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Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is the second leading cause of mortality from an infectious disease worldwide. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), where rifampicin-resistant TB is the biggest contributor, remains a global health threat. There is scant data on MTB and rifampicin resistance (RR-MTB) using Gene Xpert MTB/RIF assay in Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of MTB and RR-MTB among presumptive TB patients in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Methods: A multi-center retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 to December 2019 among presumptive MTB patients from four hospitals in Tigray. Records of sputum sample results of presumptive MTB patients analyzed with Gene Xpert MTB/RIF assay from January 2016 to December 2019 were investigated. Data were extracted using a data-extraction tool from registration books and analyzed using SPSS ver.21. Statistically significant was set at p-value ≤0.05. Results: From 17,329 presumptive adult MTB patients who had submitted sputum samples for TB diagnosis, 16,437 (94.9 %) had complete records and were included in the study. More than half (60.2 %) of them were males and ages ranged from 18 to 98 years. Majority of the participants: 15,047(91.5 %) were new cases and 11,750 (71.5 %) were with unknown HIV status. Prevalence of MTB was 9.7 % (95 % CI: 9.2–10.2 %) of these, rifampicin resistant-MTB was 8.7 % (95 % CI: 7.32–10.09 %). Age (being >29 years) [p

Abstract Direct exposure to the fungal species Alternaria alternata is a major risk factor for the development of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and inflammation. As of November 23rd 2020, the NCBI protein database showed 11,227 proteins from A. alternata genome as hypothetical proteins (HPs). Allergens are the main causative of several life-threatening diseases, especially in fungal infections. Therefore, the main aim of the study is to identify the potentially allergenic inducible proteins from the HPs in A. alternata and their associated functional assignment for the complete understanding of the complex biological systems at the molecular level. AlgPred and Structural Database of Allergenic Proteins (SDAP) were used for the prediction of potential allergens from the HPs of A. alternata. While analyzing the proteome data, 29 potential allergens were predicted by AlgPred and further screening in SDAP confirmed the allergic response of 10 proteins. Extensive bioinformatics tools including protein family classification, sequence-function relationship, protein motif discovery, pathway interactions, and intrinsic features from the amino acid sequence were used to successfully predict the probable functions of the 10 HPs. The functions of the HPs are characterized as chitin-binding, ribosomal protein P1, thaumatin, glycosyl hydrolase, and NOB1 proteins. The subcellular localization and signal peptide prediction of these 10 proteins has further provided additional information on localization and function. The allergens prediction and functional annotation of the 10 proteins may facilitate a better understanding of the allergenic mechanism of A. alternata in asthma and other diseases. The functional domain level insights and predicted structural features of the allergenic proteins help to understand the pathogenesis and host immune tolerance. The outcomes of the study would aid in the development of specific drugs to combat A. alternata infections.

Abstract Background Food borne diseases is a challenging problem nowadays. Salmonella and Shigella species are great concern of food-born outbreaks. Thus, this study was aimed to assess the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility test and associated factors of Salmonella and Shigella species in fruit juices and salads. Methods A community based cross sectional study design was carried out on 50 juice houses from December to March 2020 in Mekelle. One hundred fifty samples were collected aseptically from the juice houses for laboratory analysis. Information related to risk factors was obtained using a structured questionnaire. In the laboratory, samples were homogenized using peptone water and incubated overnight for enrichment. Then, Salmonella and Shigella species were isolated on Salmonella-Shigella agar and Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate agar. Disc diffusion method was used to perform antimicrobial susceptibility test. Using SPSS (version 22) package, descriptive statistics and Chi square test (χ2) were used to analyze the data, and p

Abstract The lack of safe drinking water affects communities in low-to-medium-income countries most. This barrier can be overcome by using sustainable point-of-use water treatments. Solar energy has been used to disinfect water for decades, and several efforts have been made to optimise the standard procedure of solar water disinfection (SODIS process). However, the Health Impact Assessment of implementing advanced technologies in the field is also a critical step in evaluating the success of the optimisation. This work reports a sustainable scaling-up of SODIS from standard 2 L bottles to 25 L transparent jerrycans (TJC) and a 12-month field implementation in four sites of Tigray in Ethiopia, where 80.5% of the population lives without reliable access to safe drinking water and whose initial baseline average rate of diarrhoeal disease in children under 5 years was 13.5%. The UVA dose required for 3-log reduction of E. coli was always lower than the minimum UVA daily dose received in Tigray (9411 ± 55 Wh/m2). Results confirmed a similar decrease in cases of diarrhoea in children in the implementation (25 L PET TJC) and control (2 L PET bottles) groups, supporting the feasibility of increasing the volume of the SODIS water containers to produce safer drinking water with a sustainable and user-friendly process.

