Waning success: a 2013-2022 spatial and temporal trend analysis of malaria in Ethiopia.

Background: Despite consecutive decades of success in reducing malaria transmission, Ethiopia went off track towards its goal of malaria elimination by 2030, as outlined in the NMCP malaria strategy. Recent malaria outbreaks in Ethiopia are attributed to the emergence and spread of diagnostic and drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, increased insecticide resistance in major vectors and the spread of invasive Anopheles stephensi. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental anomalies and internal conflicts have also potentially played a role in increasing malaria transmission.

Larval source management in Ethiopia: modelling to assess its effectiveness in curbing malaria surge in dire Dawa and Batu Towns.

Background: Ethiopia faces several severe challenges in terms of malaria elimination, including drug resistance and diagnostic evasion in the Plasmodium falciparum parasite, insecticide resistance in the primary Anopheles malaria vector, and, most recently, the invasion of the Asian malaria vector Anopheles stephensi. Novel malaria control methods are therefore needed, and in this paper, we describe the evaluation of a larval source management (LSM) strategy implemented in response to An. stephensi.

The expansion of an invasive malaria vector: Anopheles stephensi emergence in Arba Minch town in the southern Rift Valley of Ethiopia.

Urban areas in malaria-endemic countries in East Africa are experiencing a significant increase in malaria cases, with the establishment of an "exotic" urban malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi, increasing the risk of urban malaria. To this end, the present study aimed to investigate the emergence of this species in Arba Minch, Ethiopia. Following the detection of An.

Investigating the association between household exposure to Anopheles stephensi and malaria in Sudan and Ethiopia: A case-control study protocol.

Background: Endemic African malaria vectors are poorly adapted to typical urban ecologies. However, Anopheles stephensi, an urban malaria vector formerly confined to South Asia and the Persian Gulf, was recently detected in Africa and may change the epidemiology of malaria across the continent. Little is known about the public health implications of An.

Dynamics of asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections and their infectiousness to mosquitoes in a low transmission setting of Ethiopia: a longitudinal observational study.

Objective: A 15-month longitudinal study was conducted to determine the duration and infectivity of asymptomatic qPCR-detected Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections in Ethiopia.

Method: Total parasite and gametocyte kinetics were determined by molecular methods; infectivity to Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes by repeated membrane feeding assays. Infectivity results were contrasted with passively recruited symptomatic malaria cases.

Malaria positivity rate trend analysis at water resources development project of Wonji Sugar Estate Oromia, Ethiopia.

Evidence on the trends of the proportion of malaria infections detected by routine passive case detection at health facilities is important for public health decision making especially in areas moving towards elimination. The objective was to assess nine years of trends on clinical malaria infections detected at health facility and its associated climate factors, in the water resource development set up of Wonji sugar estate, Oromia, Ethiopia. Retrospective data were collected from malaria-suspected patient recording logbook at Wonji sugar factory's primary hospital.

Prevalence of Group B Streptococcus maternal colonization, serotype distribution, and antimicrobial resistance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Group B Streptococcus (GBS)-associated maternal, perinatal, and neonatal mortality and morbidity disproportionately affects Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to address the estimated prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and serotype distribution of GBS isolates in SSA.

Methods: This study was done according to PRISMA guidelines.

Naturally acquired antibodies to gametocyte antigens are associated with reduced transmission of gametocytes to mosquitoes.

Naturally acquired antibodies may reduce the transmission of gametocytes to mosquitoes. Here, we investigated associations between antibody prevalence and infectivity to mosquitoes. A total of 368 microscopy confirmed symptomatic patients were passively recruited from health centers in Ethiopia and supplemented with 56 observations from asymptomatic parasite carriers.

Malaria and Helminthic Co-Infection during Pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Malaria and helminthic co-infection during pregnancy causes fetomaternal haemorrhage and foetal growth retardation. This study determined the pooled burden of pregnancy malaria and helminthic co-infection in sub-Saharan Africa. CINAHL, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were used to retrieve data from the literature, without restricting language and publication year.

Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes as Vectors of Plasmodium vivax and falciparum, Horn of Africa, 2019.

Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, efficient vectors in parts of Asia and Africa, were found in 75.3% of water sources surveyed and contributed to 80.9% of wild-caught Anopheles mosquitoes in Awash Sebat Kilo, Ethiopia.

The epidemiology and detectability of asymptomatic plasmodium vivax and plasmodium falciparum infections in low, moderate and high transmission settings in Ethiopia.

Background: As countries move to malaria elimination, detecting and targeting asymptomatic malaria infections might be needed. Here, the epidemiology and detectability of asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections were investigated in different transmission settings in Ethiopia.

Method: A total of 1093 dried blood spot (DBS) samples were collected from afebrile and apparently healthy individuals across ten study sites in Ethiopia from 2016 to 2020.

Community-level epidemiology of intestinal helminth infections and anemia in Harbu Town, northeastern Ethiopia.

Anemia and intestinal helminth infections are overlapping health problems in developing countries. This study examined the determinants of intestinal helminth infection and anemia in a human population in Harbu Town, northeastern Ethiopia. A total of 484 individuals provided stool and blood samples as well as information about their sociodemographic characteristics and living practices in a community-based cross-sectional survey conducted between May and June, 2013.

Comparison of infectivity of Plasmodium vivax to wild-caught and laboratory-adapted (colonized) Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes in Ethiopia.

Background: Mosquito-feeding assays that assess transmission of Plasmodium from man-to-mosquito typically use laboratory mosquito colonies. The microbiome and genetic background of local mosquitoes may be different and influence Plasmodium transmission efficiency. In order to interpret transmission studies to the local epidemiology, it is therefore crucial to understand the relationship between infectivity in laboratory-adapted and local mosquitoes.

Prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 alleles in settings with different levels of Plasmodium vivax co-endemicity in Ethiopia.

Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax co-exist at different endemicity levels across Ethiopia. For over two decades Artemether-Lumefantrine (AL) is the first line treatment for uncomplicated P.

Comorbidity of intestinal helminthiases among malaria outpatients of Wondo Genet health centers, southern Ethiopia: implications for integrated control.

Background: It is estimated that over a third of the world population is infected by malaria and helminthiases mainly among communities with high poverty indices. The distribution of these parasitic infections overlaps in many epidemiological settings and have varying outcomes in the host. In this paper we report the prevalence of malaria and intestinal helminthiases coinfections among malaria suspected patients and the association of helminthiases with the occurrence of malaria and its outcomes in Wondo Genet, southern Ethiopia.

Serological evidence for a decline in malaria transmission following major scale-up of control efforts in a setting selected for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum malaria elimination in Babile district, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Background: Following successful malaria control during the last decade, Ethiopia instituted a stepwise malaria elimination strategy in selected low-transmission areas.

Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Babile district, Oromia, Ethiopia from July to November 2017 to evaluate malaria infection status using microscopy and nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) and serological markers of exposure targeting Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA-1).

Results: Parasite prevalence was 1.

Age-related factors influencing the occurrence of undernutrition in northeastern Ethiopia.

Background: Undernutrition is a major public health problem on the globe particularly in the developing regions. The objective of the current study was to assess the prevalence of undernutrition in different age groups and examine the relationship of the disease to parasitic and socioeconomic factors among communities in Harbu Town, northeastern Ethiopia.

Methods: Stool samples of the study participants were examined for intestinal helminth infections using the Kato-Katz method.

Prevalence of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance-associated mutations in dhfr and dhps genes of Plasmodium falciparum three years after SP withdrawal in Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia.

Ethiopia changed the first-line anti-malarial drug for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria from sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) to Coartem(®) in 2004 following nation-wide assessment of the efficacy of both drugs in 2003. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance-associated mutations in dhfr and dhps genes of P. falciparum three years after SP withdrawal in Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia.