Prevalence of Giardiasis and Cryptosporidiosis among Children in Relation to Water Sources in Selected Village of Pawi Special District in Benishangul-Gumuz Region; Northwestern Ethiopia

"Introduction: Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum are implicated in many waterborne disease outbreaks in different parts of the world. Objective: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of these two parasites among children below 14 years old that drink water from different sources. Methods: Single stool specimens were collected from a total of 384 children in Almu; K2V24; and K2V23/24 villages; Pawi Special District; northwestern Ethiopia; and microscopically examined for Giardia cyst/trophozoites and Cryptosporidium oocysts. For identification of Cryptosporidium parvum the modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining method was used. Giardia lamblia was detected using direct microscopy based on wet mount and formalin-ether concentration techniques. Results: Out of the 384 children examined; 102 (26.6) and 31 (8.1) were found positive for G. lamblia and C .parvum infection; respectively. Prevalence of giardiasis in female children was significantly higher than in the males. However; no significant association was observed for infection of cryptosporidiosis between the two sexes. G.lamblia and C. parvum infection prevalence was not significantly different among the different age groups. On the other hand; the prevalence of G. lamblia and C. parvum was associated with the source of drinking water with more cases of giardiasis detected in study participants using water from unprotected water sources than those using the ""protected"" water. Contrary to this; more cases of cryptosporidiosis were detected in those using ""protected"" water sources. Conclusion: From the findings of the study one can conclude that providing well protected and treated drinking water should be considered a priority for reducing the existing high prevalence of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis in the study area. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2010;24(3):205-213]"

Some aspects of malaria prevalence; vector infectivity and DDT resistance studies in Gambella region; South Western Ethiopia

Prevalence of plasmodium falciparum and plasmodium vivax in the human population; infectivity and DDT resistance of Anopheles mosquitoes were studied on samples collected during the peak malaria season of 1990 from Gambella; South West Ethiopia. Mosquito vectors collected were assorted into species and their infectivity with malaria parasites was determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the human population out of a total of 821 individuals examined from nine villages; 4.1 percent (34) were found to be positive for malaria parasites. Of the 34 positive individuals 5.9 percent (2) were positive for plasmodium vivax and 94.1 percent (32) for plasmodium falciparum. Although relatively high positivity rates for malaria were observed in 1-4 and 5-14 age groups; the difference in rates of positivity was not statistically significant for the whole population (p=0.5077). However; a significant difference in parasite prevalence was detected between the nine localities. Compared to that of 1989; the overall malaria prevalence rate in the human population significantly decreased in 1990. Insecticide susceptibilty studies revealed the presence of DDT resistant Anopheles gambiae s.l. mosquito in Itang. Furthermore; a strong evidence would suspect the vectorial status of A. pharoensis was obtained by detecting salivary gland sporozoite antigens of P. vivax in the head region of two mosquitos. Sporozoite rate of 0.76 percent (P. falciparum) for A. gambiae s.l. and 0.47 percent (P. vivax) for A. pharoensis were determined