BackgroundCervical cancer is a preventable disease if treated early, but remains the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women in low and middle-income countries. Data on epidemiology and risk factors in these settings are scarce. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of pre-cancerous cervical lesions and risk factors in Tigray region, Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based, cross-sectional study was used and 900 participants were 30 recruited using multistage sampling and finally data from 883 were collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire and screening with visual inspection with ascetic acid. Data were collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire and screening with visual inspection with acetic acid from March 2016 to June 2017. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate predictors.ResultsSeventy-nine (8.95%) women were positive for pre-cancer lesion and 35 (3.96%) were suspicious for cervical cancer. We used relative risk ratio (rrr) to estimate the strength of association. Divorced or widowed women had 2.5 and 4.7 times more risk of being positive and suspicious respectively, compared to single women (rrr = 2.5, 95% CI [1.13, 5.52]); (rrr = 4.69, 95% CI [1.00, 21.84]). The risk of having a suspicious result was 68% lower for women with primary education compared to those with no formal education (rrr = 0.32, 95% CI [1.00, 21.84]). History of sexually transmitted infection was associated with positive pre cancer lesion (rrr = 1.91, 95% CI [1.11, 3.27]) whereas, being farmer (rrr = 4.83, 95% CI [1.44, 16.13]), merchant (rrr = 4.85, 95% CI [1.52, 15.46]), bleeding between periods (rrr = 3.26, 95% CI [1.32, 8.04]) and pelvic or back pain (rrr = 2.79, 95% CI [1.18, 6.58]) were associated with suspicious for cancer.ConclusionAbout 8.9% and 3.96% of the women were positive for pre-cancerous cervical lesion and suspicious for cancer, respectively. The prevalence of pre-cancerous cervical lesion is high as compared to other regional prevalence in the country. Marital status, education, sexually transmitted infection, bleeding, and pelvic pain were risk factors of pre-cancerous cervical lesion'. This finding implies that the sexual exposure, having no permanent husband and being not educated attributes to the high prevalence of pre-cancerous cervical lesion and may aggravate the transmission of HPV."

Summary: Purpose: The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is a major global health challenge and becoming an urgent priority for policymakers. There is a paucity of scientific studies presenting the multidrug resistance pattern from one health perspective in Ethiopia. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of multidrug resistance in bacteria from human, animal, food, and environmental sources. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, an electronic search was made in PubMed & Google scholar using different keywords. The studies conducted in all areas of Ethiopia, published from 2015 to 2020 in peer-reviewed journals, English full-length papers were included. The meta-analysis was done on STATA version 14. The pooled prevalence of multidrug resistance for each bacterium was analysed using the random-effects model; Cochran Q statistics and the I2 statistic was used to analyse heterogeneity and considered significant at p

Background: Tuberculosis, mainly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is an ancient human disease that gravely affects millions of people annually. We wanted to explore the genetic diversity and lineage-specific association of Mtb with drug resistance among pulmonary tuberculosis patients.Methods: Sputum samples were collected from pulmonary tuberculosis patients at six different healthcare institutions in Tigray, Ethiopia, between July 2018 and August 2019. DNA was extracted from 74 Mtb complex isolates for whole-genome sequencing (WGS). All genomes were typed and screened for mutations with known associations with antimicrobial resistance using in silico methods, and results were cross-verified with wet lab methods.Results: Lineage (L) 4 (55.8%) was predominant, followed by L3 (41.2%); L1 (1.5%) and L2 (1.5%) occurred rarely. The most frequently detected sublineage was CAS (38.2%), followed by Ural (29.4%), and Haarlem (11.8%). The recent transmission index (RTI) was relatively low. L4 and Ural strains were more resistant than the other strains to any anti-TB drug (P < 0.05). The most frequent mutations to RIF, INH, EMB, SM, PZA, ETH, FLQs, and 2nd-line injectable drugs occurred at rpoB S450L, katG S315T, embB M306I/V, rpsL K43R, pncA V139A, ethA M1R, gyrA D94G, and rrs A1401G, respectively. Disputed rpoB mutations were also shown in four (16%) of RIF-resistant isolates.Conclusion: Our WGS analysis revealed the presence of diverse Mtb genotypes. The presence of a significant proportion of disputed rpoB mutations highlighted the need to establish a WGS facility at the regional level to monitor drug-resistant mutations. This will help control the transmission of DR-TB and ultimately contribute to the attainment of 100% DST coverage for TB patients as per the End TB strategy.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a global health problem. While childhood TB contributes 10% to the global TB burden, the paucibacillary nature of TB disease in children and the absence of reliable diagnostic methods have made MTB diagnosis in children to be a great challenge. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of MTB and rifampicin-resistant MTB (RR-MTB) among children using Gene Xpert MTB/RIF Assay in Tigray, Ethiopia.Methods: A retrospective database study was conducted among children in ten governmental hospitals in the Tigray region. Gene Xpert MTB/RIF results of sputum/gastric lavage samples from children with presumptive TB from January 2016 to December 2019 were extracted using a data extraction sheet. Data were collected and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21.Results: The prevalence of bacteriologically confirmed MTB by Gene-Xpert in children with presumptive TB was 7.3% (95% CI: 6.7%− 7.9%) and the proportion of those that were Gene-Xpert MTB positive who also have rifampicin resistance was 10.9% (95% CI: 8.2– 13.6%). Older children aged 11– 15 years [AOR = 1.76; 95% CI = 1.33– 2.33, p < 0.001] and adolescents 16– 17 years [AOR = 2.18; 95% CI = 1.63– 2.92, p < 0.001] were more likely to be MTB positive. Relapse cases [AOR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.09– 2.51, p = 0.017] and lost/failure cases [AOR = 8.82; 95% CI = 3.94– 19.76, p < 0.001] were more likely to have MTB compared to the new cases.Conclusion: The proportion of MTB-positive among the TB presumptive patients was 7.3%. The proportion of rifampicin-resistant TB to all positive patients was 10.9%. Female participants had more MTB than males (or younger children). The result highlights the need for due attention in children because it is very helpful in determining the future control of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]