Heavy Metal Contamination in Omo River, Ethiopia: Environmental and Human Health Risks.

The Omo River flows through the town of Omorate, where domestic, municipal, and industrial wastes from the town and its surroundings, including agrochemicals, are discharged into the river. The present study was conducted to determine the levels of heavy metals and associated environmental and human health impacts from the Lower Omo River freshwater ecosystem (water and sediment) of the Lower Omo River. The mean concentrations of heavy metals detected in the river water were 0.

Paediatric testicular torsion in low- and middle-income countries: an OxPLORE scoping study.

Background: Literature on paediatric surgical conditions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains limited. As a common emergency, timely treatment of testicular torsion acts as a benchmark of adequate emergency service delivery in paediatric surgery. This scoping study aims to synthesise all existing literature on paediatric testicular torsion in LMICs.

Identifying delays in healthcare seeking and provision: The Three Delays-in-Healthcare and mortality among infants and children aged 1-59 months.

Delays in illness recognition, healthcare seeking, and in the provision of appropriate clinical care are common in resource-limited settings. Our objective was to determine the frequency of delays in the "Three Delays-in-Healthcare", and factors associated with delays, among deceased infants and children in seven countries with high childhood mortality. We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study using data from verbal autopsies and medical records for infants and children aged 1-59 months who died between December 2016 and February 2022 in six sites in sub-Saharan Africa and one in South Asia (Bangladesh) and were enrolled in Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS).

Determinants of Pneumothorax Among Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit Patients, a Single Centre Study.

Introduction: Millions of deaths and co-morbidities have been brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic worldwide. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiple organ failure, and death can result from the condition in some people. The disease's course can range from a moderate upper respiratory tract infection to severe pneumonia.

The role of onsite Implanon insertion training for HEWs for sustainable FP programs in Ethiopia: a mixed-method study.

Background: Training health extension workers on Implanon insertion offsite, or away from the workplace, can be cost-intensive, can depend on the human and financial resources of partners, and can compromise routine health services by taking health workers off the job. To address these limitations, the USAID Transform Primary Health Care Activity in Ethiopia designed an onsite Implanon insertion training at the primary health care level. This study compared and documented the implementation experience of onsite vs offsite Implanon insertion training for health extension workers.

Neural tube defects as a cause of death among stillbirths, infants, and children younger than 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia: an analysis of the CHAMPS network.

Background: Neural tube defects are common birth defects resulting in severe morbidity and mortality; they can largely be prevented with periconceptional maternal intake of folic acid. Understanding the occurrence of neural tube defects and their contribution to mortality in settings where their burden is highest could inform prevention and health-care policy. We aimed to estimate the mortality attributed to neural tube defects in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia.

Impact of bariatric surgery on early-onset colorectal cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The aim of this meta-analysis is to determine the impact of bariatric surgery on the risk of early-onset colorectal neoplasia. This systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA recommendations. It was registered in the PROSPERO international database.

Transcript and blood-microbiome analysis towards a blood diagnostic tool for goats affected by Haemonchus contortus.

The Alpine goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is parasitized by the barber pole worm (Haemonchus contortus). Hematological parameters from transcript and metagenome analysis in the host are reflective of infestation. We explored comparisons between blood samples of control, infected, infected zoledronic acid-treated, and infected antibody (anti-γδ T cells) treated wethers under controlled conditions.

Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern and Bacterial Spectrum Among Patients with External Eye Infections at Menelik II Referral Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Eye infections can cause loss or impairment of visual function and can lead to severe impairment. Bacteria are the most common pathogens that affect the structure of the eye. As a result, quick identification of the causative agents and testing of their medication susceptibility are essential for effective treatment of eye infections.

"Tree to fight hunger": determinant of market participation and intensity of participation: the case of Southwest Ethiopia.

Kaffa, Sheka, and Bench sheko Zone in the Southwest region of Ethiopia are known for enset farming. The objective of this study was to identify factors constraining market participation of enset producers and marketed surplus. Data were obtained from a sample of 657 enset producers.

Factors influencing organic honey production level and marketing: evidence from southwest Ethiopia.

The primary aim of this study was to identify factors influencing natural honey production and marketing constraints in Kafa, Sheka, Bench- Sheko, and West Omo zones which covered 23 woredas and 69 kebeles. Primary and secondary sources of data were utilized for this study. Both qualitative and quantitative data types were employed.

Assessment of challenges of crop production and marketing in Bench-Sheko, Kaffa, Sheka, and West-Omo zones of southwest Ethiopia.

