Prevalence of Disability and Associated Factors among Registered Leprosy Patients in All Africa Tb and Leprosy Rehabilitation and Training Centre (ALERT), Addis Ababa,Ethiopia

Background

Delay in leprosy diagnosis and treatment causes disabilities due to nerve damage, immunological reactions and bacillary infiltration. Leprosy disability leads not only to physical dysfunction and activity limitation but also disrupts social interaction of affected individuals by creating stigma and discrimination. This study was aimed at assessing leprosy disability status in patients registered at All African TB and Leprosy Rehabilitation and Training Centre.

Methods

Medical records of leprosy patients registered from September 11, 2010 to September 10, 2013 G.C were reviewed. Prevalence of disability calculated, bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were used to determine crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval.

Results

The overall prevalence of disability was found to be 65.9% from all categories of patients (40.2% Grade I and 25.7% Grade II). The Prevalence among the new category was 62.8% (39.1% Grade 1 and 23.7% Grade 2). Those ageed above 30 years, with duration of symptoms 6–12 months and above 24 months, with sensory loss, nerve damage and reversal reaction were more likely to develop disability.

Conclusion

In this study the prevalence of disability, both Grade I and II, is very high. Disability was associated with age, duration of symptom, sensory loss, signs of nerve damage and reversal reaction. These risk factors indicate the existence of delay in diagnosis and treatment of leprosy cases. Therefore, the national leprosy control program should investigate leprosy case detection and diagnosis system in the country and work on improving early case detection and prevention of disability.     

Predicting Phenotype and Emerging Strains among Chlamydia trachomatis Infections

Chlamydia trachomatis is a global cause of blinding trachoma and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We used comparative genomics of the family Chlamydiaceae to select conserved housekeeping genes for C. trachomatis multilocus sequencing, characterizing 19 reference and 68 clinical isolates from 6 continental/subcontinental regions. There were 44 sequence types (ST). Identical STs for STI isolates were recovered from different regions, whereas STs for trachoma isolates were restricted by continent. Twenty-nine of 52 alleles had nonuniform distributions of frequencies across regions (p<0.001). Phylogenetic analysis showed 3 disease clusters: invasive lymphogranuloma venereum strains, globally prevalent noninvasive STI strains (ompA genotypes D/Da, E, and F), and nonprevalent STI strains with a trachoma subcluster. Recombinant strains were observed among STI clusters. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were predictive of disease specificity. Multilocus and SNP typing can now be used to detect diverse and emerging C. trachomatis strains for epidemiologic and evolutionary studies of trachoma and STI populations worldwide.     

Staphylococcus Aureus Burn Wound Infection Among Patients Attending Yekatit 12 Hospital Burn Unit,Addis Ababa,Ethiopia

Background

Burns provide a suitable site for bacterial multiplication and are more persistent richer sources of infection than surgical wounds. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequently isolated pathogens in both community and hospital practices. The objective of this study was to address the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of S. aureus isolated from burn wound infections in Yekatit 12 Hospital, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

Methods

This study was Cross-sectional, prospective study conducted from March to May 2011. Burn wound pus sample was collected by using convenient sampling method for culture and drug sensitivity tests were performed according to the WHO standards.

Results

Out of 114 patients, bacterial infection was observed in 95(83.3%) of which, 66 (69.5%) had S. aureus infection. Overall prevalence of S. aureus isolation was 57.8%. Most of them were sensitive to vancomycin, clindamycin, Kanamycin and Erythromycin, but highly resistant to penicillin G. All isolates were found to be multi drug resistant, and one isolate was resistant to all the tested drugs.

Conclusion

The current study is highly important and informative for the high level of multi-drug resistant S. aureus isolates in burn patients. Finally, strict consideration for s. aureus infection and proper usage of antibiotic policy are recommended in decreasing the incidence and occurrence of multidrug resistant S. aureus infections in Yekatit 12 Hospitals.     

