Publications by authors named "Dawit Chala"

Globally, drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is responsible for 13% of mortality attributable to antimicrobial resistance. In Ethiopia, extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is a significant public health challenge, and drug resistance (DR) in EPTB is often overlooked. In a cross-sectional study conducted between August 2022 and October 2023, we aimed to explore the magnitude of phenotypic drug resistance and identify genetic mutations linked to resistance using 189 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates cultured from extrapulmonary clinical specimens.

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Unlabelled: Although nasopharyngeal swabs (NPSs) are superior to saliva specimens, saliva can be used as an alternative specimen for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing. Moreover, studies have reported contradicting findings on whether SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in urine or not. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic utility of NPSs, saliva and urine specimens in suspected COVID-19 patients.

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Introduction: Although wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) successfully functioned as a tool for monitoring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic globally, relatively little is known about its utility in low-income countries. This study aimed to quantify severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater, estimate the number of infected individuals in the catchment areas, and correlate the results with the clinically reported COVID-19 cases in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: A total of 323 influent and 33 effluent wastewater samples were collected from three Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) using a 24-h composite Moore swab sampling method from February to November 2023.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focused on characterizing the different lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) that cause childhood pulmonary tuberculosis in developing countries, specifically Ethiopia, where limited data exists.
  • - Using 54 stored cultures, researchers employed methods like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and spoligotyping to determine the lineage and drug sensitivity patterns of the bacteria.
  • - Results revealed that a majority of the isolates belonged to the Euro-American lineage, with high drug susceptibility rates (91.9% phenotypic and 97.4% molecular), while the overall prevalence of drug resistance was low at 7.8%.
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Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the foremost killer disease worldwide. ASCVD is one of the most common types of CVD. It is mainly associated with a condition called atherosclerosis.

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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of heat inactivation and chemical bulklysis on SARS-CoV-2 detection.

Results: About 6.2% (5/80) of samples were changed to negative results in heat inactivation at 60 °C and about 8.

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Background: Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and (MTB) are among the top ongoing health crises globally. Both cause respiratory diseases, and the clinical presentations are similar. There is no summarized information about cases of COVID-19 patients with concomitant TB infection from different settings.

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Background: Reference intervals for clinical laboratory parameters differ based on several factors, including age, sex, genetic variation, and geographic location. This variation influences clinical decisions and treatment monitoring. Currently, Ethiopia has used adopted reference intervals from manufacturer values derived from non-Africans.

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Trypanosomosis is one of the most economically challenging diseases affecting mammals, and it is a serious haemoprotozoan disease caused by different species of unicellular eukaryotic parasite of the genus trypanosome. The study was conducted to access the prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis, its associated risk factors, and vector density on cattle reared in three selected districts, namely, Chewaka, Dabo Hana, and Meko districts. Blood was collected from a total of 1046 cattle of age groups extending from 1 to 6 years.

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