Correction to: Monitoring changes in malaria epidemiology and effectiveness of interventions in Ethiopia and Uganda: Beyond Garki Project baseline survey.

Please be advised that one of the author names is incorrectly spelled in the published article: 'Irene Kyomuhagi' should be 'Irene Kyomuhangi'.

Clinical Performance of Emergency Surgical Officers in Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Serious shortage of gynecologists and surgeons for several decades leading to a three-year masters level training was initiated in 2009. However, systematic analysis was not done to assess the graduates' performance. The purpose of this study was to assess improvement in access to emergency surgical and obstetrical care services.

Health worker and policy-maker perspectives on use of intramuscular artesunate for pre-referral and definitive treatment of severe malaria at health posts in Ethiopia.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends injectable artesunate given either intravenously or by the intramuscular route for definitive treatment for severe malaria and recommends a single intramuscular dose of intramuscular artesunate or intramuscular artemether or intramuscular quinine, in that order of preference as pre-referral treatment when definitive treatment is not possible. Where intramuscular injections are not available, children under 6 years may be administered a single dose of rectal artesunate. Although the current malaria treatment guidelines in Ethiopia recommend intra-rectal artesunate or alternatively intramuscular artemether or intramuscular quinine as pre-referral treatment for severe malaria at the health posts, there are currently no WHO prequalified suppliers of intra-rectal artesunate and when available, its use is limited to children under 6 years of age leaving a gap for the older age groups.

The usefulness of school-based syndromic surveillance for detecting malaria epidemics: experiences from a pilot project in Ethiopia.

Background: Syndromic surveillance is a supplementary approach to routine surveillance, using pre-diagnostic and non-clinical surrogate data to identify possible infectious disease outbreaks. To date, syndromic surveillance has primarily been used in high-income countries for diseases such as influenza--however, the approach may also be relevant to resource-poor settings. This study investigated the potential for monitoring school absenteeism and febrile illness, as part of a school-based surveillance system to identify localised malaria epidemics in Ethiopia.

Monitoring changes in malaria epidemiology and effectiveness of interventions in Ethiopia and Uganda: Beyond Garki Project baseline survey.

Background: Scale-up of malaria interventions seems to have contributed to a decline in the disease but other factors may also have had some role. Understanding changes in transmission and determinant factors will help to adapt control strategies accordingly.

Methods: Four sites in Ethiopia and Uganda were set up to monitor epidemiological changes and effectiveness of interventions over time.

Individual and household factors associated with use of insecticide treated nets in southern Ethiopia.

Background: Although mass distribution has been considered as the best method to rapidly scale up the coverage of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) for malaria prevention, little information is available on determinants associated with net utilization at local settings. We studied individual and household factors associated with LLIN use in Halaba district in southern Ethiopia.

Methods: This is a population-based survey conducted in October 2008 in 16 randomly selected villages.

Effect of combining mosquito repellent and insecticide treated net on malaria prevalence in Southern Ethiopia: a cluster-randomised trial.

Background: A mosquito repellent has the potential to prevent malaria infection, but there has been few studies demonstrating the effectiveness of combining this strategy with the highly effective long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). This study aimed to determine the effect of combining community-based mosquito repellent with LLINs in the reduction of malaria.

Methods: A community-based clustered-randomised trial was conducted in 16 rural villages with 1,235 households in southern Ethiopia between September and December of 2008.

Can interferon-gamma or interferon-gamma-induced-protein-10 differentiate tuberculosis infection and disease in children of high endemic areas?

Background: Diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis (TB) is difficult in high TB burden settings. Interferon-gamma-induced protein 10 (IP10) has been suggested as a marker of TB infection and disease, but its ability to differentiate the two conditions remains uncertain.

Objectives: To describe Interferon-gamma (INFγ) and IP10 expression in children with TB infection and disease and controls to assess their potential to differentiate latent and active TB.