Asymptomatic Malaria in Households and Neighbors of Laboratory Confirmed Cases in Raya Kobo District,Northeast Ethiopia

BackgroundMalaria is the leading vector-borne parasitic disease that is causing high morbidity and mortality worldwide. So far huge efforts to control and eliminate malaria are hindered by the occurrence of asymptomatic carriers that are a potential source of infection. Yet, there is a scarcity of data nationally and in the current study area as well. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria in Northeast Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 involving a total of 270 study participants recruited via purposive non-probability sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, individual and household factors related to asymptomatic malaria. Data were entered in Epi Data 3.1 version and analyzed by using SPSS version 20, and p< 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe overall prevalence of asymptomatic malaria was 7.0%, with 3.0%, 5.2%, and 12.0%, respectively by Rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), Microscopy and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The majority of infections (73.7%) were identified from index households. Previous malaria history (AOR: 4.030, 95% CI: 1.021–15.903), living with index cases (AOR: 3.880, 95% CI: 1.275–11.806) and family size > 6 members (AOR: 4.820, 95% CI: 1.260–18.437) were significant predictors of asymptomatic malaria.ConclusionReactive case detection had identified considerably higher asymptomatic malaria cases in the community. Therefore, active case investigation should be established in the community by tracking the symptomatic cases at the health facilities.     

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants around 'Dheeraa' town, Arsi Zone, Ethiopia

A study aimed at identifying plant species used and manipulated by the community for medicine was carried out around 'Dheeraa' town, Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Southeast Ethiopia. The data were collected through a series of fieldworks conducted from October to December 2002. Random and systematic sampling methods were employed to select the study sites as well as the informants. Ethnobotanical methods using semi-structured interviews were employed and a total of 83 species of medicinal plants were recorded. The natural environment yielded larger proportion (76 species, 92%) of the total records followed by home gardens of the area. The studied medicinal plants were those used in traditional health care of humans and livestock. However, only very few individuals of each species were found in the area and this might be attributed to the ongoing habitat modification and loss of natural vegetation. Therefore, it is important to create awareness on sustainable use of the natural vegetation. Paying special attention to the medicinal plants found in the area may help to amplify the role that these plants play in healthcare, poverty alleviation as well as environmental protection.     

Duration of Supplemental Oxygen Requirement and Predictors in Severe COVID-19 Patients in Ethiopia: A Survival Analysis

BackgroundWith the rising number of new cases of COVID-19, understanding the oxygen requirement of severe patients assists in identifying at risk groups and in making an informed decision on building hospitals capacity in terms of oxygen facility arrangement. Therefore, the study aimed to estimate time to getting off supplemental oxygen therapy and identify predictors among COVID-19 patients admitted to Millennium COVID-19 Care Center in Ethiopia.MethodsA prospective observational study was conducted among 244 consecutively admitted COVID-19 patients from July to September, 2020. Kaplan Meier plots, median survival times and Log-rank test were used to describe the data and compare survival distribution between groups. Cox proportional hazard survival model was used to identify determinants of time to getting off supplemental oxygen therapy, where hazard ratio (HR), P-value and 95%CI for HR were used for testing significance and interpretation of results.ResultsMedian time to getting off supplemental oxygen therapy among the studied population was 6 days (IQR,4.3–20.0). Factors that affect time to getting off supplemental oxygen therapy were age group (AHR=0.52,95%CI=0.32,0.84, p-value=0.008 for ≥70 years) and shortness of breath (AHR=0.71,95%CI=0.52,0.96, p-value=0.026).ConclusionAverage duration of supplemental oxygen therapy requirement among COVID-19 patients was 6 days and being 70 years and older and having shortness of breath were found to be associated with prolonged duration of supplemental oxygen therapy requirement. This result can be used as a guide in planning institutional resource allocation and patient management to provide a well-equipped care to prevent complications and death from the disease.