Longitudinal wastewater-based surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 during 2023 in Ethiopia.

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.

Mapping the distribution of tuberculosis cases and associated factors identified through routine program implementation and community-based active screening in Central Ethiopia.

Background: Smear-positive TB patients greatly contribute to community-level transmission of this disease. Locating hotspots would make it easier to prioritize and target control interventions. This study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of smear-positive index TB cases and their secondary cases and the predictors of clustering of smear-positive TB cases.

Serum Lipid Profile and Electrolytes Reference Intervals for Apparently Healthy Children and Adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Accurate reference intervals generated from an apparently healthy population and stratified by crucial variables such as age and gender are required to guarantee appropriate interpretation of test results. Since there were no local reference intervals in the study area, the present study aimed to establish reference intervals on serum lipid profiles and electrolytes for children and adolescents in Addis Ababa.

Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to October 2019.

Serological and molecular analysis of Leishmania infection in a recent outbreak of visceral leishmaniasis in South Omo Zone, Ethiopia.

Background: Ethiopia has a high burden of visceral leishmaniasis. Recently, there was a significant increase in cases in the South Omo Zone. This study aims to assess the prevalence of Leishmania donovani infection and its associated factors.

Utilisation and associated socio-demographic factors related to the maternal continuum of care in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Maternal continuum of care (MCC) is the utilisation of maternal health care services, including 4+ antenatal care (ANC) visits, skilled birth attendants (SBAs), and postnatal care (PNC). This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the pooled proportion of MCC utilisation among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and its association with selected sociodemographic factors.

Methods: We identified keywords and MeSH terms related to the condition (MCC), the context (SSA), and population (women with history of childbirth) to search for published or unpublished observational studies.

Application of a new highly multiplexed amplicon sequencing tool to evaluate antimalarial resistance and relatedness in individual and pooled samples from Dschang, Cameroon.

Background: Resistance to antimalarial drugs remains a major obstacle to malaria elimination. Multiplexed, targeted amplicon sequencing is being adopted for surveilling resistance and dissecting the genetics of complex malaria infections. Moreover, genotyping of parasites and detection of molecular markers drug resistance in resource-limited regions requires open-source protocols for processing samples, using accessible reagents, and rapid methods for processing numerous samples including pooled sequencing.

Molecular Epidemiology and AMR Perspective of Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Introduction: Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) persistently challenges public health in Africa, contributing substantially to the diarrhoeal disease burden. This systematic review and meta-analysis illuminate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of DEC pathotypes across the continent.

Methods: The review selectively focused on pathotype-specific studies reporting prevalence and/or AMR of human-derived DEC pathotypes from African nations, excluding data from extra-intestinal, animal, and environmental sources and studies focused on drug and mechanism experiments.

High prevalence of colonization with extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing and multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales in the community in Addis Ababa Ethiopia: risk factors, carbapenem resistance, and molecular characterization.

Background: Globally, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales are major causes of hospital-acquired infections and there are increasing concerns about their role in community-acquired infections.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) and Carbapenemase-producing-Carbapenemresistant-Enterobacterales (CP-CRE) and associated factors in community settings in Gulele sub city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 261 healthy individuals.

Diversity of culturable bacterial isolates and their potential as antimicrobial against human pathogens from Afar region, Ethiopia.

Unlabelled: Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global concern exacerbated by the scarcity of new medications and resistance to current antibiotics. Microbes from unexplored habitats are promising sources of natural products to combat this challenge. This study aimed to isolate bacteria producing secondary metabolites and assess their antimicrobial efficacy against human pathogens.

CARD8 polymorphisms among bacterial meningitis patients in North-West Ethiopia.

Background: The severity of infectious disease outcomes is dependent on the virulence factors of the pathogen and the host immune response. CARD8 is a major regulator of the innate immune proinflammatory response and has been suggested to modulate the host response to common inflammatory diseases. In the present study, the C10X genetic polymorphism in the CARD8 gene was investigated in relation to bacterial meningitis.

Patterns of soil-transmitted helminth aggregation in the human host population after several years of intensive mass drug administration.

Background: Community-wide mass drug administration (cMDA) is known as an effective, albeit costly, control strategy for soil-transmitted helminth (STH) parasites. A better understanding of STH aggregation after many rounds of cMDA could help shape more cost-effective policies.

Methods: This analysis uses data from the Geshiyaro project, aiming to break STH transmission by cMDA and water, sanitation and hygiene interventions.

Providers' experience on essential health services in primary healthcare units of Ethiopia during COVID-19: a qualitative study on impact and response.

Aim: The objective of this study was to explore how selected sub-national (provincial) primary healthcare units in Ethiopia responded to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and what impact these measures had on essential health services.

Background: National-level responses against the spread of COVID-19 and its consequences are well studied. However, data on capacities and challenges of sub-national health systems in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on essential health services are limited.

Evaluations of the and antidiabetic activity of 70 % ethanolic fruit extracts of .

Background: Diabetes mellitus is becoming major health challenge with continually increasing burden. High costs of conventional medicines and numerous side effects associated with them, on the other hand, easy availability and accessibility of traditional herbal medicines calls upon experimental investigations to validate their effect on lowering blood glucose level.

Methods: The dried fruit of was macerated with 70 % ethanol and the extract's antidiabetic activity was investigated using dinitrosalisylic acid method for alpha amylase inhibitory activity.