with five or more drugs (AOR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.07–6.07, p = 0.035) were independent predictors of MRHs.ConclusionA fluorouracil-based treatment regimen was most frequently used. MRHs were found in nearly half of CRC patients. Furthermore, MRHs were significantly associated with cancer stage, comorbidity and complication status, and the number of medications used. Because MRHs are common, improving clinical pharmacy services is critical for optimizing drug therapy in CRC patients