This study was conducted to identify the challenges of crop production and marketing in southwest Ethiopia. Primary and secondary sources of data were used. Qualitative and Quantitative data types were collected from 385 respondents through interviews, focus group discussion, key informant interviews, and observations.

Dual Contraceptive Utilization and Associated Factors Among Reproductive-Age Women on Anti-Retroviral Therapy at Hospitals in Central Ethiopia.

Background: Ethiopia is one of the Sub-Saharan African countries with an increasingly risky sexual practice and mostly affected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic. Dual protection is an important preventive approach which can prevent both unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the dual contraceptive utilization and associated factors among reproductive-age women on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) in central Ethiopia.

Pathways through homelessness among women in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A qualitative study.

Background: There has been a paradigm shift in understanding homelessness. The shift is from the belief that homelessness results from lack of secure housing towards the view which explains homelessness in terms of the complex interactions of factors which determine the pathways into and out of homelessness. The evidence base for women's homelessness is less robust than men's homelessness.

Knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19 and associated factors among health care providers in Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: COVID-19 has a devastating effect on social, economic, and political crises that will leave deep pockmarks on victims of the virus. Having poor knowledge and attitude of the disease among health care providers could bring in impeded effect in the supportive treatment and, it increases the spread of the pandemic.

Objective: The study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19, and associated factors among health care providers in Northwest Ethiopia in 2020.

Genome-Wide Association Study towards Genomic Predictive Power for High Production and Quality of Milk in American Alpine Goats.

This paper reports an exploratory study based on quantitative genomic analysis in dairy traits of American Alpine goats. The dairy traits are quality-determining components in goat milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. Alpine goat phenotypes for quality components have been routinely recorded for many years and deposited in the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) repository.

Predictors of mortality among adult people living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy at Suhul Hospital, Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia: a retrospective follow-up study.

Background: Ethiopia is striving to achieve a goal of "zero human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS)-related deaths." However, little has been documented on the factors that hamper the progress towards achieving this goal. Therefore, the ultimate aim of this study was to determine predictors of mortality among adult people living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Prevalence of human papillomavirus and in esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancer biopsies from a case-control study in Ethiopia.

Background: Ethiopia lies in the high-risk corridor of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in East Africa, where individuals with this malignancy often do not report established risk factors, suggesting unidentified etiologies. Here, we report the prevalence of mucosal human papillomavirus (HPV) and of () detection in endoscopy-obtained esophageal and gastroesophageal junction biopsies and in oral cell specimens taken at the time of esophageal cancer diagnosis in a case-control study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: DNA extraction was performed from fresh frozen tissue and oral cell pellets obtained with saline solution gargling subsequently fixed with ethanol.

Improving Contraceptive Access, Use, and Method Mix by Task Sharing Implanon Insertion to Frontline Health Workers: The Experience of the Integrated Family Health Program in Ethiopia.

In 2009, the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health launched an Implanon scale-up program with the goal of improving the availability of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods at the community level. The Integrated Family Health Program (IFHP) supported the ministry to train Health Extension Workers (HEWs), a cadre of frontline health workers, on Implanon insertion. Prior to this task-sharing initiative, HEWs were only permitted to provide short-acting contraceptive methods; Implanon insertion services were only available at higher-level health facilities, such as health centers and above.

Clinical outcome and risk factors of neonatal sepsis among neonates in Felege Hiwot referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, Amhara Regional State, North West Ethiopia 2016: a retrospective chart review.

Background: Sepsis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among neonates. The risk factors and clinical outcomes of sepsis are poorly understood. Most cases of sepsis occurred mostly within the first week of newborns life related to perinatal risk factors.

Qat use and esophageal cancer in Ethiopia: A pilot case-control study.

Background: Qat (Catha edulis) chewing is reported to induce lesions in the buccal mucosa, irritation of the esophagus, and esophageal reflux. Case series suggest a possible etiological role in oral and esophageal cancers. This pilot study aimed to generate preliminary estimates of the magnitude and direction of the association between qat use and esophageal cancer (EC) risk and to inform the logistics required to conduct a multi-center case-control study.

Penetrating Keratoplasty at a Tertiary Referral Center in Ethiopia: Indications and Outcomes.

Purpose: To describe the indications, visual acuity outcomes, and graft survival after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: The medical records of patients who underwent PKP at Menelik II Hospital between September 2000 and September 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. The prespecified outcomes were graft survival, visual acuity, and complication rates.